Insuring your (highly) modified 4Runner

[K O]

Like many of you here, I have spent entirely too much time and money on customizing my 4Runner for my own enjoyment. However, I am curious about how you are insuring your customizations. I currently have about 75% of my customization cost covered with Farmers, but was looking to reduce my overall cost.

I worked with Geico to get a great quote (no accidents, tickets, etc.) and originally told me they would cover everything except the winch, but later an underwriter at Gieco contacted me and let me know they were not going to be able to cover my customized 4Runner. At all. Not even at a reduced coverage for customizations. They're 'sending me a letter' explaining that my vehicle cannot be insured.

That's got me wondering - how/where do you insure your 4Runner to include all the customizations?

 

[sandcrawler]

Like many of you here, I have spent entirely too much time and money on customizing my 4Runner for my own enjoyment. However, I am curious about how you are insuring your customizations. I currently have about 75% of my customization cost covered with Farmers, but was looking to reduce my overall cost.

I worked with Geico to get a great quote (no accidents, tickets, etc.) and originally told me they would cover everything except the winch, but later an underwriter at Gieco contacted me and let me know they were not going to be able to cover my customized 4Runner. At all. Not even at a reduced coverage for customizations.

That's got me wondering - how/where do you insure your 4Runner to include all the customizations?

Amica Insurance. not recommending them re: insuring your mods, per se, but in my experience they're a truly exceptional insurance company.

e.g., years ago, my wife hydrolocked her (at the time) 5-series in a fluke "puddle" that was really more of a cement pond that had pooled in a bizarre depression in the road. one call to Amica: they arranged her tow and loaner from the dealer; completely managed—and paid for—the entire (month+ long?) ~$20k repair; and only called us once—just to let us know the car was ready and she could pick it up at her convenience. :hail:

how're those Cooper STTs treating you, btw?

 

[K O]

Amica Insurance. not recommending them re: insuring your mods, per se, but in my experience they're a truly exceptional insurance company.

e.g., years ago, my wife hydrolocked her (at the time) 5-series in a fluke "puddle" that was really more of a cement pond that had pooled in a bizarre depression in the road. one call to Amica: they arranged her tow and loaner from the dealer; completely managed—and paid for—the entire (month+ long?) ~$20k repair; and only called us once—just to let us know the car was ready and she could pick it up at her convenience. :hail:

how're those Cooper STTs treating you, btw?

Thanks for the tip. I'll look into them. The tires are a bit louder than most on the road, but handle perfectly on the road, and bite into just about anything off road like they're tank treads. They are a silica-based tread, which makes them very hard (and loud), but offers superior traction in all conditions including wet, and they grab onto rough or loose terrain better than my BFG AT's did.

 

[K O]

Amica Insurance. not recommending them re: insuring your mods, per se, but in my experience they're a truly exceptional insurance company.

I'm sure they are exceptional, but so is their price. I just got a quote from them for more than 2x the price of Geico and 1.5x the price of Farmers and that didn't even include the customizations (assuming they would even cover them).

 

[TOY2G]

Like many of you here, I have spent entirely too much time and money on customizing my 4Runner for my own enjoyment. However, I am curious about how you are insuring your customizations. I currently have about 75% of my customization cost covered with Farmers, but was looking to reduce my overall cost.

I worked with Geico to get a great quote (no accidents, tickets, etc.) and originally told me they would cover everything except the winch, but later an underwriter at Gieco contacted me and let me know they were not going to be able to cover my customized 4Runner. At all. Not even at a reduced coverage for customizations.

That's got me wondering - how/where do you insure your 4Runner to include all the customizations?

I have been using state farm for about 15 years. You can see from my album i have had a dozen modified vehicles. State farm covers loss and modifications with receipts.

I totaled my 2000 Tacoma with Dana 60 and a ton of other mods and it was covered. the underwriters will try to tell you you are not covered, but when it comes down to it, the only thing on any policy that is not covered it whatever is on the exemption page of your policy.

My wife has been worked for State Farm since 2004 and we (she) knows the in and outs. :shrug:

 

[joneseyyy]

I have a rather huge addendum to my geico policy to cover my mods at declared value (according to me). Everything from the suspension, armor, lights, storage and the list goes on. I think I probably pay $500/year on the addendum.

 

[sandcrawler]

I'm sure they are exceptional, but so is their price. I just got a quote from them for more than 2x the price of Geico and 1.5x the price of Farmers and that didn't even include the customizations (assuming they would even cover them).

yikes. that sure seems high. but i always figure that the real "cost" of your insurance is what happens you file a claim (specifically, they don't insist "you're not covered" as TOY2G wrote above). Amica has been good to us.

anyway, sorry it didn't help much. :cheers:

 

[Antman]

I dunno. I've always done stuff to my vehicles and have been broken into several times in the past. I never had a problem getting aftermarket parts replaced- as long as I could prove I had them on the vehicle with pictures/receipts. (Allstate & State Farm) Why do you think my build thread has so many pics??

I've had aftermarket head units, amps, speakers, seats(they were cut) and tools replaced with no drama whatsoever. Usually it's cheaper for them to replace aftermarket than stock anyway.

 

[Snow-Jet-MK5]

i've never had to file a claim for my car/truck but State Farm has covered alot of my parts on my bike. I have over 5k worth of upgrades on my bike that were damaged in a track crash and they covered it. i had all the receipts and i didn't tell them it was on the track so that might have helped. i'm sure if they would cover my bike upgrades they would cover truck upgrades.

 

[lilreds21]

Just notice this

i have been using state farm for about 15 years. You can see from my album i have had a dozen modified vehicles. State farm covers loss and modifications with receipts.

I totaled my 2000 tacoma with dana 60 and a ton of other mods and it was covered. The underwriters will try to tell you you are not covered, but when it comes down to it, the only thing on any policy that is not covered it whatever is on the exemption page of your policy.

My wife has been worked for state farm since 2004 and we (she) knows the in and outs. :shrug:

[MENTION=64685]TOY2G[/MENTION] that is one sexy driveway! One from each gen is my dream!

 

[Hawaiian4runner]

I have been using state farm for about 15 years. You can see from my album i have had a dozen modified vehicles. State farm covers loss and modifications with receipts.

I totaled my 2000 Tacoma with Dana 60 and a ton of other mods and it was covered. the underwriters will try to tell you you are not covered, but when it comes down to it, the only thing on any policy that is not covered it whatever is on the exemption page of your policy.

My wife has been worked for State Farm since 2004 and we (she) knows the in and outs. :shrug:

Not entirely true. The so called exemption page you are referring to is for "causes of loss". Has nothing to do with car value. Ask a claims person at State Farm, they do not have to pay for modifications. They usually do because OEM parts cost more anyway. If you put a ton of money into the car, I guarantee you will not get everything reimbursed without a "stated value" or "agreed value" or similiar type policy.

 

[Snow-Jet-MK5]

Not entirely true. The so called exemption page you are referring to is for "causes of loss". Has nothing to do with car value. Ask a claims person at State Farm, they do not have to pay for modifications. They usually do because OEM parts cost more anyway. If you put a ton of money into the car, I guarantee you will not get everything reimbursed without a "stated value" or "agreed value" or similiar type policy.

now that you put it that way i retract my statement. lol. thats probably why i got so much money back after the wrecking.

 

[DannyLlama]

I agree with TOY2G, State farm is pretty good. The body shop that did the work on my truck has insurance through state farm, he said they've replaced aftermarket items on his car even the clear bra....

I have been using state farm for about 15 years. You can see from my album i have had a dozen modified vehicles. State farm covers loss and modifications with receipts.

I totaled my 2000 Tacoma with Dana 60 and a ton of other mods and it was covered. the underwriters will try to tell you you are not covered, but when it comes down to it, the only thing on any policy that is not covered it whatever is on the exemption page of your policy.

My wife has been worked for State Farm since 2004 and we (she) knows the in and outs. :shrug:

[MENTION=65614]Antman[/MENTION], is it in your police to replace "tools"
when my truck was stolen, State farm wouldn't replace any items in my truck that didn't belong to the truck. Cameras, Christmas gifts , etc..

I dunno. I've always done stuff to my vehicles and have been broken into several times in the past. I never had a problem getting aftermarket parts replaced- as long as I could prove I had them on the vehicle with pictures/receipts. (Allstate & State Farm) Why do you think my build thread has so many pics??

I've had aftermarket head units, amps, speakers, seats(they were cut) and tools replaced with no drama whatsoever. Usually it's cheaper for them to replace aftermarket than stock anyway.

 

[PopsSmith]

For those with a USAA policy, all modifications are covered up to five thousand dollars. After that it is on you. USAA used to have an unlimited policy, covers all your modifications, but that ended at the end of this past year due to deployed members coming back and putting 10K into a paint job on a 3K car, then wrecking it. I tried to see if they would adjust their policy if either a higher deductible or monthly payment was done. Long story short they'll outsource you to another insurance company so you can do a insurance policy based on declared value (what you say your rig is worth).

 

[Hawaiian4runner]

I agree with TOY2G, State farm is pretty good. The body shop that did the work on my truck has insurance through state farm, he said they've replaced aftermarket items on his car even the clear bra....



[MENTION=65614]Antman[/MENTION], is it in your police to replace "tools"
when my truck was stolen, State farm wouldn't replace any items in my truck that didn't belong to the truck. Cameras, Christmas gifts , etc..

Stuff not attached to the vehicle can be covered by a Homeowners Insurance policy subject to the deductible. Most people end up not collecting cause Personal Property deductibles are usually pretty high and certain items such as jewelry have special limits and conditions.

 

[K O]

I worked with Geico to try and understand why they wouldn't insure my 4Runner and they came up with 2 explanations:

1) They won't insure ANY personal vehicle with a winch. Statistically, owning a winch causes a higher rate of payouts for insurance claims.

2) The ratio of modifications to vehicle value exceeds their underwriting guideline.



This brings me to another question - how many of you have a winch and have Geico? Do they know you have a winch?

 

[DannyLlama]

This brings me to another question - how many of you have a winch and have Geico? Do they know you have a winch?

Something tells me you aren't going to get anyone to raise their hand even if they have Geico + a winch.

Have you tried to get a quote with state farm?

If people can get insurance for a Ferrari which is worth 4X any of our 4runners, I can't imagine that you can't find a company that wont insure you. Why specifically Geico?

 

[K O]

Other people in the thread mentioned having Geico and being fully covered. And I was genuinely surprised that they could not or would not write a policy. I'm working on getting a 'stated value' policy now, which should cover my needs better. Progressive was willing to do one, but not Geico. I have worked with 6 different insurance companies now, and most would not cover my vehicle.

Basically, I'm trying to figure out if anyone else has been in the same situation as me and how they managed to get the right coverage for a fair price.

 

[TheeMikeB]

I got in a fender bender last year in my 3rd gen with ARB bumper on the front. ARB sustained some damage and it was replaced without incident or issue. The body shop just needed to know where to get one to replace it with. I have AAA insure FWIW.

 

[Jayhawk5G]

I think you got the answer you needed from Geico...

There a plenty of insurance companies that are fairly reasonable. I have State Farm and beyond my initial application for insurance I have never had to bring a vehicle in for them to inspect. So if you think a winch would be an issue maybe wait to put it on until after your coverage has started?

Most companies will also allow you to add coverage for aftermarket items in exchange for a higher monthly premium.