Quote:
Originally Posted by Lynxis
Looked at the survey and it's Survey Monkey and doesn't collect anything identifying about you so nothing to worry about there. I filled it out.
The major reason getting modified street cars insured in Ontario is such a problem is due to the no-fault insurance laws here. Getting classic cars or hotrods insured is easier for the insurers because they are never daily drivers so the chances of them being involved in a collision is extremely slim in the first place. Also, this type of insurance always has a laundry list of stipulations associated with it, IE: must be stored in a closed and locked garage when not in use, and can only put on very limited numbers of miles and ive even seen some stipulations that the vehicle is only allowed to be driven to and from car shows.
Anyways, the issues are mostly with getting daily drivers insured in a no-fault insurance environment because your insurer is the only one you deal with so they take on 100% of the risk. In places without no-fault, the only insurance company involved is the at fault party so if you get into a collision that is someone elses fault, then you chase the at fault parties insurance to get paid so your own insurer doesn't assume any of the risk in this scenario so they care a lot less about what your car is like. With no-fault insurance, you only deal with your own insurer which means they may be on the hook for paying for your modifications. While this isn't such a problem for a guy with a few thousand dollars put into his car, it's a different story when you are dealing with the guy who put 20k into his car. Obviously, they don't want to be on the hook for anything more than they have to be and because they are in control of the situation, they will just refuse to take on the associated risk. Also, there is no guarantee that the parts you put on your car are quality or that they were installed correctly. If you put on an inferior product or whatever and if it fails and causes a collision, well your insurance providers don't want to be on the hook for that either.
I think this could be resolved by doing regular inspections to ensure modified vehicles are safe for the road and set a claimed value but none of the insurance companies want to be bothered just to cater to a minority of drivers on the road who want to modify their vehicles.
Edit: Thinking about this a bit more, "collision" coverage is optional so the first point about the insurance company paying out for the cost of your modifications is basically irrelevant.. they could easily say "ok, modified vehicle means no collision coverage" but the second point still stands and I think is a larger part of the reason they don't want to cover modified street vehicles.
|
Much of the above is very true. The description of No-fault insurance is correct. No-Fault does not mean that you cannot be held as the responsible part in an accident, it is that you don't have to worry about going after a potential 3rd parties insurance to get coverage for yourself or the vehicle.
It is supposed to make claims scenarios easier for the clients. You get into an accident, you just go to your own insurance company and they take care of you.
Insurance is all about the historical data. It is the reason young males pay higher premiums. I am not saying that we are worse drivers or that ladies are never in incidents, but I do think that historically, when males get into an accident it tends to not just be a fender bender.
The problem with modified cars isn't always just for coverage for the vehicle itself, it is the chance of injury to yourself, or maybe you are showing off and injure someone else etc.
What I feel, and what I hope my survey results show, is that modified car owners are not littered with tickets and accident and the old mentality of hooligan street racers is not the case for the majority of car owners.
Again the argument for classic car insurance above is also fairly accurate. the reason the program works is the mentality that the vehicles are not driven every day and are a seasonal use vehicle. Again we specialize in Classic Cars so I deal with this a lot.
The use for a classic is to be hobby(Car Shows, Poker Runs, Cruise Nights, etc) and limited pleasure use(Drives on nice nights and what have you. Now if on your drive you stop for ice cream or dinner, this is fine). The vehicle is not to be driven to work, or for things that you should be using your regular vehicle for(running errands, leaving the vehicle unattended while you get groceries or shopping,etc.). However, as long as you are using the vehicle for the above purpose our program does not have a km restriction. Meaning that you want to take you drive your custom hot rod to SEMA one year. Go for it.
But again to be able to insure a $10,000 appraised value vehicle for only $89/year, I think the stipulations to use can be justified on both sides. The only reason the classic car program is successful is because there are very, very few claims.
The idea of my survey is to figure out how most people use their modded cars, which will allow me to go to my companies and develop a rating system that is fair and accurately generates a premium to cover the risk.
Currently my responses have led me to find, that most use their cars for Daily purposes. With this my current idea is to provide a discounted base rate for the insurance, and then add small surcharged based on a tiered value for total $ amount for mods to the vehicle. So your FRS say would be settled on just as normal, based on current market value etc. Then the mods would be settled on replacement cost, based on provable receipts. This way you get fair value for the car, plus proper compensation for your added mods. Again I am just in the very beginning stages of this, so there is no finality to this.
Who knows, maybe this will never get off the ground and I will be turned down everywhere. I am not trying to give false hope. This is a project I have been wanting to do for a number of years, and this year I am going at it full tilt. I do not know what the outcome will be, but I feel that modified car owners deserve the attempt.
I appreciate all who have filled the survey so far.
Cheers,