I wondering if any of you guys have your truck insured for a set value instead of book value and if so with what company? And how much is your premium if you are over 40 yrs old? I have checked the book value of my truck and it comes up $10300 and there is no way I can replace my truck for that amount. I have State Farm Insurance and my agent says they won't insure my truck for a set value since it is not a classic or antique. But he gave me this line of BS that if a total loss the company would take into consideration all the receipts of what I have spent on my truck upgrades. Which is BS because 5 yrs ago my Caddy was totalled and they didn't give me a penny more than book value even after showing over $10k in receipts for up grades & dyno sheet.

Mind you I have 3 cars, 2 boats, RV and home owner insurance with them and I am over 50 yrs old with 1 claim in 10 yrs and they are charging me over $800/ yr for the truck. I am ready to tell State Farm to go pound sand after 30 yrs.

 

I told State Farm to take a hike about 8 years ago, after having them every day of my driving life for 21 years. I had 2 rock strikes on windshields of 2 of my vehicles within a week and State Farm wouldn't cover windshield in Maryland. i told them I wanted to add it for the future and they refused. I then said I would have to take my business elsewhere, and the lady said for me to do what I had to. I am with Allstate and am very happy with them. I have 4 cars, my business and home owners all through them now. State Farm acted like they could care less that I was shopping elsewhere, so I can't tell you how happy I was to say goodbye to them.

 

I have 2 trucks and my camper insured for $864/year. I would look elsewhere.

 

Similar story...We have Erie now.

 

We switched from SF to USAA and are saving a fortune. 2 trucks and 2 cars , full coverage w/ $250 deductible and we are at $200/ mo. SF wanted $370.

 

I switched my truck & camper from Geico to USAA and saved a bunch.

I've always wondered about agreed value. I have way more into my truck & camper than blue book value.

 

I know I can find cheaper insurance but what I am really looking for is a policy that is for a "set / agreed value" Your standard policy with any company is a book and market value which is never even close to what most of us have in our trucks.

Now on the subject of State Farm if they will insure a car at "set value" they do pay up and not an issue at the time of claim. Case in point years ago I had a '73 M/B 450SL 55k Grey market car and had it insured for "set value" and the premium was at a good price. Long story short the car was a toal loss and they paid up within 2 weeks. I had it insured for alot of money and since there is no book or market value of a Grey market M/B they would have gone by a book value of a US M/B which was only $8k.

Now for some of you guys that don't know that a standard policy will only pay what THEY think is fair market value not what we think it is. There are no laws that say they have to either. A standard policy depending on state law they can replace your parts with aftermarket sheet metal, used/LKQ and repair things that I would just replace. It is worded as cost effectiveness of repair. Read the fine print in your policy, noone ever does until they make a claim. I spent over 20 yrs in the collision industry and even a good company will try to lower their cost on any claim if they can.

So that is why I'll pay but I want a set / agreed value policy.

 

Progressive offer those policies. They also have a crappy reputation for paying off. I have my truck listed as an R.V. and have a $20k set value on my truck.

 

Effe progressive. They are well...progressives....

 

Sounds like what GEICO did to me...

Given the age of my 7.3 Excursion and the money I had in it, I opted for some additional coverage in the event it was totalled some of my mods would be covered.

They said "no problem" and were more than happy to take my money for about 1-2 months. Then they have the ***** to send me a letter in the mail saying they couldn't insure my truck anymore since it was turbocharged. They alleged that since it was turbocharged they couldn't cover it anymore EVEN THOUGH I explain to them that it comes FROM THE FACTORY that way!!!!! I called them up one morning and gave them one final chance to fix their mistake and they said the same thing: "Sorry we can't help you".

I got raw with whoever the agent was on the otherside of the line and let them know that I nor any member of my family will NOT be insuring ANYTHING with them again. They decided to send me an email 6 months later saying "It's a fact we want you back! " Instead of raising my blood pressure and cursing them out, I talked to a chick I went to high school with and she owns her own insurance firm and been my insurance agent since.

The lesson here: shop around and find an insurance agent you can trust.

 

I didn't know Progressive wrote set/ agreed value policies. From my experience Progressive will write you a check in 48 hours that is at least 35% less than it would take to repair in hopes you cash the check and don't repair it. A way to lower per claim cost. But once you take it to a shop they will pony up more money. Also Progressive & Allstate pay a lower hourly repair rate than most 1st class shops will work for. I would also like to touch on Progressive & Allstate both won't total a vehicle until the estimate is 80 % of the value of the truck. I have seen both companies pay 95 -100% of value to keep it from totalling. They are kinda in the business of repairing totals or doing anything to keep the per claim cost down below pay out. State Farm will total a vehicle at 75% of the value of vehicle. Now I am basing this on my experience up to 5 yrs ago when I walked away from the collision industry.

Now a days with DRP / Direct Repair Programs that is where a shop agrees to fix your truck for what the insurance company wants to pay them. In the old days collision shops told insurance companies what it would cost to repair a vehicle. In the state of Indiana they have a state law that says that a insurance company must pay to put OEM parts on a vehicle that is 5 yrs old and newer. In Illinois state law says they only have to put oem on current model year vehicles. But these are questions that your agent should know answers for but I am sure he doesn't want to talk about.

So even with Progressive as long as you have a agreed value policy they have to pay up.
One way or the other due to the fact that your agreed value policy is a legal contract.

 

Are you serious??? What in the world does a turbo have to do with insurance?? I would understand if it was a gasser but still...

 

Not disagreeing with anything you posted.
Our local VFD had a truck insured for 50k. It was in a wreck and the insurance company said they would repair the truck and not pay off in $$$. So the 20yo truck would have cost 38k to fix. The body shop was going to wrecking yards looking for a used but good frame. The VFD settled for 10k payoff and the truck was given back to them. They ended up selling the truck for $2500. But for several years they paid on a $50k policy.

That opened my eyes to my situation. I had a 40k policy on my truck, so they would opt to fix my truck instead of a payout. If it was a bad wreck, I don't think I would be comfortable having my truck repaired. I would want the $$ to find a replacement.

I have not filed a claim with Progressive so I can not speak from first hand experience. On the R.V. forums, Progressive has a mixed reputation. They were the only company I could find that would insure my commercial vehicle being used in a non commercial application.

 

First of all who insured the VFD truck, what company? And that whole thing you are talking about puts the body shop in the middle. Which isn't fair but they (collision shops) now work for the insurance companies not so much the customer. Once again it brings me back to my statement "They are kinda in the business of repairing totals or doing anything to keep the per claim cost down below pay out."

And from being in the shops shoes I once had a company say to put a used frame under a F150 Lighting from a junk yard of their choice. They sent 3 different frames and everyone of them was bent !! The shop had to then prove to the claims rep that they were bad. End up straightening a used frame and put it under some poor guys Lighting. Would a shop ever want to do that NO but if the insurance company will only pay for LKQ parts...They do it.

Now I also think putting too high a value on your truck can also come back and bite you. Like you said above they aren't going to make it easy to collect on a total loss. They say it isn't a total loss and you say it is a total loss. Is the shop going to go to bat for you "Hell NO !" They don't want to bite the hand that feeds them and that ain't you. Big business always wins. But I myself with that VFD truck claim I would have gotten a lawyer involved.

Next week I am going to check with a couple of insurance companies and ask about % of value to total, Set/ agreed value policies and make sure the policy reads that will pay for add on's & upgrades. Some policies read that they only pay for OEM quailty. Like if you have a BTS trans they will only pay for a standard rebuild, You have a updated front end and the insurance company will say they are paying for Chinese a/m headlights stuff like that. They can do it if you don't check the fine print. So a set dollar amount isn't the only thing to look for in a policy.

 

Esurance allows you to add additional value to your vehicle for "Aftermarket Accessories", of course for an increase in premium, but thats how the game works. I love Esurance.