DE insurance

[cjbcpa]

Given my recent hay bale/guardrail incident at MAW , I thought I'd revive this thread and share my experiences as I file a claim with Lockton.

I've been purchasing their single event coverage for the last 18 months. Over this time, I've assigned a value to my car from $12,000 to $16,500, increasing mostly due to the improvements and mechanical work I have had done to it (more on this later). At this level, rates have ranged from $100 to $120 per event with a $1,500 deductible. Premiums are per event regardless of the number of days. They offer coverage up to a maximum of $100,000. Also included in their coverage is $500 of towing and up to $10,000 for hazardous material spills. Obviously, the rates increase the more coverage you purchase.

On Saturday of MAW, I hit some water on T13 of Thunderbolt that upset the car and caused it to go off track to the driver’s side. The wet/muddy grass compounded events and all I could do was put two feet in and wait for impact. I hit the front of the car with a bias towards the driver’s side. Once I got a look at the damage, I could tell it was significant, but I didn't think it was fatal. In fact, I thought I got pretty lucky; I didn't even drop any fluids. All the damage appeared to be in front of the tires. No damage to the shock tower area, nothing there was bent and all the seams looked  intact.

I filled out the claim forms Sunday over breakfast and called first thing Monday morning. Because I had purchased the insurance Wed or Thurs. before MAW, my policy wasn't even in the system yet. The CSR took my info and said someone would get back to me. Well, of course I was impatient and after a few calls during the week, an appraiser called me to set up a meeting for the following Monday.

At 7:30am the next Monday, the appraiser arrived and was not as encouraging as I had hoped.  He kept saying, these Porsche have a lot of "stuff" hidden behind the bumpers. Now I'm worried. I'm thinking, sure a 996 or 997 sure does. Maybe this guy's not real experienced with the front engine variety. Of course the front sheet metal was toast, but the hood wasn’t even buckled. Unfortunately, the ends of the two boxed “arms�? or girders that extend the length of the car (typical for unibody construction, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unibody#Automobiles) were bent.  One was bent pretty badly. I will concede it was difficult to see everything considering how cramped the engine compartment on these.

So much for the first installment. Chapter two, the results, to follow shortly.

CB