shop insurance help...

[zingercustoms]

ok, if you don't know me, check out my thread here (http://www.lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=14804&page=18)
worst day ever yesterday...wrecked my custom bird into a classic bird, I have to talk to insurace, I have 75k of coverage, but how do you get them to understand a: the hours in the custom parts that are ruined b:you don't just blend a fender on a 50k restored tbird, let alone the fact that there is no body line to go to on the car. I will not leave a blend line on that car.....any one have experience in what to expect, how to handle or what to do to get on the same page? thanks

[camcojb]

Who is your insurance company?

[camcojb]

get an estimate from a top quality shop in your area. have the agent get an agreed price with the shop. make sure it is where you want it repaired as they may want to do a partial teardown so as much damage as possible can be seen when the appraiser for the insurance company comes to inspect the car the first time. have the shop tell the appraiser they will send invoices for any one off parts they need made for the repairs, that are not in the crash book so to speak. it is normal to have supplement on any repairs over a very minor fender bender...

if you have statefarm you are in luck, as they go the extra mile to put your car back like it was pre accident! if you have damage on your L 1/4 panel state farm will pay to shoot the roof and other 1/4 panel so there is no blend to fail in the sail panel area of the 1/4 a year or so down the road! if the other guys carrier is state farm use them...if you have state farm use your ins, and statefarm or you simply need to contact the other guys carrier for the deductable if he was at fault. pm me if you have any other questions.... be a hard ass with them, that you want it back like it was before it was hit!, tell them no corners were cut when you built it, and you dont want any cut when they fix it. if you are going to have an out of state company fix it you might want to ship it to them now, and have an appraiser for the ins see it at the shop doing the repairs.!!! pm me if you have any other Qs...rmI love State Farm for my commercial vehicles, but I would use an agreed value company for my expensive muscle cars.

[zingercustoms]

i am the one to do the fixing....selective insurance, if it was a collision job i can estimate it....not quite the same....can't just replace parts. I just wondered if anyone else has delt with this to make sure I get what I need to fix it right...all the time involved is hard to get people to understand when you do this kind of work.

[camcojb]

I had a Cobra that had a knock-off wheel/tire exit the car driving down the road. I did not want any blending done, as on the main body it's all one piece and the paint would be hard to blend and no good areas to blend to.

I had Hagerty and they allowed me to get three estimates, took the average, and since I insisted on painting the entire car they paid me to do it myself.

The only caveat was that they would treat me exactly as a shop; I had to buy the materials and pay all costs up front. When it was done they sent an inspector out to make sure of the quality of the repair. The guy got there and expected to be able to pick it apart since I was a non-professional painting the car at my house (he told me that :lol: ). After looking it over he told me I should do it for a living and handed me a check on the spot.

That was the only time I've ever been paid to paint one of my cars. :thumbsup:

[DOOM]

Its going to come down to how good of a insurance company you have. If you have a ''substandard'' company strap in your going for a ride! The good insurance companies will work with you and usually it goes pretty smooth. I will tell you this,if your the shop doing the work make sure you have everything you need to do outlined ahead of time. I have found that when you explain in ''DETAIL'' how the repair has to go and why it usually helps them understand the process. Custom stuff gets tricky but I have found this method works the best. When you buy insurance for your shop you should ask questions about your policy. With you doing custom work you need to explain up front what your dealing with and how it would be handled if something like this happens. I service 5 major dealers at my shop 80% of the cars I do are brand new so hears what I ask about my policy. On a good day I can have 10 to 15 new cars at my shop. So what would happen if all these cars somehow got damaged? In Illinois the dealers don't have to disclose anything under $1500.00 on a new car so that's okay fix the damage and all's good. But if the damage is more hears where the problem is.It has to be disclosed now the dealer has to sell the car for less money because of the discloser, and in a lot of cases they don't even want the car! Guess who has to either make up the difference for the loss or purchase the car? And ask me how I know this.:hello: So I had to find a Insurance company that would be able to handle this should this ever happen again I even had to have a lawyer go over the policy to make sure the wording was all correct! In the end you have to make sure your insurance is tailored to the business your running. Simple shop keepers insurance isn't going to cut in most cases..