Zsanz

i am about to purchase a new 07 tc and i called the insurance company and i told them i wanted to have the lowering springs from the factory installed on it and they said if that was done they would not insure.
is this bizzurk?
have any of you had this problem?

ack154

iTrader: (7)

Why would you tell them that anyways?

But ya, they have no idea what you're talking about. You don't need to mention any of that to them.

Who's your company anyways?

teamben158

Yeah, they don't need to know. It's not like someone is just going to steal the springs from your car and they are cheap enough where it wouldn't be worth adding to your insurance anyway.

mdMiketC

I had a question posed to me by my insurance company when I applied. They asked if it had any pipes or anything that would make it more like a race car. I said no of course (but my CAI is on the way).

They ask those questions or in your case say they won't insure it because adding those things to the car in their minds means you intend to do things with your car that increase the risk of an accident. The higher the risk of an accident, they dont want to insure you or they will/would give you a higher rate.

However, due to the fact that the TRD lowering springs are a factory offered accessory, not aftermarket (check the scion.com site, its lists them under accessories, not aftermarket), technically they should still insure you because it is a factory offerd option. If you told them this and this still didn't want to insure you, I would suggest either talking to someone hire up (the the agent you spoke with) or looking for a different insurance company.

ack154

iTrader: (7)

Mike, they might have been thinking something like straight pipes or removing the cat or something like that for the exhaust... not just CAI or something. Still odd though. I've never been asked a single thing and my insurance keeps going down.

DevilTC

When you purchase your car, the dealership will give you a type of invoice/receipt detailing the cost of everything leading up to the final price that is to be financed. On this form ANY FACTORY ITEMS INCLUDED in the ORIGINAL purchase that ADDS VALUE/COST to the car must be insured by your insurance company.

Lets say you got the "springs" and drove the car off the lot and somebody ran into your car and totaled it *(knock on wood) Your insurance company must pay you the value of your car and ANY ITEMS that were listed on your invoice/receipt because they were included in the final price of the vehicle.

If you buy anything for your car from I.C.E. to performance parts, KEEP THE RECEIPTS, if your car gets wrecked you can negotiate a higher value for your car with the insurance company if you can show how much each item was.

Insurance companies suck, all they know how to do is take monthly payments but when it comes to THEM paying out, ohhhh...that’s a whole different story.

mdMiketC

Yeah, I know they probably meant the more extense I/H/E stuff but still, the reasoning is the same. Also remember, your 26 and your insurance price probably dropped a lot when you turned 25. For us 24 and below folks, we are still taking an @$$ pounding on the insurance rate, especially for a new car. Also, Zsanz is 17 (basically a new driver) so he is just starting to get the pounding.

Either way, DevilTC and I are right in that the springs and anything else avaliable for purchase at time of car buy is factory stuff and they shouldn't be able to hold that against you and claim you as uninsurable. You are insurable, however, I am not sure if they have the right, as a business, to deny you service at their perogative. I just don't know.

ack154

iTrader: (7)

I don't think the 25 thing is as big of a drop anymore. I recall reading that a couple places not long ago. It didn't go down too much at 25... but it did coincide with an accident coming off of my record (after 3 yrs) so that was most of the drop. But it's been consistent for a couple years.

And ya... Zsanz might as well get some lube.

Spect2K3

I use geico here in the tri-state area. It's the cheapest i've found. I have TRD springs, they don't know that though and frankly I don't plan on telling them. However TRD springs are made for the car, so they can't say anything. Now if you are using different springs, they may be concerned about quality. Just don't tell them.

ZiggyXIV

Not quite how it works... (and trust me, I write software for an insurance company and carpool with underwriters).
If the actuaries can determine a mathematical trend that says that cars with factory stereo upgrade are more likely to be at fault in an accident than those with the base stereo, then your rates can be adjusted based on that. Depending on the amount of that increase, the underwriter can decide not to insure you. Talking to someone higher up in the food chain will probably not have any effect, since they will go to another underwriter, who will look over the notes of the original underwriter and probably come to the same conclusion. And FWIW, the agent matters very little in this scenario. All they can do is issue a binder which provides temporary coverage until the underwriters from the actual insurance company can approve or reject the policy/rates the agent quoted. (except in situations where the agent can actually issue a policy, but the underwriters can still cancel or non-renew your policy, or just jack up your rates until you take your policy elsewhere)
Regardless, your policy can be rejected for a variety of reasons, and springs, while an unusual one, are a perfectly valid grounds for rejection from a legal standpoint.


True to a certain extent. If they insure your car, then they must insure the whole thing (i.e. parts on the original invoice). However, when you call to tell them that you sold your old car and purchased a brand new "Rolling Bomb", they can easily say "those are not safe and we will not insure that car for any price" and cancel your policy- as long as they refund any premium you may have paid in advance.

Don't count on it unless you informed your insurer ahead of time and the added parts are covered. If I buy a $20k car, insure it as a $20k car and put enough upgrades in it that it's worth $40k, when I total it, you better believe the insurance company isn't going to pay more than $20k for it if that is all the premium I've been paying on it. If you do have a lot of upgrades, ask your agent about an "optional equipment endorsement", which would provide coverage for additional upgrades which your regular policy would not cover.

It basically boils down to this:
If the value of the car goes up, the company's risk insuring it goes up. When that happens, your rates go up to cover a portion of the additional risk.
So if you do something to raise the value of your car, and your insurer isn't aware of it, don't be surprised if they won't cover the upgrades regardless of how many receipts you have.

Daskid

Telling an insurance company about your modding plans is a big mistake...

zer0myst

+1

Budsmoke

I don’t know if I’m correct, but this is how I see it…

Insurance does not cover the purchase price (or the amount you financed). It covers the “value” of the vehicle. Replacing your stock springs will not affect the actual value of the vehicle.

As far as this item being on your dealer invoice…. I don’t see how this affects your insurance policy. When I purchased my tC, I had them put on a spoiler and tack it onto the original sale. I did not have to provide Progressive with my dealer invoice, so how would they know?


Are you putting any money down? If so, then here’s what you can do. Subtract the amount that it will cost you to purchase and install the springs, keep that cash. Then purchase your tC as stock, and insure it. Afterwards, use that cash to get your springs.

I have never heard of anybody having a premium increase (or being dropped) for installing such minor non-stock parts, especially when they don’t tell the insurance company to begin with.

Worst case scenario, you total your car and do not get reimbursed for the springs. Big whoop. You’re out a couple hundred bucks, although you already sold your stock springs on EBAY so it’s all good. There’s no point in insuring relatively cheap parts, especially parts that are cheaper than your deductible.

ZiggyXIV

Generally speaking, that is correct. More specifically, the important part of the equation is the cost of replacement- the amount the insurance company would have to pay, should you total your car, to put you in a comparable ride.
However, occasionally, you will see "agreed value policies", where the insurer and insured agree on an amount covered, regardless of the actual cash value of the car (this is frequently seen with antique and collector cars where the value isn't quite as black & white as with modern cars)

In all likelihood, it won't. However, If you bought a $18k car that included a $1k body upgrade straight off the lot, you'll be far more likely to have the insurance company include that in your replacement than if you bought a $17k car and paid the local body shop $1,000 for a body kit later on.

Me either, but I won't say it doesn't happen. I remember when I was about 17, I looked at getting an RX-7. I wanted to get the factory turbo version, but my rates for that car were almost double what they were with the non-turbo version- the insurance company's way of saying "we don't really want to insure you in that car, so we're going to jack up the rates in hopes that you decide against it."
For minor parts, it's not a big deal, but if you do something major to it and try to file a claim, the insurance company could try to claim that you were guilty of material misrepresentation, since the car they had on paper and the actual car had significant differences that would change the insurability. If that happens, either your claim gets denied outright and you get nothing, or you end up in court/mediation/arbitration/etc.

So yes, I agree. There is little point in making an issue over the little parts. But if you do a lot of mods, you're far better off making sure your policy covers them, and if your insurance company asks about something specific, you'd best speak the truth or it could easily bite you in the ___ later on.

ARIZONA-TC

a lot of this stuff depends on your insurance company and even then they can differ from case to case i know that i tried to get a 70 vette and i couldnt find a place to insure me while one of the kids at my school has a 72 and got insured the first place he went... regardless springs are not going to make a difference in the big picture when your car gets in a wreck your not goin to say "oh god i hope they pay me back my 200bucks for my springs" its going to be more like "oh god i hope my rate doesnt jump another 200bucks a month lol" also i love how everyone thinks the insurance company is out to get them... my dad does insurance so i see both sides of it

Zsanz

allright guys thanks alot im gonna call them again today and try to set some things straight. hopefully its quick because i saw a xb on the way to school and i tried to catch up but when i leaned on it my clutch started slipping and my rps shot up like i hit the nos button.

once again thanks alot