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Just received pics of my purchase being loaded on a truck in Louisville to be delivered to me next week, so I figured it was time to "face the music" and call my friendly Amica agent to add the car
Surprisingly, even though they list a value of $81K for mileage and condition, the premium was shockingly low - $500/yr more than a 2000 BMW it is replacing and about $100/year lower than the new GTI I bought my wife last year.
It's not the cost of coverage in itself, but the cost relative to the other vehicles I insure that surprised me given the difference in values of the cars. My only hypothesis is that the insurance company must factor some sort of "care" variable that they perceive P car owners have for their vehicles equating to a lower risk(?)
AMICA is a great insurance company, for sure. Our family has been insured by those guys since the 30's, not by accident (so to speak). Had a total loss in one of the California fires in '93, they had a check to me for the full cost of the car (it was 3 months old) on the NEXT day. Pretty awesome.
Frequency and cost of repair. Cost: A bumper is a bumper... same cost to paint and replace as a Toyota. For frequency: it is a weekend car for most, therefore low miles... low miles equal fewer accidents.
Your Porsche is just a car and a cheap one to insure.
My Ferrari is dirt cheap to insure with a normal policy, but if there was a total loss, I would be screwed. You need an agreed value policy. If there is a total loss, they will pay the agreed value at the time of the time of when the policy was taken out.
Guess what.....An agreed policy is about the same price as a normal policy, thats why I insure my cars on agreed policy's. For reference, the F car is $1200 a year with $3000 miles with Haggarty.
I pay $700 annual for full coverage, unlimited miles and an agreed upon value of $45,000 for an 05 997S. My 2016 Shelby GT350 comes in at about the same rate also. (Grundy's)
A lot of it has to do with geography so it's not easy to do an apples/apples comparison. I live in LA, so I'm sure that doesn't help any. The agreed value that AMICA (agree, awesome company) displayed was $81K (not quibbling since I paid $65K). IF a car is totaled, AMICA grosses up the value to account for the sales tax on a replacement vehicle.
Since I live in the city, max mileage I drive it in a year is 3,000. Annual policy quoted at $1,300
It's not the cost of coverage in itself, but the cost relative to the other vehicles I insure that surprised me given the difference in values of the cars. My only hypothesis is that the insurance company must factor some sort of "care" variable that they perceive P car owners have for their vehicles equating to a lower risk(?)
Originally Posted by Bruce In Philly
Frequency and cost of repair. Cost: A bumper is a bumper... same cost to paint and replace as a Toyota. For frequency: it is a weekend car for most, therefore low miles... low miles equal fewer accidents.
Your Porsche is just a car and a cheap one to insure.
Nice car enjoy it.
Peace
Bruce in Philly
For reference, adding the 997 to my policy only increased my 6 month premium by about $250, or $500 a year. Before getting serious I checked the cost to insure other cars like an S2000, 335 coupe, M3, WRX, and ISF and they were all higher than the 911.
I assume insurance companies know what they are doing and a big reason for the lower cost relative to other vehicles is due to low claims. This could be due to 911s being driven less miles on average or due to more responsible owners (in general) than say an owner of cheaper fast car.
But now you have me thinking, if my 997 were to be totaled, what would my insurance (or the offenders insurance) pay me? Would a typical geico/progressive/state farm go off retail value, wholesale, or some weird insurance valuation I've never heard of?
But now you have me thinking, if my 997 were to be totaled, what would my insurance (or the offenders insurance) pay me? Would a typical geico/progressive/state farm go off retail value, wholesale, or some weird insurance valuation I've never heard of?
Frequency of claims and cost of claims.... that is it. This formula varies by car, geography, etc. etc. etc. and are all built into your rate. If you don't like your rate, shop around. In my experience, payout "happiness" is based on the insurer not the car.
This Porsche is not a Faberge egg. It is a car like all others. Now if you drive only a few miles a year, then you are in a different world and can get Grundy or other specialty insurance.... for that I have no experience. But otherwise, it is just another car in the insurance companies actuarial tables. (After the actuaries determine the "rate", the marketers get it and determine to up or discount the rate based on what they are trying to do in your geography such as grow the business or stop growth if they are over insured in the area.... big risk from one hail storm. That is why shopping around can unexpectedly turn up a really cheap rate).
Peace
Bruce in Philly
Last edited by Bruce In Philly; 06-17-2016 at 02:18 PM.
But now you have me thinking, if my 997 were to be totaled, what would my insurance (or the offenders insurance) pay me? Would a typical geico/progressive/state farm go off retail value, wholesale, or some weird insurance valuation I've never heard of?
As little as it could get away with.
If -- and this is God forbid -- your 997 got hit it might not get totaled even if the damage was substantial. If you had to turn this in to your insurance company it might elect to have the car repaired as the cost would be less than the cost to total the car.
The insurance company can save some money by having the car repaired by a shop with which it has a business agreement. In the case of my Turbo when I took it to a shop to be repaired here in Livermore -- this after the mule deer collision -- the body shop owner a buddy of mine got really upset with how the insurance company was tying his hands regarding the repair of my vehicle. Hardly a wrench had been applied and the company was refusing to ok any Celette Bench time, new parts, etc.
The insurance company had some leverage as a result of the business agreement as the work the insurance company directed to him accounted for around 40% of his business.
The owner told me this and I asked him what I should do, what could I do, and he adviced me to "get mad" at him and pull the car out of his shop and take it to another shop that didn't have some business agreement with my insurance company. He even recommeded a shop. I did as he suggested and the car was properly repaired.
In the case of my Cayman S the other driver's insurance company assumed responsibility but pressured me to turn this into my insurance company.
I was afraid to for I was afraid my insurance company would have the car repaired vs. declare it a total loss. I had more leverage with the other driver's insurance company. But a complication was the other driver was under-insured. She (her mom) only had $50K coverage and her daughter made the mistake of hitting a $60K+ new Cayman S.
My body shop buddy was a previous insurance company employee and knew something about the this business and told me it was illegal for the other insurance company to tell me to turn the claim into my insurance company after it had assumed responsibility. I tried to get the insurance company to put its request in writing but it never did.
Finally the other insurance company -- after having an "exotic car" adjuster check out the car -- declared the car a total loss. (My buddy checked out the car and in 5 minutes had a very good approximation of the extent of the Cayman's damage and told me it was a total loss because of the extent of the damage, the severity.)
But I'm sure part of the reason it took so long was the other insurance company was hoping I'd get fed up and turn the claim into my insurance company. I had another car and even if I didn't I could have bought one quick enough to have while I waited for the insurance company.
Then the insurance company pressured me to accept a used car in all cases a year or two older and of course with some miles on them. This when my destroyed Cayman was bought brand new just 4 weeks prior to the accident.
I refused and pointed out my car was new and I wanted to be made whole.
Finally I got the report and the insurance company had every feature of the car listed like paint, carpet condition, tires, glass, everything and everything was marked/graded as excellent or above. Being new and just 4 weeks old this was to be expected.
The settlement made me whole. It was complicated, but I got a check for the loss of the use of my vehicle: $1500 ($50/day for 30 days); a check to cover some minor medical bills -- I inhaled air bag dust which affected my sinuses/throat some time after -- which I passed on to my medical insurance company, and for the car minus the car's salvage value. I retained ownership of car. The salvage value had been pegged to $17.3K (or something like that I forget the exact hundreds now). I called OK Foreign and after it received the pics it offered me the same exact amount.
But I took the car to a large auction facilty and arrange to have the car auctioned off in the facility's weekly salvage vehicle auction where the car was sold for several thouands dollars over its salvage value.
My point in the above is that it deppends upon the subjective opinion of the company facing paying out the money what condition your car is in and thus how much it is worth.
In the event you are faced with this situation you will have to be prepared to provide some proof of the car's condition. Its excellent care and servicing with receipts to back this up. Its low miles. Aftermarket mods are not that helpful but if you ordered the car with paint to sample, special seats, aero kit, etc., something extra added at the factory, this all tips the scales more in your favor.
Agreed value policies are great for total loss but how do these companies (Haggerty, Grundy, others) behave with less than total loss repairs? And... do they drop the customer after that?
06-16-2016, 06:35 PM
Cost of insurance - pleasant surprise
