DVAC was recently contacted by the owner of a highly modified Ford F-350. The vehicle had over $20k worth of high quality modifications: ceramic exhaust system; heavy duty upgraded suspension; special wheels and tires, just to name a few. Unfortunately, the owner was in an at fault first party incident that totaled his truck. “No problem”, he thought, “I have insurance”. He contacted DVAC to assist with a total loss settlement with his insurance carrier.
Unfortunately for the owner, he did not have a stated loss rider on his policy. In other words, he was only insured for the value of a stock F-350. He had not insured his vehicle for the appropriate value of the upgrades. Therefore, he was not properly insured to recover over $20k in upgrades. The client suffered a real and significant out of pocket loss that could have been prevented. He should have had a stated loss policy insuring his many upgrades. A lesson learned the hard way! All we could do is help him recover ACV for a stock F-350.
We have seen adult men and women cry when informed that their wrecked/damaged car was only insured for “book value”; not actual cash value. People, make sure that you have the proper stated value rider on your auto insurance policy!