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I have had antique insurance since 1981 and never had a claim. The other day I was moving stuff around the garage and a drive shaft from my Olds, fell and landed on the back of my white 61.
It was so fast I had no time to react and catch it.
My question is should I contact my insurance company, American Modern, even though it was my fault?
Thanks,
Joe
You might want to first get an estimate before making a decision to call the insurance . It is a small area but still could be expensive since it will probably require repainting the whole back . With white it might not require blending into the doors to get a match .
Joe I would report the claim ,just think since 1981 not a claim , let them pay up . I agree first get a few estimates for qualified vintage corvette body shop too show the adjuster in case they low ball you with how much they are willing to pay.. I have had JC Taylor since 1993 they made good on two claims with no problems , and one was a total loss .I saw that damage and it even effected the bonding strip its not a easy repair by any means , corvette repairs have a bad tendency too show up later on in most cases right through a fine paint job as you know .
Man - sorry about the accidental damage. I had a similar thing happen to me recently - carrying some boards from an old peg board frame support out of the garage and one leg came loose and fell on the nose of my Cobra. Fortunately it just scuffed the paint and I could sand and buff it out with no problem. Assuming you are taking it to someone to repair, I would report it to your insurance. It seems that most vintage car insurance is written around $0 deductible as a default unless you ask them to apply a deductible - so depending on your policy it may be that the entire cost will be covered. I wouldn't worry that they will jack up your rates - I very much doubt they will do that. It was an accident - that's what they are there for.
Report it. Accidents happen. Someone on here not long ago got a payout for fixing hood paint when they inadvertently scorched it by leaving the hood up at a car show and the air cleaner reflection bubbled the paint.
I have had antique insurance since 1981 and never had a claim. The other day I was moving stuff around the garage and a drive shaft from my Olds, fell and landed on the back of my white 61.
It was so fast I had no time to react and catch it.
My question is should I contact my insurance company, American Modern, even though it was my fault?
Thanks,
Joe
it doesn’t matter if it’s your fault as long as you didn’t do it on purpose.
If you have comprehensive coverage, you should make a claim for this. If you are concerned about your rates going up, you can ask your agent whether or not this will change your rates and if so, by how much. But in general, there's a reason you buy insurance and this is that reason.
I had a claim last year with American Modern last year on my '32 Ford Panel Delivery for $26,800 for vandalism and I couldn't hardly believe it when I got my annual policy renewal it went down a dollar. They didn't even send a adjuster out and only wanted one estimate. They have been great towork with.
Dennis
I have had antique insurance since 1981 and never had a claim. The other day I was moving stuff around the garage and a drive shaft from my Olds, fell and landed on the back of my white 61.
It was so fast I had no time to react and catch it.
My question is should I contact my insurance company, American Modern, even though it was my fault?
Thanks,
Joe
I made claim a few years ago because I shut the garage door on the very back of the 67 coupe. It popped a quarter sized piece of paint. They gave me a fair amount of money and my rates have never increased substantially. Things happen.
Thanks for your replies. I do not believe I have a deductible and I will get an estimate before I call them. I will let you know how I make out.
Thanks again,
Joe
Get some estimates to repair it BEFORE you report it.
If the estimate is below your deductible, you will pay for it anyway.
But some insurance companies (and my guess it probably is not collector car insurance, per se) will count it against you even if don't file a claim.
Once you file it, you cannot take it back. Leave your options open, at least until you know what you are facing.
Probably no issue, but you will not know for sure until you file.
Good luck on whatever you decide to do.
You are right about them counting an issue against you even if you don't file a claim . Just asking your agent about the situation and trying to get their advice can go against you . How do I know ? I had STATE FARM INSURANCE and was coming home late at night in my Honda Civic and in a dip in the road ( blind spot ) there was a huge metal storage bin that must have fell off of a truck sitting in the middle of the road and I didn't see it in time and damaged the front of my car . I had full coverage on the car and comprehensive and they said it wasn't covered because I hit the storage bin and should have been able to avoid it . And said if the bin hit me , like falling directly off of the truck onto my car I would be covered , which means that I would have been driving too close to the truck in that instance but it wouldn't matter I would have been covered . But since my agent typed the information into the computer it went on my permanent record as an accident even after over 50 years of accident free driving and they said that they couldn't remove it . ( State Farm " Like a good neighbor " )
You are right about them counting an issue against you even if you don't file a claim . Just asking your agent about the situation and trying to get their advice can go against you . How do I know ? I had STATE FARM INSURANCE and was coming home late at night in my Honda Civic and in a dip in the road ( blind spot ) there was a huge metal storage bin that must have fell off of a truck sitting in the middle of the road and I didn't see it in time and damaged the front of my car . I had full coverage on the car and comprehensive and they said it wasn't covered because I hit the storage bin and should have been able to avoid it . And said if the bin hit me , like falling directly off of the truck onto my car I would be covered , which means that I would have been driving too close to the truck in that instance but it wouldn't matter I would have been covered . But since my agent typed the information into the computer it went on my permanent record as an accident even after over 50 years of accident free driving and they said that they couldn't remove it . ( State Farm " Like a good neighbor " )
You say you had full coverage, but they told you this wasn't covered at all? I'm thinking that they said it's covered under your "collision" coverage, but not your "comprehensive" coverage.
Just FYI, this is a common question that comes up--at what point is something a collision claim versus a comprehensive claim? In most policies, "collision" is defined along the lines of "your car hitting another object or overturning" while "comprehensive" coverage is "everything else, including vandalism, theft, missiles, and animals." Many companies, not just State Farm, take the position that if you hit a stationary object in the road, that's a collision, not a comprehensive, claim. If the object is flying through the air, that's usually considered a comprehensive claim, as part of the word "missile" used in the definition. Some carriers will ask whether or not the object bounced off the road or not, reasoning that some number of bounces makes the object no longer a missile.
Every carrier is different, but in my experience (30 years managing claims for some 30 insurers), most insurers would classify your claim under collision, not comp.
I worked for State Farm as an estimatofor 30 years and if you had collision coverage it must be paid regardless if your agent said you should have been able to stop before hitting the object
You say you had full coverage, but they told you this wasn't covered at all? I'm thinking that they said it's covered under your "collision" coverage, but not your "comprehensive" coverage.
Just FYI, this is a common question that comes up--at what point is something a collision claim versus a comprehensive claim? In most policies, "collision" is defined along the lines of "your car hitting another object or overturning" while "comprehensive" coverage is "everything else, including vandalism, theft, missiles, and animals." Many companies, not just State Farm, take the position that if you hit a stationary object in the road, that's a collision, not a comprehensive, claim. If the object is flying through the air, that's usually considered a comprehensive claim, as part of the word "missile" used in the definition. Some carriers will ask whether or not the object bounced off the road or not, reasoning that some number of bounces makes the object no longer a missile.
Every carrier is different, but in my experience (30 years managing claims for some 30 insurers), most insurers would classify your claim under collision, not comp.
This was an unavoidable object in the middle of the road late at night in a dip in the road where the headlights did not pick it up until it was too late . Why would that be the same as me just being careless and wrecking into somebody where I would be responsible ? In my case it was unavoidable damage to my car and should have been covered by comprehensive , but instead State Farm didn't pay anything and still put it on my 50 year perfect record as a collision and said that they couldn't remove it .
This was an unavoidable object in the middle of the road late at night in a dip in the road where the headlights did not pick it up until it was too late . Why would that be the same as me just being careless and wrecking into somebody where I would be responsible ? In my case it was unavoidable damage to my car and should have been covered by comprehensive , but instead State Farm didn't pay anything and still put it on my 50 year perfect record as a collision and said that they couldn't remove it .
Anain, it doesn’t matter if someone thinks the damage was avoidable. If you have collision coverage it must be paid.
People often hit objects that otherwise would be avoidable that’s the reason to carry collision coverage.
if you back into a mail box, turn sharply and sideswipe a pole or leave your car in neutral and it rolls into a tree they are all payable under collision.
As a side note if you did not collect on your policy you would not be surcharged and it doesn’t mater if it’s on your record.
Last edited by Jriver; 09-23-2018 at 11:35 PM.
Reason: Addl info
09-22-2018, 08:26 PM
Insurance claim
