Vehicle insurance, above and beyond blue book value

Brett C

Brett C

Adventurist
Senior Staff
Moderator
With the amount invested in our vehicles there is always the fear it will be stolen or someone run a red light and total the vehicle. Because of the amount of money invested in some of these vehicles what are people doing to ensure they are fully covered by their insurance companies? Do you pay extra for a secondary rider or have stated value insurance etc?

My insurance company (USAA) has said they will cover my camper (AT Habitat and Goose Gear interior) as part of my insurance as well as having my truck listed as 120% value. I still question if that’s enough at times. So I’m looking at what others are doing.
 
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Brett C said:
With the amount invested in our vehicles there is always the fear it will be stolen or someone run a red light and total the vehicle. Because of the amount of money invested in some of these vehicles what are people doing to ensure they are fully covered by their insurance companies? Do you pay extra for a secondary rider or have stated value insurance etc?

My insurance company (USAA) has said they will cover my camper (AT Habitat and Goose Gear interior) as part of my insurance as well as having my truck listed as 120% value. I still question if that’s enough at times. So I’m looking at what others are doing.
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This is something that I should probably do as well so I'm interested to hear what others are doing.
 
I’ve always used a collector car specific insurer for all my specialty rides. Usually they are pretty easy to work with and are flexible for the allowances (mileage per year, use, seasonal if desired....so on and so forth). Normally you need an appraisal (pics and internet are just fine) and proof of modifications and actual cost. If something that you added is given to you at reduced or no cost from sponsorship type deals generally that value will not be added into the car’s pay out value, only actual hard cash invested is generally applied.

I have found these types of insurers to be pretty good to deal with but do some due diligence before picking a provider. My rates have always been very reasonable.
 
I have a rider on my policy that covers all modifications. It's basically a "personal articles" type policy which is what I use for all my camera gear, but it's attached to the vehicle's policy so my default deductable, comp and collision all apply as well.

Basically I sat down with my insurance agent and did up a spreadsheet with the value of all modifications (not including labor since I've done a lot of the work myself) starting with the KBB value of the vehicle.

Now, it's worth noting that it's not a 100% full replacement policy. The value of the mods depreciates over time (just like with the value of the vehicle). It also doesn't cover things like tires unless they are stolen, and those are also pro-rated against the mileage and tread life.

It's also worth mentioning that the policy does not cover anything "loose" inside the vehicole. So things like tools, camping gear, radios, etc need their own personal articles policy or else they will fall under your home owners insurance which doesn't always cover replacement value --- plus you'd have to hit your home owner's deductible. So it's worth getting a policy for them as well.

Oh, and I have State Farm.
 
I've struggled with this also. I tried really hard to find someone willing to write me a declared-value policy on my van. I'm in a particularly tough spot because so much of mine is "home-built" (transplanted), so I can't even point to a single invoice for a purchase-price valuation of the rig, and "comps" will only go so far.

I have somewhat managed to get a policy in place with State Farm (with whom I do other business), but I never did find anyone willing to write me the policy I was looking for, at any price. My compromise is that I'm sort of "self-insuring" by taking the difference between what I pay to SF and what I'd guessed a full-replacement policy would cost, and I'm banking it against the future.
 
Winding down my new build here in the next few months need to sort this out as well. Been saving my receipts for the big expenditures in a three ring binder.
 
Lotta great input and glad this started some discussion. With others. I would appreciate if anyone wouldn’t mind sharing who they use and if they like them or if they have had issues with them etc?
 
I'll also add that the policy I have with State Farm also covers windshield replacement once a year. So after a hard season of sand a grit on the glass I can get a new one at no additional cost or deductible. My brother, who has the same agent, also just got a seat belt replaced at no additional cost or deductible.

I know not everyone has had the greatest experiences with State Farm, but i know our local agent has been very good to us over the years.
 
I was able to get a rider added to my policy for my home built camper. It took some doing, and I was only able to get my commercial agent to do it. Its more or less a stated value rider and states "attached camper" on the policy.

She did note that it would be a huge pain if/when it comes time to try to use it. But it was the best I could do.
 
I've had Progressive for 10 years now. Things like camper shells are covered under the policy. I have an additional dollar amount added to cover modifications like the suspension, bumpers, winch, etc.. I've looked at other insurance options but the discounts I get for being with them for so long w/o any at fault incidents means that the difference is within such a small margin that the swap isn't worth the trouble.
 
I use Progressive for my motorcycle and have coverage for the modifications on it along with the gear I wear. Their motorcycle insurance is dirt cheap...to the point that I have been able to have insurance on 3 bikes through them for the same price as 1 bike through State Farm who insures my home and 4 cars.
 
I use Condon and Skelly for the various Buicks through out the years though all my adventure rigs have been just normally insured.

That brings about an interesting question...at what point does the modifications and farkle on your ride start lowering the actual value of your vehicle? There comes a point where no matter how much investment you put in a modification if it becomes a one off increasing the complexity of replacement or repair than you‘ve just added negative equity to your project. And let’s face it, in this community, we are seldom dealing with cars of collectibility or classic status. A Tacoma is still a Tacoma no matter what you bolted on or the fancy SAS axle underneath it. So you put $85,000 in your Rubicon, unless you find that unicorn buyer, most willing to drop that much change to buy your modified used ride are going to opt for the latest and greatest new version and do their own thing. This is nothing new and I’ve seen it many times in the musclecar community where just because someone spent big bucks they sure didn’t recoup it back. Unless it’s something from the cult circles of collectibility. Even than, stock is often way more desirable than modded by most collectors. And there are millions of modded Tacos and JKs out there, don’t build these things as investments.

I personally spend money on mods with the notion that it is cast away money, saved and spent never to be seen again.
 
Haggis said:
I use Condon and Skelly for the various Buicks through out the years though all my adventure rigs have been just normally insured.

That brings about an interesting question...at what point does the modifications and farkle on your ride start lowering the actual value of your vehicle? There comes a point where no matter how much investment you put in a modification if it becomes a one off increasing the complexity of replacement or repair than you‘ve just added negative equity to your project. And let’s face it, in this community, we are seldom dealing with cars of collectibility or classic status. A Tacoma is still a Tacoma no matter what you bolted on or the fancy SAS axle underneath it. So you put $85,000 in your Rubicon, unless you find that unicorn buyer, most willing to drop that much change to buy your modified used ride are going to opt for the latest and greatest new version and do their own thing. This is nothing new and I’ve seen it many times in the musclecar community where just because someone spent big bucks they sure didn’t recoup it back. Unless it’s something from the cult circles of collectibility. Even than, stock is often way more desirable than modded by most collectors. And there are millions of modded Tacos and JKs out there, don’t build these things as investments.

I personally spend money on mods with the notion that it is cast away money, saved and spent never to be seen again.
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while I agree that you’re never going to get your money out of these vehicles if you try to sell them it’s another thing to have them insured a lot closer to what it would cost to replace them in the event of loss. I didn’t build my truck to sell, I built it to use it and if some uninsured motorist or drunk hits my truck and totals it I would like some peace of mind knowing that I had the right insurance to get me a lot closer to not being at a total loss for my personal investment.
 
Ditto, Brett. I've spend enough time (1000+ hours) on building/transplanting my rig that I know I don't want to do it again. Insurance, for me, is about making sure that if the unthinkable happens, I can just buy a replacement.
 
Brett C said:
while I agree that you’re never going to get your money out of these vehicles if you try to sell them it’s another thing to have them insured a lot closer to what it would cost to replace them in the event of loss. I didn’t build my truck to sell, I built it to use it and if some uninsured motorist or drunk hits my truck and totals it I would like some peace of mind knowing that I had the right insurance to get me a lot closer to not being at a total loss for my personal investment.
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e.g. The woman who sideswiped me while bypassing heavy traffic by driving on the shoulder. The rock sliders took almost all of it but I would have had to pay for them again had I not insured them. That alone has paid for the additional premium for a few years.
 
I decided to do a little more Q&A with USAA which is my insurance provider for my vehicles, house and my business.

This is the maximum they offer:
-coverage of 120% the value of the truck itself
-camper system is covered (ensure you have receipts as it’s easier otherwise they will go off of their own research of value)
-aftermarket items (such as wheels, suspension, etc) is covered up to $5000
-if the determination is found to be other driver at fault they will go after other insurance to ensure you’re made whole.
-any loose items inside the vehicle damaged or stolen is covered through your homeowners insurance.
 
Brett C said:
that’s always seemed standard in my experience.
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And always weird to me.

If I’m 1,000 miles from my house in Wyoming and something gets jacked from inside my truck, charging my home insurance makes about as much sense as charging my truck insurance for the items lost in a home burglary while I was away in the truck...

o_O
 
Anyone ever get asked about vehicle weight after mods by insurance agents? I'm not yet to GVWR, but I have to watch what future mods I add to my LX470, as I am getting close. It seems a lot of 4runners and Tacoma's you see on the road, are way overloaded, and I always wondered how this affected people with insurance and accidents.
 
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