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71_LES_402

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I know insurance has come up before, but ran across a company I hadn't heard of before.

Has anybody heard of or had any experience with Grundy classic insurance.

I need to insure my 1987 pickup I bought and all other insurance companies say it's to new for actual value.

Any info on this company would be appreciated.

Les

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Larry,

The advertisement on the speed channel is where I first heard about them. Advertising always looks good. Just wondering if anybody has or knows of someone who's had any experience with them.

I may have to try my truck with them first seeing as how no other company wants to insure it for what it's worth.

Thanks for the input.

Les

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Les,

State Farm will cover your truck. Call your local State Farm agent & ask where to get an appraisal that they will accept. The appraisal must be done every other year.

This coverage is not much different than their everyday coverage, except that they have agreed to accept the value givin' by the appraiser. The cost is about the same as regular State Farm Ins, My brother in law's brother has his 69 or 70 Boss 429 insured through State Farm for $25,000.

Several years back, when my 87 GMC was nice I had looked into this, but never got the appraisal. Good Luck

 

Bob

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i dont think so not with my experience with state farm , i would only use them for pl pd there is no way they will pay agreed value , Les thats a tough one even if the truck is mint i dont believe it would appraise at a high value unless it is highly modified ,if you do have an accident be ready for a big hassle

 

 

Leo

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Bob,

I already checked with State Farm. They said a vehicle has to be at least 20 years old to get actual value insurance.

Leo,

That's the question I'll have for the insurance company and they better put it in writing. I have a guy here that will appraise it for the price I need.

Thanks for the info,

Les

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Ok guys I have posted about this in the past here and other places on the net. I don't mean to come off negative but I am trying to HELP people understand how insurance policies work. I usually get some hate mail (never from anyone here) telling me I don't know what I am talking about, example---their agent says this, they were told that, they gave their insurance company an appraisal so they "know" that is what they will be paid etc, etc, etc. Sometimes people only hear what they want to hear and not the facts. So, first off, I was the auto division manager for a major insurance company for 11 years. I dealt with the "stated value policy" issue many times so I will try to explain how they work. First off, most of you that have gotten an appraisal and have been told you have a "stated value policy" DO NOT. Just because you got an appraisal does not mean that is what you will be paid in the event of a loss. There are very very few companies that write a stated value policy. One of those is Haggarty. There are several others. A stated value policy means you will be paid the "amount stated" in the policy. Most policies written are an "actual cash value" policy. That means you will be paid what ever the actual cash value is of the vehicle as determined by the insurance company. That amount my not be the same as your appraisal. Most of the time the appraisal is used by the insurance company to determine how much "risk" is involved and how much premium to charge. The appraisal is also used to determine the insurance companies "Limit of Liability". That means it is used to determine the "most" that would be paid out by them. It does not mean they wont pay out less. A lot of the appraisals written today are garbage. Most of the time the appraisal is written to match the amount of money "YOU" want on the bottom line and the insurance companies know it. Here is what you need to find if you think you have a stated value policy or a policy that will pay you the amount of your appraisal. Remember a policy is binding contract between you and your insurance company. All of the terms and conditions are spelled out in your contract(policy). So here is what you need to find. Some words in the policy that sound closely to the following---- In the event of a loss in which the vehicle is unrecovered, not repairable or determined to be a total loss, the insured person will be paid the sum of $00,000.00 (insert your appraisal amount). If you have that line then you have a stated value policy and you will be paid the WRITTEN AMOUNT STATED in the contract. If you cannot find that line, or don't have that line, then you do not have a stated value policy and you may or may not be paid the amount of your appraisal. I am not talking about the amount of your appraisal written in your application, or the appraisal amount as it shows up in your monthly billing statement, I am talking about the LINE IN THE CONTACT THAT SAYS HOW MUCH YOU WILL BE PAID BY THAT CONTRACT. Ask to see it and read it. I wrote a mega post years ago on this subject that explains the subject in more detail. I will see if I can find it. Monte ------------------------------------------------------------Ok here is that other post from years ago. -----------------------------------------------Be careful of the stated value policy or getting an appraisal for an amount. These do NOT always mean that is what you will be paid if you have a loss. Agents sell policies and tell you that you have full coverage for the amount of the appraisal or stated value. But agents dont settle claims. The claim department does. Most policies here in the US are really actual cash value policies. That means that the Actual Cash Value of the vehicle must be determined. Most of the time the stated value amount is used to detemine how much premium is charged to the policy holder. What does this mean? If you have a car and you get an appraisal, ( and i mean a real appraisal!!! Not a piece of paper that some person got 10 cars from the auto trader, averaged them, and put an amount down that you asked for on the bottom line. I mean a real appraisal. One by possibly an appraiser who is also a respected car show judge or who has a license in the field of restored vehicles or has also collected and sold thousands of classic cars over the last 20 years or is an expert in another way, sorry used car salesmen dont count, and along with it there is mega documentation showing the exact condition of your vehicle, that means every nick, scratch, dent, grease, etc in all areas compared to the other vehicles in the appraisal. Yes that means this person will have to do lots of work and will have to INSPECT your vehicle and some others in order to detemine what the value of your vehicle is!!!! whew!!!) So you get an appraisal for 15,000.00 on your car. Its stolen and now you have a claim with your insurance company and the "stated value" is 15,000.00. You get handed a check for 15,000.00 right? Not necessarily. The insurance company will also do an appraisal. They are going to pay you the amount of their appraisal not yours. Most appraisals that insurance companies see are a joke and have nothing to support the amount on the bottom line. That does not mean that all insurance appraisals are any better when it comes to classic cars either. So, your appraisal is for 15,000 and theirs is 7500.00. What happens? Most policies have a dispute provision. If you do not agree than the matter is settled by an umpire. The umpire will probably side with the most credible set of documentation or will sometimes split the amounts by percentage. Many states do not allow the use of a blue book, red book, nada etc to detmine value. Most states require the insurer to go market place to detmine what the vehicles value is. That means what cars are actually selling for and not the "asking" price. Also if your appraisal is more than 12 months old it may not reflect your cars value. Some cars increase in value, some stay the same, and others decrease in value. Lets say you got an appraisal on your car 3 years ago right after you just did a complete frame off restoration. Since then you have attended many car shows and put on 20,000 miles, got a mustard stain on the carpet from your hot dog on the last rod run, and you now have one door ding from that idiot in the parking lot with some chips on the hood from normal driving. YOUR CAR IS NOT WORTH WHAT IT WAS 3 YEARS AGO. Sorry. However lets say your type of car is now the latest rage with Hollywood stars and every one of them must have your type of vehicle and they are paying any price to get one. Than your vehicle may be worth lots and lots more!!! Most policies are not bad but are not sold with proper understanding of what will happen in the event of a claim. Most agents will not explain this because most frankly dont understand how the policy works in the event of a claim. If you have a stated value policy or a policy with an amount. Ask to see the line that says " If your vehicle is declaired a total loss you will be paid $00,000.00 " You probably wont find it. You also need to pay attention to several other areas of your policy. Ask to see and read the " Companies Limits of Liabiliity " also look for the " Exclusions " also look for "Definitoins". These are the areas of you policy or CONTRACT that spells what limits and exclusions apply to your CONTRACT with your insurance company in the event you have a loss. Good Luck. ------------------------------------------------------------------Read your policies!!!!! Monte

 

[This message has been edited by Monte (edited 05-07-2003).]

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