Insurance = We Lose!

unfortunately, no matter how much you give the insurance company over the years, and even though you never claim on the insurance, they will NEVER treat you fairly...thats just the nature of insurance.

Sorry, sucks but its true.

 

If your Prius gets stolen, it will be with a flatbed truck, or you left your keys in it, or perhaps at gunpoint. The factory immobilizer system is very hard to beat - it's just not worth the effort.

Tom

 

Re: #1: Your insurance company should pay actual cash value for your car. The good news is that even for a Prius with some miles on it this is above new MSRP lately. If they offer you less you can ask that they research selling prices for comparable model year and mileage Priuses. I think a couple of threads here mention that owners of totalled cars have been able to do that.

 

The only thing that covers being carjacked is comprehensive right?

 

That is why paying over MSRP is foolish.. my opinion only.

Also, as someone else said, the only way the Prius will get stolen is with a flatbed tow truck, you left the keys in it, or at gunpoint. This car just cannot be stolen any other way, so I don't even worry about that.

 

The issue is that with many dealers charging over sticker, it may be impossible to replace your totaled Prius with another on what you get in insurance money.

 

When the insurance company starts to screw you over, that's when you say, "I'm going to have to hang up now, my migraine and back pain are starting to act up, but don't worry about me, I have an appointment with a doctor a friend told me about next Monday."

 

Wait... someone explain to me why the GAP coverage is being dismissed? I thought thats exactly what GAP coverage was for...

 

Re: Insurance = We Lose (only if you agree to lose)!

Gap insurance is specifically to cover the difference between the lower value of a vehicle and the amount that is still owed on the loan.

Typically, a new car depreciates significantly in the first day/year it is owned. A new (non-Prius) car purchased for $20k may be worth $15k a month later. However, $18k may still be owed on the loan.

Gap insurance covers the ($3k in this example) "gap" between the value of the vehicle and the amount owed on the loan.

The Prius is now much different than the typical vehicle. Its value is actually more than what many people paid for it.

The best advice I would offer anyone concerned about being unable to replace their damaged Prius is to read your policy very closely. If your insurance company isn't following the policy, sue them. Simple as that. If you policy dictates replacement value, that's exactly what you should get. If not, that's one of the few examples where lawyers can make your life better!

- Tim in Hollywood

 

My Prius got really smashed up this past spring. Cost $11,000+ to fix, and I had a rental for a month. Other than the more gas I had to use for the rental, it didn't cost me a penny. It's now running good as new. Insurance is my friend.

 

My 2007 Prius Touring package 5 with 24000 miles on it was totaled in late May when someone rear-ended the car in the highway. Once I handed the claim over to my insurance company they agreed with me that my car with 24,000 miles on it had virtually the same value as a new car. They paid me within $500 of the ORIGINAL purchase price of the car. I was able to replace the car with a NEW Touring package 6 with only a few hundred dollars out of pocket. (And that's not counting the Colorado tax refund of $3000 I'll get at the end of the year.)

Insurance companies are supposed to reimburse you for your loss. If your car has gone up in value, then they are supposed to reimburse you for that value up to the cost of replacing the car.

 

Re: Insurance = We Lose (only if you agree to lose)!

Exactly. GAP covers the difference between what the insurance pays and what is owed on the loan. I have been a loan originator for many years and always recommend GAP coverage if someone is putting less than 10% down. We're getting our Prius this week and I am adding GAP coverage on my loan. I work for a credit union and we offer GAP for a flat $245 fee which is about half of what a dealer charges. Our GAP will also pay $1,000 towards the purchase of a new car if yours is totaled out.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but GAP only covers the gap between what the insurance company covers and what you owe.

The only way you could recoup I suppose would be to sue the person that totaled your car for any difference. Good luck with that.

 

LoJack is the best system. If you don't want to or can't spring for that, look into the GPS based anti-theft systems, either satellite or cellular based. None of these, including LoJack, are theft DETERRENTS. The bad guy isn't supposed to know it's there. They are theft RECOVERY products. Deterrent items would include VIN glass etching and Club type devices.

 

Get your GAP coverage somewhere else. For instance, the GAP (Guaranteed Asset Protection) where I work covers up to a GAP of $4000 up TO THE LOAN AMOUNT. The value of the car or the MSRP at the time of purchase is not a factor.

So for instance, if you bought a car for $28,000 and paid a $2000 premium and have a loan of $30,000, and your insurance company comes back and says the car is only worth $27,000, we are only going to pay up to that amount, GAP will cover the $3000 difference and pay off your loan.

If you think about it, most people also finance the sales tax and title fees, which is also above and beyond the value of the car, typically about 10% overall.

 

Yep, if your Prius (or another car with a modern electronic immobilizer) is stolen, it will be on a truck or with the keys. You can't do much about the truck or car-jacking, but you can try to protect against the other way of getting your keys with a home alarm system (or dog/peacock) and by putting your keys out of sight and not right by the front door (of course, one of the cops we spoke to after our cars were stolen said that she probably would continue to keep the keys by the front door to guard against the more unpleasant scenario of the thieves not finding the keys and deciding to come up to the bedroom to "ask" for them).

The other general theft defense mechanism is rainbows and hearts in the paintjob. The more distinctive and uncool your car is, the less appealing it will be to thieves.

 

I pay around $500 a year or less to insure my Prius, I have a $250 excess so if my car is stolen I have to pay the first $250 then the insurance company pay the rest up to the agreed value which is $25,000 which is $10 more than I paid for the car which was 3 years old 12+ months ago.
If I continue to pay out the same amount until I'm 76 years old I will have paid out $15,000 or a little less over 30 years. If in that time I always own a car worth $25,000 and in that time it is stolen once and never returned I will be paid $24,750. In my book that's a pretty good deal when you consider I am also covered for any damage I do with the car to someone Else's property, and if I wreck the car it is fixed or paid out less the $250 excess. In my book that is a fantastic bargain. Just the peace of mind is worth the $15,000 so any claim is a bonus.
I had a car stolen about 6 years ago and the thieves wrote it off while being chased by police, I was paid $10,000 for the car which cost me $7000 3 years earlier. I was paying about $400 a year to insure that car. Up until 1990 I drove older cars so only paid about $100 per year to insure against damage to other people's property.

So from 1977 when I got my first car until 1990 I paid about $1300 for insurance, from 1990 till now I have paid about $9,000 and when the Mazda was stolen I was paid $10,000 so I'm $300 in the hole and I have worry free motoring knowing I have $15,000,000 insurance if I damage someone Else's stuff, how cool is that?

This calculation is only concerning 1 vehicle I use to get around at a time, not my wifes car or my play things.

Oh and back on topic, if I'm patient I could most likely buy a similar Prius to mine for $23,000 at government auction.

 

What is this "Homelink" which comes on the car with package 3 and up? My salesman told me it is just like LoJack?