Agreed to/Replacement value

Just spoke with ACI, American Collectors Insurance, about coverage for my P car ( was referred by my normal company USAA) and asked what the value for 1974 911 Targa was. They said 27K!!!! I damn near choked as I found that a little hard to believe. This for 160 bucks a year with 500 deductable. I asked if I happened to total it some day what the procedure was. They said just call us up and send us the shop estimate and we send you the check. Almost sounds too good. Am I missing something?

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Dan S.
1974 911 Targa

If it ain't in writing it ain't worth anything.

I have it in writing

Read it carefully.
If the deal is you pay $160 per year, and if your car gets totalled, stolen, etc. they cut you a check for $27,000, then it certainly sounds like a great deal for you. (That would be an "agreed value" policy).

If it is a "stated value" policy with a stated value of $27K, that would be a different story (although for $160 per year still probably a good deal).

What's the liability coverage and driving restrictions?

Jim,
Deal is as follows:
- 2500 miles a year, not a problem as it is basically an occasional driver
- locked garage
- limits on who can drive it, again no problemo
They asked "on a scale of 1-6 with 1 being best condition what is condition of car?" I said "original with 38K" scale of 1 at worst a 2, 27K-16K. I assume if it gets stolen I get full insured value, if it gets wrecked... up to insured value. For example, if I get rear ended, I get an estimate for complete refurbish to original specs. If this comes up to say 20k then I get 20K. I am going to ask a few more questions and will post the answers for all who are interested. I know the car is not worth 27K but if that is what I'm paying a premium for then I assume I could actually get that under certain circumstances.

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Dan S.
1974 911 Targa

I had a number of folks email me for the number of ACI, so I'll post it here, 800-360-2277. I talked to Terri at ext 221. I haven't signed up yet as I want to talk to USAA (my normal agent) to ask them what the heck I've been paying for if they don't even insure cars of my vintage for agreed value. Anyway, ACI is their recommendation. They asked the following questions:
1. On a scale of 1-6 with 6 being the worst what is the condition of your car. I described mine as basically a concours condition car (1) and they quoted 27K. I said how about if its a (2), and they said 16K which is more in line with my thinking. But there is nothing to prevent you from paying for the higher value. I figure this, if I wrecked the car and wanted to fix it up to its present condition I could easily spend 15-20K for engine/body work/paint and parts. If it gets stolen I guess they would cover the whole 27K. I'll post again when I get a few more questions answered.


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Dan S.
1974 911 Targa

Based on actuarial statistics, the insurance company can affix a value to your asset, and then charge you a premium based on the value that you choose. This is how those other non-regular driver companies work.

You insure your car for what you think it's worth (kindof like a life-insurance policy). You choose the value that you wish to insure, and then the premium is charged based on risk factors combined with that overall value. Now $27K is way out of the ballpark. I can't imagine any 1974 911 being worth that much, unless it was a Carrera or one with only a few thousand miles.

However, if you want your car insured for that amount, then they will charge you the premium based on that. I would imagine that if the car were valued much less than that, your premium would be much lower. Haggerty has quoted me $102/year for my 1960 356 with my chosen value of $13,500. Not bad in my opinion. Of course, it's limited to 2500 miles/year...

-Wayne

You need to check that scale of 1-6. My appraiser gave me a 3 which I found disappointing. Then he explained to me that:

1. Is a museum quality totally original car which really only gets taken to shows - usually ona a trailer and driven only at show events. A piece of art.

2. Is a concours condition car garaged and only driven on weekends in good weather.

3. Is a car in excellent near perfect condition and is about the best possible condition for a daily driver.

and so on down.

Mine's a daily driver and when he explained this to me I didn't feel quite so bad.



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Allan Broadribb
'70-911E, 2.2l with Webers
http://www.cheaterswayside.com/uploads/Mvc-002s355.jpg

Allan,
It is possible that each insurance company has a different definition of what constitutes a 1-6 car. ACI said a 3 car is in "average condition". I figure mine is better than average and original low miles 38K. I figure mine is a 2 car which they say is worth 16K. As Wayne says you can insure for any amount if you want to pay the premium and I figure to do an extensive repair might run pretty high.

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Dan S.
1974 911 Targa

Just wanted to make sure that you and your insurer are on the same wavelength. Not the sort of thing you want to start discussing AFTER and accident.

Good luck.

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Allan Broadribb
'70-911E, 2.2l with Webers
http://www.cheaterswayside.com/uploads/Mvc-002s355.jpg

I have some final input for those fo you with older cars that are interested in insurance.I talked to my primary insurance company, USAA who ordinarily are great to work with, but in this case they basically refused to give me a value for my vehicle in the case of it being stolen or totaled. They said when I submit the claim they'll assess it then for cash value I think most of you know what that means and its not good for us older owners. I told them what the deal is with ACI, who they recommended, and the person did not sound confident they would pay anything near what the coverage provided by ACI would which is basically an agreed to value based on info I posted earlier. you can see that Allan B's company has a slightly different criteria for a 1-6 car than ACI. In conclusion I think I'm going to drop USAA for this car and go with agreed to value of "2" with ACI for a yearly comprehensive/collision premium of somewhere around $150 which should cover me up to 16K in damage or if its stolen the full amount. Comments are welcome.

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Dan S.
1974 911 Targa