Reply to "Insurance Woes"

I happen to write with State Farm and have a variety of coverage including my collector cars. The terminology they use is "stated value" so your remarks peaked my interest. I went searching for my policies and haven't found them yet. Been years since I looked at them.

So I called my agent and posed the question:

In the event of total loss, are there any circumstances under which my policy would not pay the stated value?

His answer; NO. It will pay stated value; no more, no less. Market value is only used by the underwriters to determine if they will insure at the stated value and has no bearing on the pay out in the event of total loss.

He also said in the case of the % damage for totalling the vehicle, some owners want it repaired right up to the stated value (or even beyond with their own supplemented funds). Other owners may want it totalled, reasoning the car will never be the same. He indicated that he has seen it settled both ways, especially for collector cars.

Comforting conversation. Just in case, I asked him to send me a duplicate policy.

I'll let you know if it reads differently than the telephone discussion.

Thanks for the heads up.
Kelly