[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by Christien

I can't remember who/where/when I heard this, though, so I can't confirm.

From the PCA-UCR site: Link

"I am frequently asked about automotive appraisal reports and how they relate to actual payouts by insurance companies in the event of a loss. The answer is that there are two possible outcomes, depending on which endorsement you have on your automobile insurance policy. An "endorsement" is like an attachment to your standard policy. Most policies have two or three endorsements attached to them.

1. In the first case, the insurance company/agent/broker will call the customer and request that an "Automotive Appraisal Report" be sent in. It is stated that if the Report is not produced the insurance policy will be discontinued or not even issued in the first place. Once the report is received by the insurance company/agent/broker, the insurance policy will be amended/issued with a policy endorsement known as "OPCF 19". The purpose of this endorsement is to limit the liability of the insurance underwriter. In other words if the vehicle is valued at $40K it means that in the event of a total loss the insurance company will pay out anywhere up to $40K. It does not mean that they will pay $40K. They can, and will, pay half that amount or even less if they feel they have some justification. The value of this endorsement (OPCF 19) is primarily to the insurance underwriter, although it does serve the secondary purpose for the insured of being part of the required paperwork that is necessary for issuing the policy.

2. In the second case, an "Automotive Appraisal Report" can be used more to the benefit of the insured. In this case the insured will use the report to obtain a valued auto endorsement to their policy, known as "OPCF 19A". This endorsement states the value of the vehicle and it means that a vehicle valued for $40K, to use the previous example, will be paid out at $40K in the event of a total loss.

In summary, I always recommend that appraisal Reports be used as the basis to obtain an "OCPF 19A" endorsement. The only catch here is that many insurance underwriters do not offer that particular endorsement as part of their product offerings. You may have to shop around to find a broker/agent that can arrange a policy with the endorsement. Just a hint, "LANT and Co. Insurance Brokers," who advertise in the "Provinz" can do so."

Ian