Insurance Fixed Value

[marklotus]

Originally Posted by jhv48

I guess I'm sort of confused about why some of you insist on getting a stated/declared value on your cobras by the insurance company.

As far as I, and my insurance company, are concerned, my car is worth whatever the market says it's worth at the time of the incident. Do I expect to be able to replace my 4 year old SPF with a brand new SPF if mine is stolen? Of course not. I expect to be able to buy a similarly constructed, four year old, used SPF. And my insurance company agrees with me.

If you buy and insure a $100K Mercedes and it is stolen four years later, you're not going to get enough money to buy a brand new Mercedes. You'll get whatever your car was worth at the time of the incident. Seems fair to me!

What you want is an "Agreed Value" policy, You establish the value upfront and pay premiums based on that value. If you have a claim, there is no disputing the value since it was agreed to in advance. This a common method of insuring collector vehicles.

[scottj]

Originally Posted by marklotus

What you want is an "Agreed Value" policy, You establish the value upfront and pay premiums based on that value. If you have a claim, there is no disputing the value since it was agreed to in advance. This a common method of insuring collector vehicles.

You have to look at how they define "agreed value". Midwest Classic wouldn't "agree" to over market value no matter what I was willing to pay.

[marklotus]

Originally Posted by scottj

You have to look at how they define "agreed value". Midwest Classic wouldn't "agree" to over market value no matter what I was willing to pay.

I submit to my insurance company (Hagerty) every year my estimated value. It has to be reasonable for the car otherwise they won't agree to it. My premium is based on the agreed value. If I have a claim, there is no argument about the value. It has already been agreed.

Stated or Declared value is a one-way conversation. You tell them, state, declare what you think the car is worth. It is noted in the record. If you have a claim, the value is then up for review, discussion, estimation, negotiation, etc. The discussion takes place after the claim is made. The insurance company can then say that your car is not worth the stated value and you have a disagreement.

[scottj]

Originally Posted by marklotus

I submit to my insurance company (Hagerty) every year my estimated value. It has to be reasonable for the car otherwise they won't agree to it. My premium is based on the agreed value. If I have a claim, there is no argument about the value. It has already been agreed.

Stated or Declared value is a one-way conversation. You tell them, state, declare what you think the car is worth. It is noted in the record. If you have a claim, the value is then up for review, discussion, estimation, negotiation, etc. The discussion takes place after the claim is made. The insurance company can then say that your car is not worth the stated value and you have a disagreement.

When I was with Hagerty that's how it worked for my policy as well, in fact, that's how it works with my Midwest Classics policy now. The only problem is, $53K is all Midwest considers reasonable (unless it's a Kirkham or CSX replica) and Hagerty no longer writes Cobra replica policies. Hagerty doesn't consider them collectable or classic since you can walk into a dealership and buy a new one.

[1795]

Hagerty will write a policy on a replica. I went with Midwest because I was able to negotiate more mileage out of them and reduce some of the other restrictions, of course at a cost. However, both of them were willing to write a policy on my SPF. My two cents on the agreed upon value, I think that you have to negotiate that, Midwest agreed to a value from me without asking to see the sale receipt, there really is no "book" value on these cars and so trying to establish a replacement value based upon the market value can be difficult and that leaves a lot of room for disagreement.

Jim