Auto insurance with aftermarket modifications.

[Thatguy]

A lot of people have performance and appearance modifications on their cars. Have you ever asked your insurance company what would happen if the car was totaled?

Years ago I had a car that burned with over $10K in mods. I had to produce receives to show what was on the car. The insurance company pro-rated the parts. Some were fairly new while others were a year or two old. I don't remember the exact amount but I believe I got at least 60-70% of what I paid. On the other hand, I've heard of people who didn't get anything for the parts they had on their cars. One person I know was told "That stuff doesn't add any value to the car".

Sponsored

 

[Nomadic]

Well your probably paying more for your premium if you say Yes to the "Is your car modified" question. But that's cool you got $ back for mods nonetheless.

 

[Thatguy]

I don’t think I’ve ever been asked that question. For the incident I mentioned, it was just a regular policy.

 

[Anthony 05 GT]

I grew up with my insurance guy. I asked him about this a few years ago on my highly modded '05 GT. I probably have more than 30k in mods easy. He said we could get together, take photos of the car and receipts then he would submit it to the company. I never did it because I know it would have raised my rates. I mean, when they see the car makes around 700 bhp that alone puts it in the super car or the ''he's going to drive like a maniac'' danger zone.

 

[Cobra Jet]

The ONLY way any vehicle owner would be able to recoup costs for modifications is IF their Insurance Policy is written for AGREED VALUE. This means that in PRINT, within the Policy pages, there is an actual monetary value for said vehicle. If there is an Agreed Value and the car is a total loss claim from X-event, the payout is the Agreed Value - nothing more and nothing less.

Yes, if the Policy is written as such the annual premium will cost more than a standard policy. It may also have other fine print and stipulations in it too. Always hold on to receipts for expensive modifications and/or including labor for installation of said parts IF installed by a shop.

If the Policy cannot be written as an Agreed Value Policy, then some Insurance Companies offer separate riders to be included that would cover listed modifications. Again, you have to retain receipts and will have to pay for the additional rider.

If you have just a standard Policy - I always say to folks - it’s not what is covered that you need to be concerned about, it is what is NOT covered. Always read and understand all of that fine print within the policy. Never ever take your Insurance Rep’s verbal word or a “handshake” that if there is a total loss claim that you will get full value for the vehicle and anything attached to it... if you don’t see an actual monetary value printed in your policy for whichever vehicle that is insured, it’s not an Agreed Value Policy - and in the event of a total loss claim, you would receive ACV value (commonly referred to as actual crash/cash value) based on Red and Black book values - NOT “blue book”.

——
For instance, my 94 Cobra is on it’s own Collector Car Insurance and has been for the last 11 years. It is an Agreed Value Policy with the actual value stated and printed within the declaration and other pages in the Policy. The Agreed Value also appreciates each quarter by 2%. So every year, the Agreed Value automatically increases 8%. If anything were to happen to the vehicle where it’s a total loss claim, the Ins. Co. payout would be the Agreed Value as noted in the Policy at the time of the total loss claim. The Policy also covers X-$$$ for any stored parts for that vehicle.
——

There are Auto Insurance Companies that offer similar coverages for daily use vehicles, but the annual premium is much higher than any Collector Car Insurance - because the risk is much greater due to the car being used daily.

2 more bits of advice:
1) Stated Value is NOT Agreed Value either... so don’t be fooled.
2) If you’re carrying a note (financed), get the GAP coverage.

Sponsored