Jim Hill wrote:
> Mass-market insurers (like Geico) don't typically appraise the cars they
> insure, nor do they usually rely on the owner's claim (after a loss) that
> his car should be valued differently than a typical vehicle of the same
> make, model and year. Why should they? They can just look up the value in a
> bluebook or apply some depreciation formula (as Geico has suggested they
> do).
I agree with you, Jim, AFA appraisals prior to issuing a policy -- USAA didn't
ask but seemed happy to accept my photos of my car. But during a claim, the
owner's claim of condition is certainly relevant. For my 30 year old BMW hail
claim, my insurer both confirmed the damage and assessed the overall
condition when I made the claim. They had to choose between fair, good,
and excellent I suppose.
The values in those books *do* take condition into consideration, and
so wouldn't mass-market insurers have to consider the owner's claims AFA
fair value? That doesn't mean the insurer should pay as much as a show
winning restoration would cost. But if you claim the Triumph under that big
tree was a national show winner, and can prove it with photos of you standing
by the car with the Big Triumph Guy Trophy, the car would have been valued
differently in the guides vs. a typical vehicle. I think some of the guides
exclude
concourse and project cars, so it shouldn't be impossible to cope with Geico's
value guidebook approach even for extraordinary condition cars. $.02.
--
Steven Newell
Littleton, CO
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