Since the market value of our cars are usually a bit higher than book values, what would insurance pay out if your car was totalled. Say the book value for a 91 is $25,000, but its low mileage 91 that you paid $35,000 for, what could you expect from insurance? I am not in any situation like this, but I have always been curious as to how this would be handled. Would the adjuster look at the current asking prices of the market or just use book values. Any of you guys have experience with this? If they pay based on book value, I would have to say that we screwed if our cars are ever totalled.
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Question about insurance total claim
- Thread starter N Spec
- Start date
Correct, book value is irrelevant and only used in auto lending.
In my experience the insurance company will pull comps from Autotrader and Ebay as similar to the damaged car as possible and average them to determine market value.
In my experience the insurance company will pull comps from Autotrader and Ebay as similar to the damaged car as possible and average them to determine market value.
you are correct sir.. being that ive worked as a parts manager at a very large body shop and now a fleet manager at a very large automotive dealership, and because a couple of my cars have been stolen never to be found again.. what the insurance company does is look thru cars.com, autotrader, and now they are implementing ebay..(only as a "buy it now") they are taking an average of the cars on the market with similar miles. thank god because I have a 91 with 52k original miles, i would be up shits creek if they didnt do it that way..
and just to repeat, nada, kbb, and karpower are for lending reasons only now..
good day sir.
That is not always correct. I have talked to my insurance company before my car was shipped to my place. I asked the lady, who works for my insurance company, what if my car was stolen or it was shipped to Mexico. How much would the insurance pay back to replace it and base what values. She stated that they usually base on the book values and pay back at the lowest value; not market values.
The car that I paid for $45K after I gave the descriptions of my car : the year of the car; the mileage ( year 2000; 27500 miles and perfect condition)and ect... She said she would call me back for the totalled loss ( she had to look into it). Ten minutes later, she called back they would pay for $35k, not $45K. The difference of $10K that I need to purchase "gapped" insurance to cover the difference.
So I don't know what is the true- yours or hers?
I also did research before I bought my car from edmunds and KBB- my car is worth $46K private party value ;perfect condition.
If she said that they base on book values, why is it $10K difference?
Can anyone explain this? Or my insurance is sh..tty one!
Another thing that we can find out for sure is to call your insurance company to see how is the car worth?
It really depends on the company.
State Farm is great. Progressive, not good at all.
Check with your insurance company for information.
State Farm is great. Progressive, not good at all.
Check with your insurance company for information.
Insurance companies will try to lowball the payout but you don't have to accept their first offer. If you can gather supporting information (recent sales data, work that's been done to your car), then you will usually end up with a higher offer. If you insure your car as a collectible, then the companies that write those policies will go with a declared value by the owner (subject to an appraisal, maybe).
I think it varies among insurance companies.
The ones in my area will only pay out what the car was insured for. For example, if my policy for this year stated that my car is insured for 25k, then they'll only give me 25k if it's a total loss. They do not go by Market value, but there are exceptions
The ones in my area will only pay out what the car was insured for. For example, if my policy for this year stated that my car is insured for 25k, then they'll only give me 25k if it's a total loss. They do not go by Market value, but there are exceptions
I went with Haggerty collector car insurance with at stated value. I only drive 4-5K miles a year. They only require digital photos of your car. You also have to have another car as a daily driver with proof of insurance on that. They have competitive rates.
So I don't know what is the true- yours or hers?
I also did research before I bought my car from edmunds and KBB- my car is worth $46K private party value ;perfect condition.
If she said that they base on book values, why is it $10K difference?
Can anyone explain this? Or my insurance is sh..tty one!
That's something your insurance company needs to explain to you more clearly. Either the woman you spoke with is incorrect or misinformed about her company's policies or you have a terrible insurance company. Switch to AAA or State Farm.
I would want to know exactly what value the insurance company is coming up with and how--particularly before they convince be to buy some moronic "gap" insurance. There should be no gap. You should receive exactly what the car is worth.
Very interesting. So it really depends on the insurance company. Thanks for the info, it seems that most company would go by the market value.
How bad is Progressive? I have my motorcycle insured under them, although I only paid not even 5k for the motorcycle. The NSX is insured under Farmers and they are pretty good on claims. I thought about switching to State Farm next 6 months.
How bad is Progressive? I have my motorcycle insured under them, although I only paid not even 5k for the motorcycle. The NSX is insured under Farmers and they are pretty good on claims. I thought about switching to State Farm next 6 months.
I've had State Farm and they were fine. I recently had Farmers and switched to AAA. AAA blew them away in premium price (over 40% less for me) and I've heard nothing but good things about their claims departments but have not yet had a claim with them.
AAA is very selective about who they insure, however. If you're young or have a spotty driving record they might decline to insure you. If your driving record is clean and you have 10+ years driving experience the premiums are among the lowest around. And you also need a AAA membership which is like $45/year but I had that anyway. Worth every penny not to have to stand in line at the CA DMV as AAA can handle all your registration renewals at their nice comfy office.
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