My friends just noticed this morning that his 86 IROC was stolen some time last night. Just curious if you guys know how insurance determines how much they give you for your car if stolen?

 

BTW. Ive heard different insurance companies do it different ways. I think he said he's with State Farm or something llike that

 

My insurance told me my car was worth $3500 ya right.

for me go get extra coverage (replacement value) i had to have an aprasal done to determan the amout that they will give me.

its a lot easyer to do it before than after something happens to it

 

They use a book figuer which I think only goes back for 10 years. So they're going to try and hone you on the value of an 86 if you don't have an appraisal. You can try contacting used car dealers for an estimate as to what the car was worth but that may not account for any mods that were done and there aren't too many 86IROCs sitting on used car lots right now. It may be possible to negotiate with the adjuster but most of them are not much better than white collar criminals.

 

How bout if he had receipts for a recent paintjob and 18" wheels, and some stereo equipment. does that acount for anything more?

 

Heh. I told him what you guys said. Hes tryi to find someone who did an appraisal with an older date on it. I didnt even know they had dates.

 

Yea I believe it would. It's going to be an argument about what the car was worth so base value plus whatever else you can establish with receipts.

Add to that what you're prepared to do about if they don't pay. Things are settled based on the value of the lose plus the aggravation factor. So if they don't produce start dickin them around. If they get the impresion you're too gross to fool with they should cut there lose and settle. If you're a push over they'll plough you under. However, try to be reasonable with them first and if it does'nt work hammer them.

As far as I know appraisals have to be done every year but if you have one from a couple of years ago it's a good start.

 

yeah...appraisals are only good for 6 months I was told. My friends wants to thank you, me too, coz I was curious about that for sometime. Its unfortunate it took his car getting stolen to find out. thanx guys

 

Something else to mention is that any time you talk to them make notes of what was said and, if it's to your advantage, confirm it in a letter or fax along the lines of " this to confirm our telephone conversation of DATE at which time you stated - etc. It costs them money to process correspondence and puts them on notice that they should be careful about jerking you around because it could end up in court some day at which time they'll be required to account for their actions.

That's my 2 cents and good luck.

 

After I had my GTA painted I took it by my insurance agents office and they took some pictures for my file. If you get an appraisle then you may have to pay a higher premium on your car. However this would pay off if you were to need the insurance.

My .02 cents worth
Mark

 

Without a current appraisal (less than 2 years old) they will attempt to jerk you around on the 'value'. How much they try to stick it to you may depend on which company you're dealing with.

What they will do is look up their 'blue book value' on the car (usually an ADP guide) and assume that the car is question was in the worst possible condition (i.e. poor) and then offer you that- i.e. it could be something as low as $500-1000.00 -The thing to remember is that this 'value' is an average of every used car ever sold, including dealers giving $200.00 per vehicle on trade-ins and wrecks sent off to the crusher.

ANY receipts for work done on/to the car you should produce. If they are for mechanical parts- they will then attempt to classify these as "maintenance" parts and not upgrades of any sort- i.e. they have no value beyond what they're worth as part of the total car value. You may not be able to argue this very well as if they were 'improvements' they will say "that's nice then you should have had an appraisal done and we would have determined your premium based on this..."

-The point is to prove #1) that the vehicle in question was far from being a 'poor' condition average value- but at the very least a well maintained 'excellent' condition vehicle. Then throw on the receipts for obvious 'upgrades' i.e. stereo, tint job, etc. and anything that was in the vehicle when it was stolen (CD's, notebook computer, Van Gogh paintings, etc.)


When they argue with you over the value (they will) and say they have gotten values from car dealers to come up with a 'fair value' for yours- point out that most 'reputable' car dealers won't touch vehicles over 10-years old and most will certainly not deal in 'performance' vehicles. Get a list of the 'dealers' that supplied the values, visit their lots to determine that they in fact do not even sell cars 10 years+, get a local Auto Trader and pick out the vehicles for sale in roughly the same condition as the one in question and then go back to insurance company with your 'research'. They hate people with facts, figures and 'research'-ie now you know something and they have to convince you're wrong and they're right.

Know what you want for the vehicle (realistically) and its contents, and then ask for 40-50% more than this to start. They will offer you $xxx.xx to start, and usually you will 'move up the ladder' to get better offers, i.e. first the 'agent' then the 'supervisor' then the actual 'claims supervisor' and eventually maybe even a 'lawyer' they keep on staff. Each level will increase the pressure on you to convince you that the car wasn't worth sh#t, and even if it was worth something "they can't possibly know this now" UNLESS you have provided the information mentioned above.

The best thing you can hope for on a stolen car is that A) it disappears outright, B) ends up destroyed (i.e. torched) or C) returned with all its contents intact and virtually no damage. Anything else will mean a fight with the insurance people. If a vehicle is recovered and not totally destroyed they may yet call it a 'write-off' but now they can dispute your claims it was 'rust free' and 'low miles' even if it only had 180,000km on it (fu*k-all for a V8) and minor surface rust on the frame.

Also- don't be in too much of a hurry- the insurance companies smell desperation and if they think you NEED a vehicle to get to work and you can't buy one without settling the claim quickly- they will take advantage of this. Be polite, firm and not in a big hurry when dealing with them. Their time is worth money, and if they think you have the ability (time and $$$) to argue with them for days or weeks they may make better offers to get you off their backs. Also, your friend may want to stipulate that if the car is eventually recovered, he can buy it back for $xxx.xx, period, no matter what the condition (if for example there are parts that could be salvaged, even in the case of a fire (i.e. rear end, engine, transmission). Also, don't let them 'close' the policy- just transfer it to a new vehicle once a settlement has been reached, because if they are able to do this, the next policy on whatever vehicle will (guaranteed) be higher than it should.

Finally, one note worth mentioning- which of course the insurance people will argue all over- NO vehicle (no matter what the model/year) can be bought in a driveable (i.e. certified and e-tested) for less than $2500.00-$3000.00. So if you have a recent, valid (i.e. not 'conditional') emission test- give them that as well to help prove the vehicle had legitimate 'value'.

Unfortunately it is extremely doubtful you will be happy with what you get when all is said and done.

 

GREAT INSURANCE POST!!!

ANyways if anybody need help in appraisals lemme know..I know of appraisers who appreciates cars like ours

Daz

 

I CAN'T BELIEVE I forgot to mention this above:

Do NOT forget about the "deductible" when you're 'negotiating' with insurance a-holes- most policies these days have been given $500.00 deductibles, so if you end up with $3000.00 as a 'final' offer- they'll only hand you $2500.00 anyways.


Crooked @!!@##$^$%^ @#%$!@#% #@$%#!$.