Re: [Chrysler300] Baited Breath, Barrett-Jackson, & Collector Car Insurance

["Roger Schaaf" <obiwan10@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Two issues always come to mind when I think of insurance on my old cars.

1.  My wife who runs a jewelery store where very high end merchandise is 
sold(Rolex, multi-carat diamonds etc) often sees this problem.  A customer 
will acquire a Rolex--say for 15,000 dollars.  The customer will contact 
their house/home insurance company and add this watch to the policy based 
upon a value of 15,000.  The insurance company will set a preminun based 
upon this stated value, at somewhere between 2 and 3 percent annually of 
this stated value.  At 15,000 dollars, at 2 percent this indicates a 
preminum of 300 dollars annually.

Then the watch gets lost or stolen and the insured files a claim for 15,000 
dollars.  The insurance company will then tell the insured that as they can 
buy them a new watch for say 9,000 dollars(the insurance companies often can 
get substanial price breaks because of their connections or buying power), 
that they will either give the insured a new watch or a check for 9000 
dollars.

The insured will say, wait a minute, I have been paying a premium based upon 
15,000 dollars you owe me 15,000 as this is what I have paying to you 
annually premiums.  The insurance company will say sorry and the war is 
often on.

The proper tactic is to ensure your valuables for no more than what your 
insurance company if obligated to pay.  They of course will not volunteer 
this information, it up to you as the consumer to figure this out for 
yourself.  And of course insurance companies earn millions/billions? in 
additional revenue each year because of this consumer fraud.  Same applies 
when you buy and insure a new car and in and accident/incident it is a total 
loss.  Do not believe for one second that they will automatically pay you 
the amount that you will need to buy another car of equal quality.  But 
guess what your premiums are based on.

So bottomline is, will stated value protect you?  Make sure you know where 
you stand with your insurance company, before you make a claim, and in fact 
before you pay a premium.

2.  Second question that comes to mind.  Most collector car policies have 
all types of exclusions of where you can drive, the usage of the car, and 
the annual mileage limitations.  What will be covered if you are outside of 
these parameters if an incident occurs while you are outside of these 
parameters.   Perhaps you drove your auto to a shopping center and it was 
stolen, perhaps you are commuting to work and you are involved in an 
accident.  Worth asking you insurance company and getting a response(in 
writing).  We all know that these rules are meant to be broken, and we all 
have broken one or another of them at one time or another.

In my particular case, I had been with American Collectors for 20 years and 
never had a claim.  One day I was reviewing my policy, saw all these 
exclusions, called them for their opinion and gave a hypothetical.  I said 
ok I drive to Concour, on the way home I stop at the grocery store, the car 
is stolen.  Am I covered.  I was told no by the Customer Service Rep.

I have since switched to Hagerity as my conversation with them gave me more 
re-assurance that they are car people and have a better sense on how these 
cars are actually used.  And of course they attend many major events and 
more likely have a reputation to uphold as our community can at times be 
quite small.  However, I do not have in writing any of this.  Also like the 
fact that they are willing to insure our 20 year old Mercedes 560 SEC and 
treat it as a classic(which because I like it so much, that I too agree it 
is).  Full insurance is 600 dollars annually less expensive then insurance 
was with my primary auto insurance company which is GEICO.

Would be of interest to many of us, if some members did contact their 
insurance companies to find their guidelines on this particular question.

Incidently, my B too is insured only for 30,000 dollars and 71 Corvette for 
25,000.  I am willing to accept the risk that they do not burn or are 
stolen.

Roger Schaaf
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <moparpjf@xxxxxxx>
To: <john_nowosacki@xxxxxxxxxxx>; <c300@xxxxxxx>; <robkern@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; 
<Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, January 27, 2006 8:08 AM
Subject: Re: [Chrysler300] Baited Breath, Barrett-Jackson, & Collector Car 
Insurance


>
> In a message dated 01/27/2006 9:06:33 AM Eastern Standard Time,
> john_nowosacki@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
>
> The  second issue is one of 'replacement value', to insure against the 
> 'total
> loss'  scenario of a fire occurring in my garage, or the outright
> disappearance  (theft) of the car.  You can't fix it if it's not even 
> there.
> How do  you replace something that they just don't make anymore?
> This is a tougher  issue, and I'd like to hear people's comments and
> suggestions regarding this  point.  Is that a different kind of insurance?
> If my car is stolen, is  any insurance company going to give me a blank 
> check
> and a plane ticket to  Barrett Jackson to buy a replacement?  I doubt  it.
>
>
>
> If your insurance company has taken a premium based  upon $50,000, 
> $100,000
> or $300,000, and you suffer a total loss (theft, tornado,  etc.) they 
> should
> (will) pay you the stated amount, period.  They won't  give you a blank 
> check,
> unless they limit it by the agreed amouont on the total  loss.  A policy 
> with
> an agreed value is just that, and that is what they  will pay if you 
> suffer a
> total loss.  The premium is set, in part, by the  value stated, so they 
> assume
> the risk according to the premium.
>
> Pete Fitch
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
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