Insurance coverage for a difficult to find vehicle
How will a claim and potential lawsuit go for a vehicle which is only booked on Nada at $17k high retail, but would cost $25k – $35k or more to find a replacement in average condition/poor condition? How would I prepare to fight this should I need to make a claim? What are the insurance company’s obligations?
I contacted my insurance company for peace of mind and got none. They claim a total loss on this vehicle would be $15k-$17k at most regardless of how difficult it is to find. They may budge a little with things like aftermarket upgrades.
I have contacted Nada about the inaccuracy of their data. They will continue to misrepresent value because “most people do not find this specific engine type material when buying this vehicle” – True most do not. But there are enough which do, that the vehicle will sell for double what Nada’s price is. There are only a dozen of these vehicles for sale in the country right now, all over $25k and for more miles than mine. Nada has slowly increased their price over the last 2 years, but is still off by half of what real replacement cost is.
Just a note. Try getting collectors insurance. My wife’s car has a NADA value of 6-7K. I have it under a collector’s policy covered for 15K. The cost is half of what the original policy cost, for twice the coverage. I had to supply pictures and the original papaerwork (we bought it new with 19 miles, of which about 15 we put on it during the test drive). Also, state inspections helped verify the car is driven < 2K miles a year.
You will have to find an insurance company that will treat the car as a collectible. Those aftermarket and specialty items that make your car so valuable are not well represented by a system that treats the car as a commodity.
The insurance company will then require an appraisal that doesn’t use NADA. Expect that your policy may be higher than you are used to. This will be to pay for the appraisal and to cover the increased value of the collectible.