It was a very special 1963 Porsche...

[austin552]

http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2009/05/28/opinion/columnists/hansen_steve_090528.txt

It was a very special 1963 Porsche, full of pride and craft and memories, and it was destroyed in seconds
Updated: Thursday, May 28, 2009 6:20 AM PDT

It was June 14, 2000, — the hottest day of the year in Lodi. The mercury had climbed to 107.

Out of nowhere, a Jeep Grand Cherokee bounced off a light pole and crashed through a garage in a peaceful and quiet neighborhood.

In its wake were the remains of a 1963 Porsche — twisted like a pretzel, as it was hurled into the garage and family room walls. Only the right rear quarter panel remained unscathed.

Moments before, it had been a show-winning classic, purchased new by my father. Dad drove it for 27 years, rebuilding the engine twice. He gave me the car in 1990, knowing cancer would soon end his life.

As a tribute to his memory, my wife and I decided to restore the German classic to its original state. I spent two years traveling to various swap meets, looking for everything from rubber bumper inserts to an original Hirschman radio antenna. I did find the latter residing in an original factory box.

When the time came for restoration, I chose Lodi's Gene Wagner and Larry Santos for the bodywork. The family heirloom had acquired a few dents over the years and rust was common on these cars. The original paint color was a factory special order, and the guys matched it perfectly. Gene's national reputation paid off. The finished product was impeccable.

The perfect chrome was also done locally by Reggie Mason. People from all over the country commented on its quality. World-famous Porsche restorer, the late Harry Pellow of San Jose, did all the mechanical work.

Even at such a notable event as the Silverado Concours, the Porsche never lost a point for fit and finish.

Gene and Larry worked on the car for over a year. Dad must have been happy about the work we were doing, as his spirit seemed to follow our progress. During the restoration, Larry pulled me aside one day and mentioned a phenomenon he could not logically explain. The ignition switch was still located on the dash within the empty car shell. Larry was always the last to close the shop and the first to open it in the morning. Somehow, the key would magically appear in the switch and be turned to the "on" position. Moving the key to the floor, a distant shelf or other places did not seem to matter.

The mystery was never solved.

I'll never forget that hot summer day, driving around the corner and seeing police and fire vehicles in front of my home. I whispered a little prayer, "Please don't let it be my house" — but it was too late for divine intervention.

Lodi Police Officer Chuck Fromm was waiting and expressed his sorrow for my loss. However, it was obvious that the fate of the 37-year-old show winner and years of pleasurable family history had been sealed.

The driver of the Jeep was not cited because the incident happened on "private property." As is often the case, she was underinsured. The policy on her car did not cover all of the damages to the house and the Porsche.

The incident made me reflect on our material world and how the results of years and hundreds of hours of painstaking work can disappear in a matter of seconds. It took another five years for me to want a collectible car again.

Along with life itself, we know that material gain is but a fleeting moment. But somehow, we continue to enjoy the journey and still find pleasure in most new ventures, along with the physical objects we seek.

For whatever the reason, that exclusively human quest still continues.

[HardDrive]

Disgusting. Some careless ^&&@%#% at the wheel of her SUV. God damn did that story make me angry......

[the]

Originally Posted by austin552

As is often the case, she was underinsured.

That's too bad. Although I don't think with cars like this, they are "often" underinsured.

To the contrary, I think they are more often over-insured. (I know mine are). Collector policies are so inexpensive, for around $50/month they could have had that car insured on an agreed value policy for a loss value of $100,000.

[Zeke]

Not the first time, nor will it be the last. But each time an incident like that happens, it hurts to read about it. Since this happened in the year 2000, I wonder where the various parts went. Surely something was salvaged and another car lives on as the beneficiary.

[Rikao4]

well a good beating on 'private property'
should be okay then..
cite me..LEO as you said private prop..
go eat a donut..
under-insured..
that sounds like NO insurance..

Rika

[pwd72s]

One can hope...but I will confess it now. Thinking of the unthinkable was a factor in my passing a 1972 911S to it's next owner...

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by the

That's too bad. Although I don't think with cars like this, they are "often" underinsured.

To the contrary, I think they are more often over-insured. (I know mine are). Collector policies are so inexpensive, for around $50/month they could have had that car insured on an agreed value policy for a loss value of $100,000.

Perhaps, but my car is not insured when it's parked inside my garage by my auto insurance. I think that's what it says. No matter, same company has my homeowners. However, when a 3rd party causes the damage, it could be that neither the owner's auto or homeowners will cover everything.

I know in CA we all have "uninsured motorist" coverage by law. But this is on our auto policy. I wonder if I have uninsured motorist coverage on my house. I mean what are the chances?

[pwd72s]

Milt...think I should check my homeowner's policy...never thought of that. I often enough hear of cars ramming into houses..

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by the

That's too bad. Although I don't think with cars like this, they are "often" underinsured.

The Jeep/Jeep's owner is what was being referred to as underinsured. Read that paragraph again and note the author said "she" in the second sentence after "The driver of the Jeep" appeared in the first sentence.

And then in the third sentence, "The policy on her car" is the followup, referring to the owner of the Jeep again... erroneously referring to the Jeep as a car, however. Maybe that tripped you up.

Originally Posted by austin552

The driver of the Jeep was not cited because the incident happened on "private property." As is often the case, she was underinsured. The policy on her car did not cover all of the damages to the house and the Porsche.

[n8marx]

Perhaps, but my car is not insured when it's parked inside my garage by my auto insurance.

I'd verify that with your insurance agent. Mine assured me that homeowners insurance NEVER covers damage to cars. ALWAYS covered by auto insurance regardless of circumstances.

My hypothetical for him was an uninsured collector car not roadworthy sitting in my garage. House burns down. What happens? If car is not specifically insured by an auto policy, it's not covered. Homeowners will not cover a vehicle or watercraft.

[the]

I agree, that would be a very unusual auto insurance policy that doesn't cover your car when it is garaged at home. (But would, presumably, cover the car when it is parked at home, but on the street). That makes no sense.

[Zeke]

Nate, you're probably right, but I wonder if a fire destroys a car in the garage. Let's say for the sake of discussion that it's a project, not running and no auto liability on it. I don't think you can get only comprehensive w/o the whole package. What do you do?

I've been in this situation countless times. In fact, I'm in that situation now.

[MRM]

I can answer some of the questions. first, the claim that no citation could be issued because the accident happened on private property is not just wrong, but stupid wrong. The violation happened when she lost control of the vehicle and bounced off a light pole into the private property. Next time a drunk ends up in the ditch, he's not likely to get off because the violation didn't happen on the road. The cops who made that decision are poorly trained and lazy.

Second, homeowners insurance almost always has an exlcusion for vehicles. That means if your garage burns, the car is only covered if it is covered by the auto policy. The garage is covered by the homeowner's policy. The contents of your car would still be covered by your homeowner's insurance, like a purse or briefcase, but the car wouldn't be covered unless it had comprehensive coverage. It's common to have only comprehensive only on a car that is being stored. Sometimes you can just buy storage insurance, it's the same thing. I take my 84 Carrera cab off the road during the 9 month Minnesota winter and have just comprehensive on it.

Underinsured means that the at-fault driver had insurance but it wasn't enough to cover all the damages caused. Uninsured means that the at-fault driver had no insurance. All states have underinsured/uninsured motorist laws. Your own auto (or in some cases an umbrella policy) covers the damages caused by an uninsured/underinsured vehicle up to the limits of the policy you purchase.

In this case the Jeep might have had a $50,000 policy. After wacking the house and destroying the Porsche, lets say damages were $150,000. The driver of the Jeep is now underinsured to the tune of $100,000. If the owner of the Porsche had comprehensive coverage of the car, the comprehensive coverage would pay damages up to its limits for the car, the homeowner's policy would pay up to its limits for the house.

Your own auto insurance carries uninsured/underinsured coverage up to whatever limits you purchase. Usually it's the same as your liability limits. So if you have a $50,000 liability policy, you probably have $50,000 in UM/UIM coverage as a minimum, but you can buy more. So let's say the house/Porsche owner had $100,000 in damages after the at-fault driver's insurance was exhausted, they would look first to their HO and comprehensive policies and then their UM/UIM auto policies. Their insurer could try to subrogate back against the at-fault driver, but that assumes she has money.

As a final practice pointer for the day, UM/UIM coverage is some of the most important coverage you can get. It covers you if you or your family is hit by a drunk or some teen with no brains and a smaller insurance policy. You cannot have too much UM/UIM coverage. The cheapest way to get good liability and UM/UIM coverage is with an umbrella policy. You have to buy an underlying liability policy, usually with at least $100,000 limits, then you add on a Personal Liability Umbrella Policy (PLUP) for whatever amount you want. That covers your liability for any accident anywhere. Then you add UM/UIM coverage, and you're as covered as you can get. Not all insurers will sell UM/UIM coverage with their umbrella policies. I know Liberty Mutual does not, State Farm does. Chub offers the best coverage but is most expensive. I personally have a $100,000 liability policy with either a 2 or 3 million PLUP with UM/UIM coverage. The umbrella is around $600 a year. Underlying liability coverage is probably three times that. PLUPs are the best insurance deal in town.

[MysticLlama]

Originally Posted by milt

Nate, you're probably right, but I wonder if a fire destroys a car in the garage. Let's say for the sake of discussion that it's a project, not running and no auto liability on it. I don't think you can get only comprehensive w/o the whole package. What do you do?

I've been in this situation countless times. In fact, I'm in that situation now.

My 911 is kinda taken apart in the garage right now, but I keep the comprehensive on it. I think it's about $6/mo. for theft and accidental damage coverage.

The collision and liability are the expensive parts of car insurance, those can be turned off in a storage situation.

Mine is actually set up such that it's comprehensive only 95% of the time, and I drop an e-mail to my agent when I'm going to drive it and for what timeframe / date range and he'll turn it back on and only charge me for that coverage while it's being used in that way.

There are a few rules, for instance, my other vehicle has to have full coverage active all the time, I have the mileage set up to be 5k miles or less per year, and
it's classified as a pleasure car, and as such isn't for use to commute in, etc., but it's all pretty simple stuff.

[Bill Douglas]

If she is under insured, isn't that HER problem?

Can she be sued so she pays for the car and house for the next 10 years?

[Laneco]

My dad lost his car in a burn the adjuster is a friend and he said nothing can be done no insurance. Most if not all have a waver for motorized vehicles but not parts if you had a collection of parts not an assembled vehicle there is some grey and it's likely to be covered. I have two cars I store and the insurance will only cover them on my property one was stored in a vehicle storage facility for a while and I had to buy there rider. I keep Fire , theft and vandalism and it cost Six Fifty a month for each @ 100,000. So check to see what your company will cover as parts?

Steve

[ruf-porsche]

Originally Posted by milt

Nate, you're probably right, but I wonder if a fire destroys a car in the garage. Let's say for the sake of discussion that it's a project, not running and no auto liability on it. I don't think you can get only comprehensive w/o the whole package. What do you do?

I've been in this situation countless times. In fact, I'm in that situation now.

You don't need to have the whole package to get comprehensive. During the winter months my Porsche and Lotuses are only insured with comprehensive, no collision, or liabilty since I don't drive it. I tried to suspend the comprehensive also but my agent said that the underwriter may drop me so I just kept the comp.

[Joeaksa]

Some people deserve to be sued for every penny they are worth, and this driver is one of them.

[sammyg2]

It's a car.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Well, it was. And more importantly it was a huge investment of time and money on the owner's part - ruined in an instant by one of the many, many inattentive idiots running around out there.

The simplest insurance is never owning anything material that you're not prepared to lose. Insurance is nice, but I don't trust it to REALLY be there if/when I ever need it. Too many horror stories about sleazy exceptions, adjuster tricks and other attempts to screw the policy holder (in fact when my 951 burned up a couple years ago I was shocked that they actually paid out, but it wasn't without them trying to first lowball me with a "value" less than half what I ended up getting first).

"Your" insurance company does NOT have your interests at heart, despite what they might claim in their slick self-promotional advertising. YMMV slightly.