Appraised more then stated value.

[benny_benny]

To keep things really vague as the insurance is still going on. My p-car caught fire. The insurance sent out a appraiser. He appraised my car 6,000$ more then what I had as stated value, then total loss. Should I expect to see that extra money?

[McLovin]

Unfortunately, "stated value" policies are not that good.

For collector cars or cars with special value (like any air cooled 911), you really want to have "agreed value." In an agreed value policy, in the event of a total loss, you are paid the agreed value. So, if you have the car insured at a value of $10,000, that's what you will get if the car is totaled. Nothing more, nothing less.

Many people with "stated value" policies think they have "agreed value" policies, b/c they don't understand the difference.

Anyways, as far as "stated value," you get either (1) the "stated value" of the car in your policy, OR (2) the actual value of the car (per appraisal), but . . . wait for it . . . whichever is LESS.

[Christien]

It really depends on the wording of your policy. If the appraiser's amount is higher than the policy should pay, I would keep mum about it and cross your fingers. Most of the adjusters and claims handlers are fairly dim, in my experience, so if McLovin is right that they should pay out the lesser of the 2 values, there's a good chance nobody will actually notice that, and they'll just write the cheque for the appraised amount.

Next time, get an agreed value policy that states that upon total loss they'll pay out exactly that amount, no more, no less. If your insurance company doesn't offer such a policy, change companies.