>From cc.bellcore.com!MAILER-DAEMON Fri Jun 4 12:29:24 1993
>Reply-To: "Bryan Blackwell" <bryan@mitre.org>
>One thing many people are not aware of is that "Stated Value" insurance can
>really hurt you if the value of the car rises. In effect, you are agreeing to
>an upper limit on the value of your car. A "Replacement Value" policy is much
>better, since the claim is made based on the market value at the time of the
>accident, though you may lose some if the value goes down. Anyway, hope this
>info is of use to someone. Please post if you contact them to give us some
>feedback.
>Bryan Blackwell bryan@mitre.org (703) 883 7329
Brian is correct, but to be sure you have sufficient coverage in case
of a total loss, the best choice is usually a stated value policy because
in that case you are paying for the maximum coverage. Yes, if value of
the vehicle increases and YOU don't periodically (at least annually)
review the amount of your stated value to be sure it is sufficient,
then you could have a problem (i.e. loss of a $12,000 car only regains
$7000 because you never increased your $7000 stated value on the car).
Finding a "replacement value" policy that provides strong (i.e.
a ready willingness to pay) support for an antique/collector car
isn't easy and you don't want to find out the insurance company
you have is going to "run you thorough the ringer" to even hope
to gain the true "market value" of your lost vehicle.
So what to do? If using a stated value policy, DO be sure your stated
value truly reflects the total market value of the car. If you are
insuring a TR-6 for example, setting a stated value at $20,000 would be
foolish because you'll have great difficulty being able to PROVE the
market value of YOUR TR-6 was likel;y anything greater than even $10,000.
(Here's more reason to have a good, accurate and recent/updated
independent appraisal for any collector vehicle you own).
Hope that helps.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Sohl (K2UNK) BELLCORE (Bell Communications Research, Inc.)
Morristown, NJ email via UUCP bcr!cc!whs70
201-829-2879 Weekdays email via Internet whs70@cc.bellcore.com
|