mkd944

I love my car and got to thinking, what would insurance pay if some hammerhead ran into my car and it was a total loss? Checking Edmunds and KBB showed retail values of $7.7K and $17K, respectively. So, I called my insurance company and asked what they would pay out in a total loss situation. They would not give me a value but only said they would pay Actual Cash Value (ACV) based on using multiple market research tools. I asked if KBB and Edmunds were part of that tool set and the representative did not know. But it worries me that they could be relying on sources like these which grossly undervalue our cars compared to the current market. So, with the value of 964s rising lately, has anyone considered switching to "agreed value" insurance coverage?

Thanks,
Mike

LPMM

With ACV, you'll only have your eyes to cry when you get that check in the mail and realize how pathetic it is. You want an agreed upon value on your 964, so that in the event of a total loss you get a check for that exact amount, no depreciation and no funny business. Some insurance offer that coverage while others don't, just talk to your agent to see if they offer that option and what the requirements are. At worse, they may ask you to get an appraisal if you set your value too high.

BHMav8r

I originally called Leland West (The agreed value guys) and they said they would not do agreed value. WTF its what you advertise! So I went with another carrier with an AV of $25,000. Ive been thinking lately I should up it to $35,000. Not sure how they would respond with rates/coverage.

jpar

I've had my car insured for two years now with Grundy for agreed value. The first year, it was insured for $25k. This year, I increased it to $35k because of how crazy the market is now. My renewal is in February and I'll probably bump it up another $5K. I'm not sure how it works in your state, but I think you're taking a big risk and would face a tough battle getting paid properly with conventional insurance.

YaHoo!

My 964 was recently totaled and it was the other driver's fault. My insurance company acted as my representative for the claim and I ended up battling them for three months to get close to the actual value. They went from an initial offer of $18k to $28k after I provided them many comps in the lower $40s and lots of other information on why their initial assessment was off.

I went another round after I received the offer for $28 and they would not budge. Insurance contracts have the "appraisal clause" which I then had to invoke. This means each party hires their own appraiser and then they come together after their assessments and agree on a value. Their appraiser said $31,500 mine said $41,500 and in the end they landed on $38k. I would not have been satisfied with that as today that figure would not purchase a 964 in the same condition as mine BUT I settled and kept the car for a fee and then I sold the car to a salvage yard which brought me up to the value of the car.

If one goes through the above steps and the appraisers' result is still not satisfactory then there remains the option to go one step further - arbitration where an agreed upon third party makes the value conclusion that both you and the insurance company have to accept.

The whole process was stressful, long and a nightmare but I'm happy with the conclusion. I was very pleased with my appraiser- Neil Thomas of West Coast Appraisals in SoCal (no affiliation).

I have since tried to obtain agreed upon value insurance from a number of vendors for my next 964 but because I drive the car ~10k a year no one will sign me up. I don't get it- charge me more if you need to if I am a higher risk because of mileage.

Vandit

I've been thinking agreed value, but those policies have so many limitations that I would be genuinely worried about a claim denial if the circumstances of my claim were not to the specialty insurance providers guidelines.

Almost seems like you're better off having to fight a regular insurance for a decent settlement than be denied any settlement from the specialty insurance.

YaHoo!: Do you think having a professional appraisal on the front-end, pre-accident, would have helped you?

Feudal Serf

i went with Haggerty at agreed value of 30K
limitations on driving use but insurance per year was half of what i had been paying
hopefully will never need it
cheers
FS

mike9186

I have Chubb for all my cars. Initially my car was stated as having a replacement value of just $13K. I called to get an agreed value and they had me get the car appraised (I used Rappa Appraisers in Westchester, NY and I would not recommend them). The appraisal came back at $25k which I thought was still too low. After speaking with the appraiser (he never actually came to see my car, rather he sent someone to my house to take a bunch of pictures) it was clear he had no idea what the current value of 964 coupes were and even tried to tell me that Cabs were more valuable than coupes!?!?! I then challenged the appraiser to find me a single C2 Coupe with roughly 100k miles anywhere on the Internet for $25k. He then told me to send him links to cars for sale online that were similar to mine so he could see the prices....wtf, I thought I was paying HIM to do the appraisal!! I did and I never heard back from him. Again do not use Rappa Appraisers, they have awful customer service.

After being thoroughly fed up I called the Insurance company we deal with for Chubb and said that if they cannot help me I will take my business elsewhere. AND PRESTO he asked me "what do you want the car appraised for?" I said $40k. within 24 hours I had an updated insurance package with $40k as the agreed upon value.

Pretty much a nightmare, but I aimed high because I do not want to have to go through this reappraisal for a while.

YaHoo!

Vandit-

I'm not sure if it would have helped or not. I think my insurance company would have demanded to follow their protocol regardless.

One caution about using an up front appraisal is its "freshness" - the value of my car just a year or so ago would have been closer to $25k. Also in the appraisal process comparable sales have to be recent (within just a few weeks or a month of the date on the appraisal) to be relevant- a pre-accident appraisal of your car that is only months old might be considered stale and therefore irrelevant.

993PET

I use Westfield Insurance, agreed value $38k for this year, no limitations. They understand I store the car during the winter.

JF

cobracarrera

I have my car insured with Leland (live in Georgia) with agreed value of $24,000. I will increase it when it come time for renewal. I was with Grundy but they have it where the policy needs to be paid in full where Leland has it in installments (only reason I switched). I have my 1990 C2 (av $24,000) and my 2004 Cobra (av $24,000) insured with them with agreed value.

Are you sure you had a knowledgeable CSR rep? Something doesn't sound right.

mkd944

Thanks for the information provided by all. This is just the kind of discussion I hoped to see. Keep it coming.

In my own research on the web today I have found the following:

1) The Chubb website states that I must have at least 1 car over 30 years old to qualify. Will have to wait another 10 years for them.

2) Grundy's website has the following text in their qualifications for a single car:
"Corvettes, Porsches, Ferraris and other Exotics 1974 or newer are not considered unless part of a “collection” of collector vehicles or are legitimate collectable show cars (not show off cars)."

3) Grundy does have what they call their Motor Vehicle Program (MVP) which allows you to to insure daily drivers as long as you insure at least 3 vehicles and one of them has to be a "collector car" (i.e. your 964). I am pretty satisfied with my current company for the other cars so probably won't consider this.

4) Progressive offers "agreed value" on their website and when you click for a quote, it redirects you to the Hagerty site.

5) Hagerty seemed to provide lots of flexibility in how you use your car with the following categories:
Show, Club or Parades
Pleasure Use (Examples include: Cruises, fun stuff like a trip to the ice cream shop, occasional errands, or occasionally driving to work)
Driven to Work More than 20 Times Per Year
Driven Daily
Business Use
Towing, Utility or Off-road
Other

If you check Other, you must enter your definition of Other. I tried a couple of different combinations and it appears that these things factor into your premium, as you would expect.

6) Leland West gave a quote that was 25-30% less than Hagerty but usage may be somewhat more limited. They make this statement when you start your quote: "Vehicles must be collectible or exotic in nature and subject to limited, pleasure-only use." However, they do give you the option to choose 3000, 6000, or unlimited for annual mileage. They also have an option that allows you to use your car for "occasional commuting" to work which they define as no more than twice a week which seems very reasonable to me.

7) GEICO had agreed value insurance which they call "Portfolio" coverage. The quoted price was comparable to the Leland West quote. The next step in the process was to verify eligibility but you had to actually apply for coverage to complete that step.

8) I found a company called American Modern and when I requested a quote, the tool was the same one used by GEICO and the premium was the same, so I believe GEICO probably lets American Modern underwrite their AV policies.

9) Farmer's advertises agreed value but the online quote tool was not working and for as far as it took me, it seemed as if it was going to provide me a quote for general ACV insurance but, as I said, I did not get far enough to verify.

Vehicle usage and age of vehicle seem to be the most limiting factors but it looks like there are options that will fit most people.

Thanks,
Mike

newsboy

I have agreed value for 30K with American Collectors. Thinking of raising it to 35K at my next renewal.
Costs around $650.00 per year.

RAASpeedster

I just increased my agreed value with Leland West to $180K for the 94 Speedster and $89K for the 94 C4 Widebody Coupe. I can drive each one 3000 miles a year which is perfect for me. I enjoy the piece of mind in case some doofus plows into me.

911Jetta

Lots of great information here. Thanks guys. Very helpful for when I have to make the call.