there's nothing you can do about this. if your car is modded and you want it insured you're going to have to pay through the nose - IF you find a company that will insure you.

 

Well the debate continues... I spoke to several insurance companies as if I was a new client. Each and every time I began the discussion the questions came back. For example...

Has the car been modified?
Has the car been lowered?
Does the car have any modifications to the intake?
Does the car have an aftermarket Exhaust system?
What are the modifications worth?

Ok so there's the questions. If I were to answer truthfully they respond "I am sorry sir we are unable to insure your vehicle." Basically they know the car has upgrades and do not want to insure it. However several brokers and Insurance people I have spoken to today have agreed that I am giving them too much information which is creating the problems. All of them are too scared to take on the unknown. I guess you could say "if the round peg doesn't fit in the square hole" they don't want it.

So, where does that leave me know? Well I have full coverage on my car and many of the insurance reps I have talked to gave me scenarios that all point to one thing. If you tell them about the mods you are doing they will assess you and ultimately opt out of insuring your car or if your lucky charge you major premiums. However if you modify the car after obtaining the insurance coverage they have to repair the damages to your car as if it were stock. They can and more than likely will not cover the replacement of your Nismo suspension or your Injen Cold air intake etc... Instead they would replace those items with stock items. What happens to your premiums after the claim depends on the insurance company... Again this statement is only my findings and it not meant to encourage you to lay low...

Basically, from what I understand and of course this is not fact but more of my opinion is that the insurance company would not deny repairs to your car or pay the liability portion of the claim, however they definitely will not cover your parts. That is more than likely why many of us decide to modify our cars with suspension, rims, intakes, exhaust with out telling our insurance companies. We know there is a risk but my only concern is what is the worst case scenario? Will they repair my car? Will they repair the other guys car? Will they fix the wall or fence that was damaged? Probably no answer for that now is there?

One last thought... If you put winter tires & rims on your car will they void your insurance? How about if you legally tint the windows on your car, will they void your insurance? Oh, how about a bug deflector or a K&N filter or running boards? Hey they are the ones saying that if you alter the vehicle beyond manufacturer specifications you will void your warranty? This is what angers me! Does anyone want to start our own insurance company?

BADG35

 

i wish that was possible... i seriously feel your pain. i had two cars stolen last november... and it took me over a month to settle the claims. what surprised me is that i even had to fight about one of the cars which had a waiver of depreciation. in the end i lost 500$ due to a deductable (which i knew would happen) and another 250$ which i didn't realize until i cashed the cheque. apparantly they negotiated on a "similar" vehicle my original dealer had on the lot. when i went to reorder the identical car for my wife... i was short 750$ instead of the 500$. the "similar" vehicle was missing an option for 250$ (the salesperson didn't inform me of the insurance negotiation... because it was conducted by another employee at the dealership ). another kicker.... i had 2 vehicles stolen.... but they only provided me 1 rental vehicle! a week later i received the second. yet, when i got the cheque's the rentals had to go back... when i asked an extension of an additional week they asked me if i was 'nuts'? i still tell people that i was violated twice during the whole ordeal... once by the crooks who stole my vehicles... and second by the damn insurance company!

 

Hey Giddy,

Were any of those cars modified? Also I thought Insurance companies pay up to 1000.00 for a rental car and basing it on a low end car that should account for 25-30 days of a rental...? Also 30 days is normal for a payout. My buddies Ford pick burnt to the ground about a month ago and still no payout.

Honestly, if the insurance company paid me out for the car minus the deductable and mods I would be ok with that. Even if I lost $500.00. The point of my posts is the fact they wouldn't pay anything because of the mods because the insure was void... Do you know what I mean?

BADG35

 

Everyone on the road is a risk, period. Even a perfect defensive driver is at risk of being hit. There is no guarantee that a person that hits you will pay your damages or has insurance or that they will not flee the scene. By risk, I am referring to fact that for the premium you pay, the insurance company is agreeing to take on the financial risk(up to the policy limits) that should a covered loss occur, they pay you a certain amount.

As far as blanketing, like anything else, it is based on statistics. There is no reasonable way to judge every driver on a case by case basis. It is impossible to guage each individual, but when you use a large sample of drivers, the statistics will be very accurate. The bigger the control group, the more accurate this becomes. If you want someone to blame, blame the people who make the profile of those who mod cars worse.

 

Wawanesa insures vehicles in Canada. They are very reliable and pay out claims with no hassles. See my other post in this thread. They are on the web.

 

There is nothing wrong with not disclosing information that they did not ask you about. If they do not ask though, check the policy language. Most brokers will have a copy of the policy at their office. Read through it before you purchase. Not all policies are the same(except a few states that use solely standardized policies).

If you lie on your application, you run the risk of a policy recision as I stated before. This is a bad idea. I'd be truthful on the application. The worst they can say at this point is no.

As far as modding a car after you get the policy, again, it depends on the policy language. Some do not specifically exclude or limit any aftermarket parts, in which case it would likely cover the damages. But do keep in mind they may choose not to renew your policy if the risk has changed beyond what they would generally insure. The policy is your contract with the insurance company. An adjuster's job is to interpret the policy to your claim and try to find coverage. Ambiguities should be decided in the insured's favor.

Wheels and tires generally aren't a big risk to take on. Those that swap for winter use in particular would likely be a low risk relative to other trypes of mods. Polices that put dollar limits on aftermarket parts are usually written that way to handle these types of situations. There are people who mod cars other than for show or performance. Tow hitches, ski racks, bedliners, etc are some examples of functional mods that can fall into this category. These add little risk. A person who wants more performance out of a car is likely to be a more aggressive driver.

 

Wow, I've seen department of insurance regulations that allow for an insurance company to actually find a car for you, but never saw it actually done. Most companies simply pay the Market Value with adjustments for condition if needed, and taxes and fees if required by law. I would say you might be able to go back to the insurance company and get the additional $250. I can't speak for the exact laws and agreements as I am only going off what you are saying.

As far as rentals, it is typical that an insurance company ends the rental when they pay the primary portion of a total loss claim. Most policies state in effect that rental is reimbursed up to the limits or when the repairs are completed or the vehicle is replaced. Technically, the vehicle is replaced upon payment of the total loss. They should provide a few days for the check to get to you though. This is a sorespot for many, but imagine what people would do if they had no pressure to get back into another car. They would simply stay in their rental until it maxes out costing us higher premiums for rental cars. It would also give little incentive to get a total loss claim resolved as quickly as possible. I do recommend that if your vehicle is determiend to be a total loss or even being considered as a possibility, that you start looking for your next car right away, rather than when you receive payment. If you are buying from a dealer, many will work with you and hold a postdated check to give you time to receive the payment.

 

Most policies will provide rentals if you have comprehensive coverage in the event of a Total Theft of your vehicle. It will likely be equivalent to the lowest limits for rental they sell, but you'll have to read your policy to be sure. Of course if you purchase rental coverage separately and the limit is higher than the default limit, the higher limit should apply. Most rental limits are not limited by a number of days, but dollar amounts. It may look like $20 Per day, $600 max, or 30/900, 50/1200. There are some that are even lower(15/450) which aren't designed to pay the rental entirely, but rather assist with it. Sub-standard policies are more likely to have this as it tends to encourage people not to get into a rental for longer than is needed and keep overall costs down. Mitigating these costs to an insurance company helps keep the premiums down(which is very helpful to higher risk drivers). Many may work out to being 30 days if you use the maximum daily limit, but with higher rental limits, it can actually extand the number of days. As an example, 50/1200 allows for 24 days if you get a rental at 50 per day. If you were to rent a vehicle at 25 per day, then you would have up to 48 days available. This is particularly good to know in the case where you might have repairs that will take long.


I think 30 days is excessive for a payout under normal circumstances. Total Thefts may wait that long just to see if the vehicle turns up. Each company differs here, but for a vehicle that is just damaged, it should not take that long at all to get the initial payment(less salvage) out on a total loss. I would say the it's likely that the adjuster handling the case is swamped or it has fallen through the cracks. I'd get on that one either way.

 

some answered points from above ^^^

no mods on my stolen vehicles.

i received up to 1500$ on my rentals (each)... enough to last roughly 35 days with enterprise. u need to have "loss of use" (i think that's what it was called) in your insurance package to get the rental vehicles. yes... once the claim has been settled the insurance company no longer pays for your rentals (check the fine print.. blah blah).
it was policy for the insurance company to wait 30 days in case the vehicles were recovered (...so they say.. i'm assuming depends on the situation).

-badg35... hope everything works out in the end.

 

QUESTION.....

Would you guys be interested in a type of policy just for us "aftermarketers" and our cars??? Im in the Insurance Industry and have been working on this idea for a little while now...Obviously your payments will increase slightly (based upon your upgrades) but you WILL BE COVERED!

Any feedback is greatly appreciated...

 

that is rediculous, i have never heard of anyting like that

 

i have a freind that got his car stolen, he was reimbursed for all his aftermarket parts (of course, a receipt for those items had to be shown) and he got pretty much all the money back, minus i think a set of aftermarket headlights, and an aluminum wing which he had purchased from a private seller, and had no receipt to show for them. He was very happy in the end, for he though he would not be covered. i have no idea what insurance company he had.

 

Look dude, trust me on this I work for State Farm with my father. Once you have taking out a policy, which you already have, you can put anything on your car you want, body kit, system, rims, whatever. As long as everything is "permately" attached to your car, it is covered. They cannot cancel you, increase your premium, or anything like that during the policy period and most likely never will. There is nothing you need to tell them about your car. Who is your insurance company? Perhaps you should take out a new policy with a big name company before you decide to do anything major to your car. The little mom n pop insurance agencies, im sure, are the ones who keep telling you NO. Maybe stuffs a lot different in Canada, honestly I dont know. just make sure whatever you do to your car YOU HAVE A RECEIPT.

 

I crashed my modified WRX that was insured with USAA. They covered everything, minus depreciation on some items (i.e. I got 90% of the value for the rim I totalled). My rates went up. Then I turned 25 and they went down to what they were before I crashed.