Insurance advice needed

[K4fxd]

"She was suddenly struck from behind by a commercial van"

Key word there is commercial. There was a company umbrella policy to go after. The drunk who hit us didn't even own a house.

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[GTP]

…. The Black Book value is what those industries go by when assessing the value of a vehicle. They use that for ACV (actual cash value) evaluations, period.

Mods don’t add value at all - not in a wreck evaluation nor trading a perfectly good car into a Dealership; they don’t care, they only go by the VIN and As Built options and Black Book value is based off the VIN and factory equipment. You’re going to take a loss on the mods, unless you strip them off and sell privately on here or other venues.

Get an AGREED VALUE policy the next time around if adding substantial amount of mods or $$$ to a cookie cut off the production line vehicle. An Agreed Value policy means you and the Ins. Co. agree that the vehicle is worth $X which is the base cost of the vehicle AND any mods

I'm telling you all this - we see it time and time again here (and on many other similar enthusiast sites) where a good car with a decent amount of $$$ mods tied up in it gets totaled and the owner has to fight and prove vehicle worth just for the base “VIN” value and then any mods they had tied up in it…. and many times the owner does not come out on top… GET an AGREED VALUE policy for those that have such a vehicle and do not have such a policy now.

Highlighting Phil's bullet points above...

My insurance company paid for small, single-car, oops-I-backed-into-my-roommates-van-in-the-dark kind of accident in such a way that made me whole. I.e. new bumper cover, paint, dual stripes, and clear film. Let's not forget that the second person you talk to is the adjuster and hopefully that person will include such items.

Now let's say you have a $10k FI option to your engine. That is not likely to be hurt in a fender-bender, but it does get towed away when the car is totaled. Of course the insurance company will not allow that, unless you chose the pre-emptive option of Agreed Value.

So I discussed this scenario with my insurer. And he said that to guarantee coverage of mods (whether exterior-appearance or mechanical-performance) I would have to pay extra. Simply put, you add up the total value of extra coverage for mods-only and get a new quote. You can value the mods at 50%, include some, exclude others, whatever - he only cares about the total amount extra coverage you want for these non-OEM parts.

Here is the point I am leading up to.
First, you might get lucky with an adjuster that makes you whole for the "little things" (mods). There is no guarantee. For example, will they pay to have your damaged area recoated with ceramic?
Second, the quote you get will not be linear. IOW, it will be more per $coverage than it was for the Black Book ACV value. So you have to weigh the risk-cost situation.

Finally, in my case, I decided to not go for Agreed Value, because I thought the cost was high on top of the recent trend of rising premiums. I am hoping that either I am made whole in a fender-bender accident (including stripes, PPF, and ceramic), or that I can have access to my car to remove most mods (HPDE suspension, brakes, coolers, etc., but no single expensive item) if my car is totaled.

 

[K4fxd]

On my bike that has many mods, my insurance co says if I'm at fault in an accident the mods are covered only if disclosed at the time I buy the policy or add the mods to it. It being the policy. So if I add a mod I call and they charge me more to cover it.

If I'm not at fault the other insurance company needs to make me whole. That includes covering any damaged mods. Even if they are not listed on my policy.

Each State has it's own rules governing insurance so it is best to call your agent.

 

[Sparky1337]

In my experience it’s different per state, per agency, per adjuster. You might get lucky, you might not. Just remember they do this all day, you don’t.

I filed as claimant. When my GTI was totaled they gave me actual cash value (ACV) which was something like $15,000 for a 2018 GTI SE with 150,000 miles on it at the time. Nowhere in the US could I buy a car as clean as mine for that money. They refused to put out for any modifications. This went on for a month or so, and had already yanked my rental. I was out a daily for a while. I had to move on.

Essentially, they owe you ACV and nothing else. That’s the definition of “whole”. It sucks, but it’s realistic. People may have different experiences getting paid, and they either had better policies regarding “agreed value” or went through their own insurance that was most likely better than the person that hit them. I know my policy is great, but I’m not taking a hit for someone else’s mistake.

Either way, hopefully I’m more wrong than right and you get setup properly.

 

[David Schmidt]

I remember thinking as a kid that getting hit in a car was a payday. Having gone through a few of these now, turns out that's not the case at all. Even when you're not in any way at fault, you lose. You lose time, there's no way you get the same thing for what money you get, you're just less-than you had before. There is no upside. Take the best they'll give you, get into something new, and move onward and upward. Edit: glad you're OK. That's the main thing. It's not always that way.

 

[GTP]

I remember thinking as a kid that getting hit in a car was a payday. Having gone through a few of these now, turns out that's not the case at all. Even when you're not in any way at fault, you lose. You lose time, there's no way you get the same thing for what money you get, you're just less-than you had before. There is no upside. Take the best they'll give you, get into something new, and move onward and upward. Edit: glad you're OK. That's the main thing. It's not always that way.

So true. There is such a thing as a Bad Day. And no such thing as really made whole.

 

[JetGray_Mach1]

I would 100% get a lawyer. I hope you have uninsured motorist to cover extra cost if their policy reaches a limit. Good luck.

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