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Is Geico a good company to work for?

Added value to car, can my insurance company cover the full value?

  • I have done a lot of work on my car which has a KBB value of about $3500. However I have upgraded the engine to a more powerful one with only 40,000 miles on it. I've also made a variety of audio and suspension upgrades. (All of which I can prove) I do not plan on selling the car in the near or even far future, so I will get plenty of use out of the upgrades. (Not interested in opinions such as "Why don't you buy a new car instead?") I've owned the car for about 6 years, I have a very clean driving record and my insurance premium with Geico is very low. I'm even considering a new high quality paint job which will cost a few grand. While my current insurance only covers the vehicle for its current "stock" value of about $3500, is it possible to negotiate with my insurance company to cover the added value to the car? Obviously, the car is worth a lot more than a mere $3500, I would be very willing to pay a high premium to give my car $10,000 or more of coverage. While I am a safe driver, I would like the comfort knowing that just in case something unfortunate happens, my insurance company would give me more than a mere $3500 for the loss of the vehicle. If I can't do this with Geico, do you know of any insurance companies who would be willing to cover the higher value of the car?

  • Answer:

    Your insurance company would ask you to report all modifications done to the vehicle to cover the proper value that you have added on. Unfortunately though, some modifications are not supposed to be reported to your insurance due to the possibility of this upgrade being illegal or not having proper documentation and permissions (ex: engine swap needs papers to be legit to your insurance company). Also, some of the modifications might sky-rocket your premiums. If you are willing to take the chance then go ahead. Your other option would be to get full coverage on the vehicle. Most insurance companies cover up to $10K in valuables. Meaning - if your car gets stolen you can claim that you had a sound system that was worth $XX.XX in the trunk. You dont have to say it was installed, that way they might cover that value.

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If you are in an accident and if your car is totaled, then the insurance company can only pay ACV (actual cash value). With a car valued at $3,500, which most likely is only valued at $2,500 to $3,000, since NO insurance company uses KBB, since that is only used for dealer ready vehicles, not private use. What you need to do is get an special endorsement added to your policy of the upgrades and you will be paying more for these upgrades. Since ALL policies will not add value for anything that is not "standard" and audio equipment, suspension and a engine with more power, etc would be paid at "standard" rates if the car is totaled. But be advised the $10,000 value you are calculating is most likely way too high and could be difficult to prove. Go to NADA or Edmund's for a more realistic value of what your car is worth. good luck

lucy

I have State Farm, & they cover my baby, my '89 Mustang, at a cost both of us agreed upon. The premium is a bit higher, but I don't drive it everyday, so I'm just fine with it. While I was rebuilding it, I kept copies of all the aftermarket bills for them, to base the value on.

rick29148

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