Does Your Insurance Cover any Mods You Have Made on your 3rd Gen?

I was curious about this. Have a new 2017 TRD 4X4 Off Road. I totalled up what I have spent on mods so far and it's approaching $10,000. One State Farm agent more or less said they don't have any formal policy but might cover some of this. Another State Farm agent said just keep all receipts so you can prove you added the various items and they would supposedly cover it. Kind of disconcerting to get two different answers from agens 10-miles apart. I wondered if my premium would increase but the agent that told me to keep receipts said they would have to run it through the company like it was a new policy to see. But they acted like they would cover. Of course, if it raised your policy double it might not be worth it. USAA said they cover a flat $5K in mods. Their quote to me was about the same as I'm paying State Farm now (Tennessee).

I know folks on this forum have spent $$$$ on mods. So what is your experience?

 

My experience, from 25+ years ago making it perhaps irrelevant, also with heavily modified custom and restored antique cars, was that to be 100% certain you need to notify the insurer of the modifications/customizations/restorations and insure for an agreed upon replacement value. Doing so prevents any ambiguity should there be some loss...

 

I am an insurance adjuster, so I know auto policies very well. Personal policies only cover modifications up to I believe $1000 automatically, anything after that is not covered. You can however purchase an endorsement that covers additional modifications. You need to ask your agent about this to make sure those modifications are covered in the event of an accident.

 

I have stated value insurance.

 

I have been with USAA for 26 years and they have taken care of me when it comes to modifications. Additionally, when it comes to auto insurance, I wouldn't use any other carrier but USAA.

 

I guess I need to go back and talk to USAA again. They gave me quotes on my three vehicles and my house. Vehicles came out about the same as State Farm. House was more--a fair amount more. I got these quotes about 6 months ago. Didn't follow up to see why the difference on the house. Fortunately I am a veteran so can get USAA. It will be a big surprise to State Farm if I leave them. I've had them since 1969. No major accidents.

 

What state are you in? I'm an insurance agent in California. As stated above you should purchase the endorsement adding coverage for the modifications, otherwise they will give you actual cash value of your stock car because that is what you have been paying for.

Edit- just re-read and saw your in Tennessee, contact an independent agent or get something in writing showing State Farm will cover mods.

 

My recent experience with a claim was that USAA cared vary little about aftermarket parts, the only one that changed the value was the winch. I was told that any recent upgrades within the last year would also affect value but a high clearance bumper made zero change in value.

 

I will tell you this, if you have a truck with a lift, that definitely needs to be scheduled through an endorsement. It has been my experience that the insurance company will not pay to have those parts replaced in the event of an accident if you did not schedule them. Bumpers are not as big of a deal, but suspension components, wheels, tires, etc. are.

 

I got geico and it covers all my sh*t, but I do pay extra for it. My plan states what the aftermarket part is and how much it’s worth.

 

Is there a difference between what is covered as far as aftermarket parts are concerned, and coverage for a loss? I'm in California, and when I totaled my motorcycle, my insurance gave me dollar for dollar credit for all of my aftermarket parts (which were in the thousands). Was that just an example of excellent customer service, or is it normal for all aftermarket parts to be fully covered without any special plan (I did not have any special terms in my insurance). As a side note, after totaling my bike, my insurance went up a whopping $7 per year. I'm very pleased with my insurance, to say the least (California Casualty).

 

I work for state farm here in California. At the time of a claim when they are doing repairs/ valuation claims will ask you about any modifications you have done and cost. On certain items they will ask for receipts but you will get a depreciated value on the items.

 

USAA does not give me the lowest rates when I shop around, but I will always pay more for USAA because they are a million percent more trustworthy. They always come through and truly care about the veteran.

 

Has anyone tried to endorse a lift or any other aftermarket stuff with USAA?

 

Wouldn't happen to be for a tip over would it?

 

That would be the one.

 

Hit the trail a few vehicles in front of you when that happened I believe. Totaled I assume?

 

Yep, airbags will do that, but buyback was cheap and a TRD Off-road 4wd holds it's value well.

 

USAA is expensive. They had the highest home insurance quote of all the insurers I called (state farm, progressive, all state, etc.) and when I moved from west coast to east coast they wanted to double my car insurance premium despite the same coverages, which prompted me to call around. I ended up with State Farm and got higher coverages while still having a lower premium than USAA.

 

and to add to this.

you should notify your insurance regardless.
Not just for the sake of having it covered. In the event of an accident you could actually be denied coverage if the vehicle is modified too much from what they know of.

You may not think so but I have heard it happening. And its not as much an issue of not having any coverage at all on your destroyed truck but that cost that can come if someone was injured never mind killed.

Say you T bone someone and they can somehow say you having a lift meant your truck missed most of their door which would've taken some of the impact and hit the window and got to the driver quicker and that person is injured. They can deny you coverage saying your mods that they were unaware of caused the other persons injuries.
Then you'll be stuck with the medical bills.

I recently found out about this from a friend I go wheeling with. He was combining his insurance with his girlfriend since they got engaged, and his broker mentioned it to him regarding his jeep. Although it might not be a common thing and we all hope to never be in that situation, I think its much better to have them know and be safe, than take the chance of covering someones medical bills or worse, death.