If you have an older car that you think is worth something but the insurance company may not

Kestrel

Kestrel

Well-known member
Fuck State Farm.

A guy rear ended my girlfriend at a yield sign (she was yielding to traffic), totaling out her nice '94 Miata M Edition.

Other dude's insurance (State Farm) claimed she 'stopped'. Well of course - it's a yield sign and there was traffic. Declared that she was something like 3% "responsible" for the crash, refusing to take full responsibility.

North Carolina has draconian "contributory negligence" insurance laws, where if an insurance company claims you are ANY percent liable, they can deny ALL payout to a claim. And so they did - gave us absolutely nothing. We were told we would win in court against State Farm, but no one would take the case because it was simply the value of an old Miata - no real opportunity for an attorney to make money.

Funny enough, I had State Farm coverage at the time. Called and cancelled my policy. They asked why and I ended up giving them a serious piece of my mind. Didn't really have much other recourse than to take my business elsewhere. They lost me as a customer for life.
 
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Jalopyshoppe

Jalopyshoppe

idiot
I had a Grundy policy on my 27 Model T hot rod. I was just out for a cruise and got hit by an uninsured landscaping truck. Grundy told me to pound sand, because I wasn't headed to or from a car show or event. My fault for not reading the policy better, but such is life.
Fast forward to now, and I have this piece of shit Land Rover. I went to Hagerty for an agreed value policy, as they have less restrictive conditions regarding actually using your "collector car". Unfortunately, they wouldn't insure me because my daily car is a 99 F250 and that's not new enough to meet thier criteria.
Next on the list was State Farm, who was great with giving me an agreed value policy. They ask for an annual odometer reading, which is hilarious because the garbage British speedometer doesn't work. So, every year the odometer reads 56,282. They take my $300 and I joyfully bash that shit box on every jump and rock I find. When it finally gets smashed by some underinsured assbag, I'll cash out and laugh as they crush the remains.
So. Much. Win.

Short version:
State Farm has been the best agreed value policy writer I've dealt with.
 
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GAJ

GAJ

Well-known member
Eldritch said:
So weird that the premiums go down with the increased value. I have to assume they are now putting you in the risk bucket with the '57 Chevy that only gets driven to a car show category.
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That's my thought.

I guess they don't realize I'm bouncing the engine off the redline in the twisties where visibility ahead allows such antics. :laughing
 
msethhunter

msethhunter

Well-known member
State Farm is still ripping you off. If you couldn't find one for less than $6900, they're the ones getting a deal if you bin it and they buy it.
 
GAJ

GAJ

Well-known member
msethhunter said:
State Farm is still ripping you off. If you couldn't find one for less than $6900, they're the ones getting a deal if you bin it and they buy it.
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:laughing

I think my DRZ cost more to insure than my new Premium.

They've never given me any hassles or any member of my family hassles in fender benders.

It was parked in front of my house once and some idiot doing a U turn (I assume) hit it and took off.

They paid for the repairs no questions asked despite no witnesses.
 
Holeshot

Holeshot

Super Moderator
Staff member
Hagerty is an excellent company for classics/ 20 year + vehicles. I wish I could move more cars to them. Stated value is no problem and they pay claims without much hassle. Limited miles are a part of the quote, but I got a quote for a "tow vehicle" of $95/ year. 5,000 mile limit. So, I'll put that on a 94' Grand Cherokee...

BTW Geoff, they've got all kinds of meet ups, etc to get their customers hooked up with the lifestyle. They're so worth it (comes with roadside too!)

LOVE Hagerty!
 
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GAJ

GAJ

Well-known member
Holeshot said:
Hagerty is an excellent company for classics/ 20 year + vehicles. I wish I could move more cars to them. Stated value is no problem and they pay claims without much hassle. Limited miles are a part of the quote, but I got a quote for a "tow vehicle" of $95/ year. 5,000 mile limit. So, I'll put that on a 94' Grand Cherokee...

BTW Geoff, they've got all kinds of meet ups, etc to get their customers hooked up with the lifestyle. They're so worth it (comes with roadside too!)

LOVE Hagerty!
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Thanks.

Only problem is that if I move my car to Hagerty then I lose a multi car discount on my wife's 2019 CX5.
 
bpw

bpw

Well-known member
msethhunter said:
State Farm is still ripping you off. If you couldn't find one for less than $6900, they're the ones getting a deal if you bin it and they buy it.
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Kinda hard to complain about the value of the car when the person buying the policy decided what it would be. If he wants more coverage with an agreed value policy all he needs to do is ask for it and pay the higher premium.
 
GAJ

GAJ

Well-known member
Holeshot said:
Ahh...yeah, could be more $$ then. Worth a quote, but I bet it's more $$.
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Driving back from dropping off the car for upgraded brake pads as the old ones would fade after an hour of heavy braking in the twisties I noticed an Allstate building with Hagerty also on the windows.

I "assumed" they were only on line or similar.
 
msethhunter

msethhunter

Well-known member
bpw said:
Kinda hard to complain about the value of the car when the person buying the policy decided what it would be. If he wants more coverage with an agreed value policy all he needs to do is ask for it and pay the higher premium.
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Except that's not what happened, and not how State Farm does it. They declare the value, not the customer. I went to Hagerty for my '56, because Mercury wanted to insure it for $12k. When I talked to my broker, he recommended Hagerty, because they would insure it for what it's actually worth, plus all the mods. When I told Mercury that it had been four linked, and had a blown small block with a now unavailable B&M Mega Blower, their reply was "LOL, WUT?"

My brokers reply was "Yeah, they have no clue. None of them do. Talk to Hagerty."
 
Holeshot

Holeshot

Super Moderator
Staff member
I like it plenty. One of the most iconic of that era.

I'm guessing the frame rails aren't totally F'd like my classic...with the rusty rust.
 
msethhunter

msethhunter

Well-known member
Holeshot said:
I like it plenty. One of the most iconic of that era.

I'm guessing the frame rails aren't totally F'd like my classic...with the rusty rust.
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No. The frame is decent. It does show some signs of cancer under the paint in a few spots, but nothing terrible.

Edit to add: This car is far more rare than a BelAire. They made very few 210 hard tops.
 
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JesasaurusRex

JesasaurusRex

Deleted User
I hated that i felt like i ALWAYS got mail from them, yes i turned on e billing or whatever it's called. Even complained about it by phone when i was calling about an unrelated matter.
 
Holeshot

Holeshot

Super Moderator
Staff member
msethhunter said:
No. The frame is decent. It does show some signs of cancer under the paint in a few spots, but nothing terrible.

Edit to add: This car is far more rare than a BelAire. They made very few 210 hard tops.
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Really nice, none the less Mikey.
 
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