Has anyone had an insurance claim?

[Kenneth Gear]

Another active post today caused me to start thinking about my choice of auto insurance company for my pagoda.  Thanksfully, I have never had a claim so while I am happy with my company -- I really don't know what to expect when and if that day ever comes.

Has any other member had an insurance clain on their pagoda? If so, can you provide any advice or lessons learned?  Who was your insurer and how did they do?





Ken G
1971 280 SL
Silver/red

[Cees Klumper]

There was a thread about this a loooong time ago (believe it was even on the old Yahoo! site) where a member had an awful time to get damage paid for by his insurance company (if my memory serves me correctly it was Allstate). Anyway, I have not had to put in a claim yet (touch wood, then again I opted for the liability-only policy) so maybe others who have can weigh in here.

Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[Raymond]

Whatever insurance company you choose, make sure it is an "Agreed Value" policy. And, how do they define "total loss" and what happens to a car that they consider "Totalled".  You don't want to be arguing with the company about what the car was worth after an accident.  

I had an Acura that Encompass insurance wanted to total, even though it was still drivable.  They said the repair would cost more than 50% of the value of the car and they were not going to let me keep it if they paid me.  The negotiations were unpleasant because they valued the car at far less than it was worth.  I finally convinced them to settle, repaired the car, and drove it another three years.  But, what a hassle.

Ray
'68 280SL 4-spd Coupe

[JamesL]

I have mine on a restricted mileage classic car policy - relatively cheap here in the UK.

It's also a full agreed value - so I know at the start of the year what I'd get should it be "written off" as we call it. I get the valuations done by a specialist garage so that while the agreed value may be lower, should I need repair work done, the insurance company will not be too surprised at the repair bill.

So far I have not needed it and long may it stay that way.

[nirmal]

I have a similar experience as Ray on a Toyota Corolla. The insurance company wanted to scrap the car and pay low written down value. I finally had to settle and pay the balance repair cost- the car still works well. As with Cees I have a libility only policy.
Nirmal
1969 white 280 SL