INSURANCE COVERAGE

Hey guys, just wondering how all of you with thousands of dollars in accessories and custom parts on your build go about reporting what you have to insurance in the unfortunate case of an accident or total loss.


My rims+tires+lift is $2000

My stereo is $1000

I'm wanting to (hopefully soon) install a winch along with ARB front/rear lockers. Along with a RTT. The ARB setup and RTT alone is $3500

Called my insurance today (Progressive) and talked to them about additional coverage options. $5000 additional coverage was their max from what the policy lady said and that alone would cost an additional $400 annually.

I don't drive my truck everyday but it is fully covered. I mainly use it for camping and the occasional haul. I would hate to take it camping with all my wish list goodies installed and god forbid something happen and I not be covered for everything that is on my truck at time of accident or whatever.

I'm currently paying $322 for 6 months of coverage. I'm ok with that. I just can't see myself paying what they want in addition to my current premium for the goodies that i'd like to install for my truck that I drive maybe 8x a month!

What are you others with awesome builds and thousands of dollars invested doing?!

 

Insurance dose not cover that stuff. You just incur that risk that your mods don't get damaged and like everyone else they give you the depreciated value of the truck. Unless you have gap insurance and even then its value of the truck for a new stock truck same for "new car replacement" if your carrier offers it.

So my guess is they cross their fingers lol

I pay $71 a month for full coverage on my truck I don't have gap as I have the title and my carrier dose not have new car replacement which in fact just adds to your premium anyway. I live in Kentucky. I'd say that your premium is about right for the model year if not a bit low considering you live in CA.

Check to be certain you are truly fully covered you don't want to findcout the hard way that you are not.

 

Well, they cover it to a $5k limit apparently.
Talked to an adjuster, they wouldn't even let me come and swap "uncovered" parts in the event that it was totaled. I mean, how do these $20k build get covered? Do they just call insurance and just say that they want as much coverage for their $25k truck as would a Porsche owner with their car?

 

How interesting. Most companies wont even cover the vehicle if it has been lifted. My recollection is that Progressive was one of those companies that did NOT cover a vehicle if it had any sort of lift kit on it.

After doing much calling and whatnot, i found my home at StateFarm. I pay 460$ bi-annually. They said i can do whatever i wanted to the vehicle provided i can produce the receipts for said improvements. I drive a semi truck for a living, and as a result don't put on many miles on my tacoma. luckily my insurance company started a new program called In-Drive. similar to progressives "SnapShot" device, except without spontaneously combusting when you're driving down the road. Basically they said as long as i'm a good christian motorist, and i'm not putting a whole lot of miles on my tacoma, i could be looking at up to 50% in savings on my premiums. I've been on the program for about 9 months now, with my previous vehicle, and so far i'm down 20% from where i started. The Jeep though was cheaper to insure than the Tacoma.
Anyway, good luck.

 

I'll give State Farm a call tomorrow. They don't offer Snapshot here in California for some reason. (It's on every other commercial though)

 

Much also depends on state laws what they will cover modifaction wise. To put it simple car insurance companies cover thousands of vechiles the majority of which have little to no modifactions. Some may cover but the state laws often are vauge and then you have the cash value vs replace situation. So they may only be required if they are required by law to replace with a "similar" item not the same item.

When it comes to a total loss situation they typically use KBB values which gives them a broad range what they'd give you. Pretty much in particular in a total situation your not going to be able to fully replace what you lost. You'll get enough to start over.

 

Insurance companies do not normally pay replacement costs unless you carry a special rider which is more expensive. They pay average retail value of the vehicle in the area where you live at time of loss.
Your 2000 dollar rims+tires+lift does not necessarily increase the average street value of the vehicle 2000 dollars. In fact it could lower, and probably does, the value depending on the market in your area because that is personal taste, not average retail value. The same for your stereo.

If you want replacement insurance you have to buy that separately or have a rider added to your policy. Also you can purchase insurance for antique, historic, specialty, vintage, exotic & muscle cars & trucks. It is all extra and seldom worth it unless the vehicle is really special. Some home owners insurances will cover certain items in or on a personal vehicle, but you would need to check on your own policy to see what it would cover.

If you believe that your vehicle is worth more than average book you need to have it appraised and listed as to why in case of loss. Some dealers will do this for a price and there are people who do this for a living. That way if another person causes damage you can recoup all your loss.

As for In-Drive or snap shot they are not free. You have to carry and pay for something like on-star tracking to get any discounts and understand they are tracking your every move and driving habbits. So you have to calculate the cost of the feature against the amount of any discount and the discounts are not guaranteed in amount or at all.

 

Thanks guys! This is all very informational. I'm going to shop around soon and see if I can get a better deal

 

After walking away from a total loss collision in my previous Tacoma, I can tell you that losing $10000 of mod parts is a very small price to pay

You can always get a lawyer and get your money back through medical claims if you want to go that route.

 

As mentioned above by Gerald, you could look into specialty car insurance. You can get an agreed value policy and the prices are very reasonable. My 1993 Mustang is insured through Heacock with an agreed value of $15K and it only costs me $200 / year. My previous Mustang, a 2007 moderately modified GT, had an agreed value of $38K and it was about $350 / year.

There are restrictions on the policies though. I'm allowed to drive the car 3K miles a year (they do have higher mileage allowances too), each driver listed on the policy has to have a daily driver, the vehicle must be in a locked private garage, etc.

Some of the other companies that provide this type of insurance are Grundy and Hagerty. I'm not sure if they write policies for a truck that you are going to take off road and beat on (people generally don't do that sort of thing with collector cars), but it may be worth looking into to get the coverage you need at a reasonable price.

 

I had a grill bar with lights, CB, rebuilt engine, and a roll bar with lights on a 83 F150. A lady ran a stop sign and totaled it. Adjuster said he could not find one like it and made me an offer. I refused and he made another and then another. I finally accepted when he started to talk about fixing it. If you have a wreck and you think it is totaled then have it towed to your house. You will pay for an additional tow but you can recover what you want. Once the adjuster sees it you can only remove lose items. I managed to get the CB out of mine but that was it. I am sure that things have changed since my wreck in 1987.

 

Same here, SF customer for a long time now and they said it's covered and do what you want as long it's street legal ...plus replacing OEM stuff is expensive and I would just take the money and by aftermarket again.

I pay $350 twice a year

 

Depending on your state and carrier you might have to label the vehicle has customized and pay more.