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Sunday, September 7, 2008
The Best Insurance For Your Corvette
Do you have a classic Corvette that your drive very seldom? Are you sure that if your vehicle was totaled or stolen that you would get the full vale of the vehicle? Let's consider the different types of insurance available for your sports car: standard insurance policies and collector's policies.
With a standard insurance policy, you are paid the Actual Cash Value or Retail Value of your vehicle upon total loss or theft. If your car is damaged in an accident, they will pay for you to have it fixed up to the Actual Cash Value amount. If the amount of damage exceeds the Actual Cash Value, they will simply write you a check for the Retail Value and consider your claim settled. The problem with this on collector's cars is that they have such a wide range of values, and you will almost certainly not get the full value you would need to replace your vehicle.
Enter your second option, a collector's policy. These policies are sold by specialty brokers and offer a clause called "Agreed Value". This value is stated in your policy, and is agreed to by the insurance company and you. If your policy states the agreed value is $25,000, then upon theft or total loss you are compensated with a $25,000 check from your insurance company. These collector's policies have certain stipulations, such as the vehicle must be garage kept, driving infrequently (typically less than 5,000 miles per year), driven very infrequently by youthful drivers, and you must have a very good driving record.
Another benefit of the collector's policy is you can choose the repair shop that will fix your damaged car and ensure you receive original parts. Original parts are not as important on a newer car, but for a collector's car they add so much value. Most standard insurance policies do not understand this, and simply use generic parts to repair the vehicle and do so in "their" repair shops.
These specialty brokers sometimes offer a third variation, though. You must be weary of the "Stated Amount" collector's policies. Under these policies, you state the amount of coverage needed for your vehicle. What the insurance company actually covers is the lowest of these three figures: "stated amount", cost to repair (without exceeding "stated amount", or "actual cash value". The last one is where you can lose a large amount of money. The "actual cash value", as stated earlier, is usually what a typical vehicle would cost to replace, and this number is usually much lower than your "stated value".
Total losses and thefts do occur, and you need to ensure you are adequately covered. If you have a newer Corvette, you should be fine utilizing a standard coverage policy, but if you drive a classic, make sure you cover yourself properly. Look into a collector's policy.
Remember, if you own a collectible Corvette, insist on your insurance coverage being for the "Agreed Value", otherwise you may be out a large sum of money, in addition to your vehicle, if you suffer a theft or total loss.
With a standard insurance policy, you are paid the Actual Cash Value or Retail Value of your vehicle upon total loss or theft. If your car is damaged in an accident, they will pay for you to have it fixed up to the Actual Cash Value amount. If the amount of damage exceeds the Actual Cash Value, they will simply write you a check for the Retail Value and consider your claim settled. The problem with this on collector's cars is that they have such a wide range of values, and you will almost certainly not get the full value you would need to replace your vehicle.
Enter your second option, a collector's policy. These policies are sold by specialty brokers and offer a clause called "Agreed Value". This value is stated in your policy, and is agreed to by the insurance company and you. If your policy states the agreed value is $25,000, then upon theft or total loss you are compensated with a $25,000 check from your insurance company. These collector's policies have certain stipulations, such as the vehicle must be garage kept, driving infrequently (typically less than 5,000 miles per year), driven very infrequently by youthful drivers, and you must have a very good driving record.
Another benefit of the collector's policy is you can choose the repair shop that will fix your damaged car and ensure you receive original parts. Original parts are not as important on a newer car, but for a collector's car they add so much value. Most standard insurance policies do not understand this, and simply use generic parts to repair the vehicle and do so in "their" repair shops.
These specialty brokers sometimes offer a third variation, though. You must be weary of the "Stated Amount" collector's policies. Under these policies, you state the amount of coverage needed for your vehicle. What the insurance company actually covers is the lowest of these three figures: "stated amount", cost to repair (without exceeding "stated amount", or "actual cash value". The last one is where you can lose a large amount of money. The "actual cash value", as stated earlier, is usually what a typical vehicle would cost to replace, and this number is usually much lower than your "stated value".
Total losses and thefts do occur, and you need to ensure you are adequately covered. If you have a newer Corvette, you should be fine utilizing a standard coverage policy, but if you drive a classic, make sure you cover yourself properly. Look into a collector's policy.
Remember, if you own a collectible Corvette, insist on your insurance coverage being for the "Agreed Value", otherwise you may be out a large sum of money, in addition to your vehicle, if you suffer a theft or total loss.
Labels: The Best Insurance For Your Corvette
# posted by gopi @ 9:40 AM 
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