Vehicle insurance question

[jstubbs]

I nearly bought an early 2000s Ford F350 diesel over the weekend for a pretty stellar price, but decided to pass on it due to the insane theft problem with those trucks in Alberta currently (not joking, every single person I know who has had a 1999-2007 Super Duty has had it stolen).

It got me thinking though. Every time I add a new vehicle to my insurance policy, they ask how much I purchased it for. I was told that is so if the vehicle is stolen/wrecked, they will simply give you the purchase price (and may compensate for any receipts for repairs/etc). This has me wondering what if I bought vehicle off of a family member for $1? Or what if I said that I paid $5k more than what I truly paid for a higher payout? Surely insurance cannot actually go by what you claimed to have paid for the vehicle, so why do they ask?

It also had me thinking I should have bought that truck, because with the value of diesels in Alberta, I could have really gotten paid out big if it were stolen (it was a 4wd fully loaded crew cab with under 200,000 km, tough truck to find a replacement for). My grandpa’s friend had his 2007 Chev diesel stolen, wasn’t a crew cab or fully loaded, but had under 200,000 km and he still got paid out $27,000 for it from insurance.

As well, what if you disagree with the number value an insurance company throws at you after your vehicle is written off? Some people say you can find comparable Kijiji ads and send them those, some say they go strictly by blackbook value and that’s all there is to it.

I would call my insurance and ask but I’m skeptical I’d get a straight answer from them, and I’d also be worried they’d potentially flag me as a possible insurance scammer, lol.

[Roderek]

I don't have all the answers you are looking for, but my wifes car was written off with hail damage, the insurance company gave us an offer that I thought was low. I went back to them with comparable vehicles off Kijiji and they matched the highest price one I showed them.

[Sledhead71]

I always have a current appraisal on file with the insurance company to ensure there will be no discrepancies should a claim arise..

[Hamsnacks]

Some companies ask how much you paid while others don't.
So they don't go based off that information. Because just like you said, what if I bought it off a family member for an incredible price, and something were to happen, they better be giving me the value of my vehicle not my family's discounted price.

So they'll try to base it off the "market" value, which is always going to be lower than you are expecting. Some have even started showing you the same models sold and are available on Kijiji, Auto trader before they gave you their offer. But yes if you disagree then you can send comparable ads online, issue sometimes occurs when there's nothing similiar in Alberta so they'll try to do you dirty and show you the same model being sold in Ontario lol. If you still don't agree with their assessment you can escalate the claim to a third party (forgot the exact name) and they will determine the outcome.

Couple things to note, the reciepts and paperwork is probably the biggest scam on their part, you can show them $5000 worth of recent reciepts and I kid you not they'll be like okay, we'll add an extra $500 to your payout lol.
Another thing, because that particular truck is stolen so much, expect to pay more for your insurance per month, they take all that into consideration when determining the price to insure a vehicle.

[jstubbs]

Originally Posted by Roderek

I don't have all the answers you are looking for, but my wifes car was written off with hail damage, the insurance company gave us an offer that I thought was low. I went back to them with comparable vehicles off Kijiji and they matched the highest price one I showed them.

Thanks. A little while back my grandpa had his truck written off, and the offer he said insurance gave him sounded real low to me, and that similar trucks to his were few and far inbetween (tough to replace an 04 Dodge 2500 diesel 4wd that’s never been winter driven and only has 150,000 km) and that the closest one to his was selling on Kijiji for 75% more than what insurance had offered him, but I don’t think he ever really fought it and just took the offer they gave him.

[coreya3212]

I was told that they want a bill of sale so if the blue book is higher they will only paid what you paid for the vehicle, this was what the broker told me when I asked why they want a bill of sale. I of course said I will scan and send it in when I get a a chance. Maybe one day I’ll get to it. That was several years ago and I have been asked sometimes for the BOS but not every time. I never send it. They never seem to follow up.

On another note, how come when you cancel a policy, they send you a form to sign and return. What If I don’t? Are they gonna insure me without payment against my wishes?..

[whiteout]

Never been asked for the purchaseprice and never been asked for a bill of sale, also never had to sign a form when taking a vehicle off a policy. Sounds like different companies and brokers has different requirements

[Sooner]

Your purchase should be insured for it's value, not purchase price. When I add a sled or vehicle to my policy, I tell my guy it's worth this and we insure it for that. He asks what I paid for it and I always say, I got a deal but want it insured for it's value.

I do a lot of Ins claims, I never have an owner call me back and say hey, they adjuster is only offering my purchase price. Every claim I do is on the actual cash value at the time of loss. Unless the owner has some weird limit of insurance clause or it's new enough to have replacement coverage.

Just figure out whats it's true value is an insure for that, revise your coverage every two years for depreciation so your not paying Ins premiums on that big amount 10 years later.

[fishtank]

blackbook value ..and status , if you have a salvage title then you get salvage price

[Hamsnacks]

Originally Posted by fishtank

blackbook value ..and status , if you have a salvage title then you get salvage price

Not if you get lucky lol had a neighbor who had a rebuilt truck written off for a second time. Insurance gave him the value of it as an active title. Guy made almost 5k, and that was almost 5 years after purchasing it. Lol Insurance companies can be dumb sometimes