RE: [A/S] Vintage Airstream Insurance

["Greg Ledbetter" <gregledbetter@xxxxxxxxx>]

I need to put my 2 cents worth in here.  I have 19 years experience in auto
insurance, ten years as a consumer advocate with the state insurance
commission so I have seen how hundreds of companies handle total loss
claims.  You used to be able to buy a "stated value" policy that paid that
stated value.  It was based on the appraisals submitted when the policy was
written. I don't know of any companies that will sell that kind of policy
any more.

 A declared value now a days is the value they base the premium on.  It
means they will pay up to that value but no more than the ACV or actual cash
value which is defined as how much you could have sold the property for.
That would have to take in to consideration the condition.  Receipts will
help document that condition but they ain't gonna pay the full cost of the
upgrades, only what they add to the ACV.  Whatever that may be.  In my
opinion it does no good to declare the value.  It only limits how much they
will pay and does not increase how much they will pay.  You can argue that
since they based the premium on the declared value they should pay the claim
based on that but I have not seen that argument carry much water, although
it may help.

When going with a company that is primarily an auto insurance carrier if you
have a claim you will be dealing with an adjuster who is likely to have no,
zero experience with the complexities of the ACV of an Airstream.  She will
likely not even know the declared value or that any value was declared until
you tell her.  And it will have no impact on their offer.  (There of course
are exceptions.)

The dispute resolution with your own company is an appraisal process where
you hire an appraiser (at your expense) they hire one and the two of them
will select a third umpire.  Those three will reach an ACV.  Many companies
use a third party vendor who uses a data base to establish ACV.  It works
pretty will if there is a sufficient number of vehicles in the data base.
The date base for Airstreams is not going to be very big so I don't think it
works so well for us.  Do your homework and be patient if you have a total
loss claim.  Adjusters generally have no particular interest in low balling,
they want to close their file and low balling does not help them do that.
There are of course some adjusters who want to be heroes for the company and
will go low but I don't see that that often.  You have to help them document
their file so they don't get chewed out for paying too much.

Call your insurance commission if you reach an impasse or just to get
advice.  We can't decide the ACV but we will make sure they are following
the rules and do take into consideration all available information.

Greg