My insurance agent mentioned something new to me today. Told me about an add on coverage that insures things like bumpers, racks, rims, lights and other items. Hes going to get me more specifics and a detailed outline of what is coverable.

I have to say I'm interested, especially with the price he quoted. Cover $1500 worth of stuff for $42 a year.

Think it would be worth it?

Not bad in my opinion - especially if you're in a high-theft area. Unless you've spent $4000 on mods and can only get $1500 coverage.

Sounds like yet another scam from the insurance industry. Isn't the shit already covered by auto insurance ?

No its not or at least it depends on the coverage. You drop 3K on audio, thats NOT covered. All they have to do is return it to stock, not give you all your toys back.

Usually they automatically insure things that are installed in factory locations. Like if you put an aftermarket stereo in they cover it if it's installed in the proper spot. I would think bumpers and things like that would be covered too. What probably woudln't be are extra things like roof baskets, GPS, any stereo equipment that isn't where it belongs, etc. I'm sure it all depends on the company, State, etc. One thing though, they only cover for factory replacement costs on those things usually. So your ARB might only be covered for the cost of the factory bumper. So ideally, any extra insurance should be to cover the extra cost more than just specific items. I need to talk to my insurance company too because I've got about $15K into extra crap on my truck. WOuld suck if I totalled it and they only gave me $10K for the whole thing!

I was just confused because you said it was a new thing. You can get a rider to cover whatever you want on a vehicle, you just have to pay for it.

Ian I said it was new to me, I had no idea you could do this. I lost my ass when my Civic was busted into 5 years ago. Liberty said nothing about "you should have had this coverage" to me.

Figures.

Still, it isn't all that expensive for this 'rider' and has me interested.

I thought the point of insurance was to bring you back to where you where before the accident/theft happened. Say for instance you pull stuck vehicles out as a side job and have put larger tires, bumpers etc, insurance has an obligation to see that you are back to doing that in a reasonable amount of time.

When I was hit early last year by some teenage girl speeding in a parking lot, they replaced my grill guard and hella lights. She hit me hard with a lifted F350 with a ranchhand.

I think that you may have to report everything not stock that you would like to claim before anything happens however
Sounds kinda fishy to me too, but I just dont trust insurance agents, car salesmen or other snake oil salesmen.

Keep your receipts. I had regular auto insurance from StateFarm and I wrecked my lowrider I had when I was in high school and tore up Centerline Billets wheels and tires. Insurance gladly replaced the wheels and tires and didn't blink at the cost cause I had my reciepts and the adjuster saw the other wheels. I've also had my stereo stolen in the same truck and insurance replaced it cause I had receipts and pictures, but the receipts showed value. That sounds like an way for insurance to play off your accessories and make a few extra dollars in the policy. But maybe things are different state to state and company to company. My experiences was with State Farm

I would think that any insurance company would want to know what item of value were modified into or onto a vehicle. Even if a regular policy covers these items, the rate would go up as the value of items or modifications increase the cost of replacement.

If you have 10k of mods done on a vehicle, the policy rate would have to reflect these mods. Also, most policies pay out less as a vehicle depreciates. In purchasing an additional rider for mods, you may want to ask if the policy covers "replacement" value. This way if your 10k in mods was destroyed you would be able to replace the mods at current market prices.

Another product offered by insurance companies and some finance companies is GAP insurance. This covers you if you owe more on the vehicle than its book value due to a low down payment or long term of payments. Some people have totaled relatively new vehicles to find the check from the insurance company does not pay off their loan. They have to get a new vehicle and payoff the old vehicle.

FYI, I had an appointment with my insurance agent over lunch and asked him some questions related to offroading. This is with American Family Insurance, but you might want to check with your own agent. My questions and his answers.

1) Does modifying a vehicle suspension affect insurance?

Not as long as it's street legal.

2) Even if it is no longer similar in design to the original design, i.e. SAS?

This gets trickier. It's not a problem for liability only as long as it's still street legal. For Comprehensive and Collision he thought it would have to be inspected and evaluated for safety to see if they wanted to insure it.

3) Who determines street legal?

The state

4) Who determines if it's safe?

Don't know

5) Does add beefier bumpers and a winch affect my liability in an accident, i.e. if I T-bone a Honda and go right through it because my truck has a battering ram for a bumper?

Not as far as the insurance rate is concerned and the insurance would pay out to the maximum of my policy. He recommended a blanket liability umbrella insurance policy to cover my house and vehicles, for the case that I were sued for more than my policy allowed. $1 million for $175 a year.

6) Does insurance cover aftermarket parts?

Only if declared and they have a record of their value. The cost is $30 anually for every $1000 in additional coverage.

7) Does insurance cover damage incured offroading?

Yes, provided it isn't racing or other competition. However, prior damage will depreciate the value of the pay out in the event of an accident. For example, I have lots of dents all over that have never been fixed. If I get hit and smash a fender the panel will be depreciated for any existing damage before the accident occurred for calculating the pay out on the claim. If I wanted to fix all the dents they would be applied to the deductible individually since they occured during different incidents.

Let's say you get hurt while racing or in a competition, would insurance cover that?

No, at least with my policy there is a provision prohibiting racing and competition. If I am doing that the insurance has no obligation to pay out a dime. He told me about one of his clients that was autocrossing a Viper. He lost control of it and went off course into a tree. The insurance did not cover him.

Edit: That is with the PIP coverage on the auto policy in the policy. At least in my case I havent' checked my medical insurance through work to see if there is a similar restriction. But I know the work policy covers me for some other "dangerous" activities like sky-diving and flying in experimental aircraft.

I've worked in with insurance for approx 6 years now. Under your own collision or comprehensive coverage you are typically provided $1k of aftermarket parts or equipment coverage w/ the basic policy (this may vary depending on your insurance company and the state you live in but it is pretty much the norm). You may add additional aftermarket parts coverage (referred to as custom parts and equipment) in different amounts. The aftermarket parts have to be permanently attached to your vehicle for coverage to apply (ie the subwoofers sitting in the cargo area or the 100+ case of CD's that are not permanently affixed to your X will not be covered.) If the insurance company is replacing an aftermarket part they will pay $ for $ pending you have evidence of the cost of that part up to the $ maximum of your a/m coverage.

Now for a kicker for those of you that have lots of $ into your X even if you purchase additional a/m parts coverage on your policy & your vehicle is a total loss you will not get $ for $ on the a/m equipment. The insurance company will run an evalution on whether or not the a/m part increases value to your vehicle. For the most part the insurance company will argue in the instance of a suspension lift, larger tires, etc that it does not increase the value of the vehicle to the general public so you may not receive any additional money from the base price of the vehicle.

If your vehicle is hit by someone else these rules do not apply to you and you would be covered up to the policy limits of the at fault party. (in CO the minimum limit of liability is $15k, which is way too low).

To answer one of the earlier questions if you have your bikes on a hitch mounted rack & you are rear ended the other person's insurance company will pay for the bikes, hitch carrier and vehicle damage. If you back into something w/ your bikes your policy will not cover the bikes & may or may not cover the hitch carrier but would cover the vehicle damages. Damn I'm winded

Another thing to keep in mind would be that in some cases OEM replacement parts cost more than aftermarket..Example my stock wheels and tires would cost me more to replace than my AR's and swampers,so in the long run if my wheels and tires did get stolen say then I'd make out alot better getting paid for the OEM wheels than the aftermarket ones...

What CO Native is saying is mostly correct for most insurance policies in most states. However, unless you live in TX, MA, VA or one or two others that specify what a policy MUST say, it is very likely that a policy will differ greatly from one company to the next. Many start with the same basic forms and then add "endorsements" that add, modify or delete coverages. Many policies have exclusions for custom equipment, but if you read the description carefully, it doesn't specifically exclude most of the kinds of mods the folks around the XOC do, often excluding custom graphics, murals (wouldn't that look cool?) shag carpet, etc. The answer here is to read your policy carefully. If you don't understand it, ask your agent, if you don't trust your agent, get another agent. What Burgpath is saying may very well be true for his company in TN, but it may not be true for another company in TN or even the same company in another state. Honestly, that coverage sounds a bit pricey for the limits it offers. For those worrying about expensive mods and the like, there are policies that SOME companies write that are essentially "Hot Rod" policies. I think that some of the outfits that advertise in Hemmings and similar "Antique" publications may have a policy that is, in effect, an agreed value policy. other companies may offer a prohibitively expensive endorsement that results in an agreed value coverage, where, if the vehicle is ever stolen or totally destroyed, you and the carrier have entered into an agreement in advance as to the agreed value.

Off to Parts & Accessories with this one...

I got married last weekend and we decided to move my wife and her daughters policy (cars) to my Liberty Mutual policy. I was paying $1200 a year on the Pathy, adding a 02 2WD Exploder and an 02 Escort (16 year old driver) bumped my to $3700 a year!

I almost fell over.

We called Lisa's insurance agent at Tennessee Farm Bureau. EQUAL coverage including equal deductibles: $2300 a year.

I'll be calling them about 'rider' coverage next week. Maybe they have a different guideline than Liberty and hopefully its cheaper too.

Damn man that more than doubled,,,I'd pass out...