Skipped a day putting carpets in another NSX while the paint department does it's thing.
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Saving a Zanardi’s life
- Thread starter RSO 34
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Can you just put cameras in your shop or start your own thread? I'd check in every day 
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Yes, that is me. I am still around....just not as much.
My NSX has been in Maryland since last fall, and I was working on this Zanardi and arguing with the insurance company for 7 months. But still quietly around.
Regarding the insurance for this NSX, and for ALL NSXs....please learn from the story about this Zanardi Edition, especially with the sharp increase in NSX values over the last few years.
The owner of this car used a major auto insurance carrier that advertises heavily on TV, and who may or may not have a lizard as their mascot (cough, cough). Anyway, they insured the car just like a normal person would. Called in, asked for full coverage, and all was well....or so he thought.
Fast forward several years to this car accident last year. Due to the owner being in rough medical shape after the accident, I took it upon myself to help he and his wife navigate the complex road of, "....so, what is going to happen with the car".
I was informed that the car was a total loss, and that they were going to accept what the insurance company valued the Zanardi at....which was $32,000.
"Don't take that money. Their value is not even CLOSE to what that car is worth," was my conversation with the owner's wife. From that point on, they appointed me to have full power to negotiate with the insurance company, and handle the claim on their behalf.
So I quickly went to the insurance wrecking yard and viewed the car to have an idea what we had left, if it was able to be saved, removed all of the Zanardi specific plaques and door sill VIN plates so that they did not "disappear" to souvenir hunters in the wrecking yard, and then spent a few weeks working with the owner and his wife to see what they wanted to do. Do we want to save the car (if possible), or do we want a check and to say our goodbyes to this wonderful car? We made the decision that if this car could be saved, that was what we needed to do. Which is kind of hard when the insurance company estimates $50,000 + in damage on a car they valued at only $32,000.
Anyway, to sum up what was a very LOOOOOONG process, I literally spent over 6 months just arguing with them about the values, talking to Joe at Vince's Auto Body Works to make sure we could fix this, and trying to prove the value of not just the special world of the Zanardi Edition, but of a 1999 NSX period.
THIS IS WHERE YOU SHOULD PAY ATTENTION!! This particular insurance company said that as a standard auto insurance policy, increases in car value are not taken into account, nor are they part of a standard full coverage policy. They stated that with collector cars where the value may go up significantly rather than depreciate year after year, a proper COLLECTOR CAR policy should be obtained. In short, if you have an NSX, you need collector car coverage, unless you really want to spend a lot of time arguing about values.
We went back and forth for several months due to the insurance company using a third party appraiser. I asked them to show me their comps, as well as, "Show me where you can get a normal, roadworthy, 1999 NSX anywhere in the world for $32,000". They used values from 1991 NSXs, 1993 NSXs, and a 1995 NSX-T, none of which were comparable in age or mileage to this 1999 Zanardi Edition. According to their legal team, this was perfectly acceptable.
HOW DID WE BEAT THAT? Well, this is where NSX Prime and the NSX family come into play. After finding a loophole in the policy that allowed us to challenge their appraisal, and provide our own appraisal (at our expense), I reached out to (2) NSX Prime members, each of whom provided me vital documentation to prove the appraised value of the Zanardi Edition in the market. Without this documentation, we would have been in deep trouble. A debt of gratitude is owed to these wonderful people for helping with their documentation so that we could prove to the insurance company that their number was nowhere near correct. Eventually, and after escalating it up to the VP level of the insurance company, we were able to settle for a value high enough to allow the car to be retained, and to have a check big enough to cover the full repair. So, we went from $32,000 and having to give up the car, to a significantly sized check and the ability to retain and repair the car.
After settling with the insurance company they confided in me that they did their own market appraisal before cutting me the check, and discovered that the numbers I had been giving them all along were correct. Why it took 7 months to get that done was beyond my comprehension. I think they just bet that most people won't have 7 months of devotion to go without a car in order to save theirs.
So, the only reason I tell you this story is as a cautionary tale. Don't ASSUME you are covered because you have full coverage. Go get a proper collector car insurance policy that will value the NSX properly in the case of a tragedy. After handling this claim, I changed my insurance to Hagerty and have agreed value coverage. You should too. It is worth it.
Have a great day everyone.
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Thank you so much for sharing this story!
I sent the post to my agent. Right now I'm with Encompass. I just got denied a claim for my wheels that cost me over $3,000 and I am going to pressure my agent to get me the right policy.
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I sent the post to my agent. Right now I'm with Encompass. I just got denied a claim for my wheels that cost me over $3,000 and I am going to pressure my agent to get me the right policy.
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[MENTION=4477]Meeyatch1[/MENTION] very good bit of information. I’m with haggerty now for an agreed value of 50k on a salvaged vehicle.
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- 19 February 2015
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That's an unsettling story, thanks for sharing it. I called my agent (AAA) and asked how they do it. She said if I had a serious accident they would try to find at least 3 similar cars and base the amount on their prices so it should account for appreciation since the amounts would be somewhat current. Of course several times in the past insurance agents have told me one thing then years later when something happened it was "hmm, that's not covered, you should have asked about different insurance".
Holy shiznit, Mitch. I’m going to talk to my insurance agent about what to do for my NSX, even though it’s nowhere near a Zanardi.
Cleveland neighbor - add Grundy to your list. Very happy with them so far.
Back to to your normal Zanardi programming.
Thanks, [MENTION=25046]Yinzer[/MENTION] ! I need to get around to that sooner than later.
Don't just blindly switch to Hagerty or Grundy - There are exclusions on their policies that you need to be familiar with too.
I've had Hagerty and Grundy and am now in the process of switching to a fixed value policy that will allow me more than "occasional use" on a few of my cars.
I've had Hagerty and Grundy and am now in the process of switching to a fixed value policy that will allow me more than "occasional use" on a few of my cars.
Nobody should ever blindly follow. But - Grundy has a generous usage policy. I *think* it changed from being a bit restrictive last time I looked years ago.
Someone I know who has a 91 with about 110k miles got around $40k from AAA.
Get specifics in writing from your insurance company, not the agent. Because the insurance company is the one paying the claim ultimately. Plus, this particular insurance company said that their "3 similar cars" of earlier model NSXs with more mileage were just fine when trying to determine value, and of course they were not fine. So, be very careful.
Shiznit indeed. Honestly, go get agreed value coverage. That is what I did. Then there is no gray area to your car's value in the event of an 'incident'.
Apologies to Joe for the thread deviation. Since Grundy is a fixed value provider with a generous usage policy, I’d be curious to know who you’re switching to and what they on their offer that Grundy does not. Asking for me to use as potential future reference, as well as others reading along. Thanks!
Great story, but after doing some research both Hagerty and Grundy requires you to garage your car, which I don't have. Does that mean I am SOL with the lizard company, which I am currently using?
I am glad you had the dedication and passion to fight for such an amazing car. Can't wait to see it come out of the shop looking amazing.
I am glad you had the dedication and passion to fight for such an amazing car. Can't wait to see it come out of the shop looking amazing.
Sorry to continue the thread hijack but....
AAA will give you a fixed value coverage but you must already be a client of theirs and it doesn't kick in until year two. I asked this very question last year. I have fixed value with Hagerty and with most of these insurers, they do require the vehicle to be stored safely (ahem, garage).
Joe - fantastic work. When retired, I'd work for you for free just to be part of this. Except I'm married and can't deal with snow!
View attachment 153138View attachment 153139 Still have MORE to refinish.
What a gratifying job this must be, especially with a project this special!
Hey Paul...think about coming over to Raleigh next weekend for the Mideast NSX Meet. You could be NSX # 51!!! (Apologize for interjecting this - also - great work Joe)
Regards,
John Komar
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