The 'E' Type Forum

A few people have been asking what happened to the OTS and FHC that were stolen from my transatlantic shipper's yard on the night of the 27th June. To save time I may as well post a quick update here and on the Jag-lovers E-type Forum.

The bottom line is they have gone and I never expect to see either of them again. So far, my normal Footman James / Royal Sun Alliance insurance for the OTS has paid out a total-loss theft claim. The payout was not full market value as per policy but was capped at guesstimate given to them a few years ago when the policy was first taken out. Beware if, like me, you are happy to have your car insured at market value. That does not mean you will get it.

At this juncture, even if the cars were recovered intact they would be held as evidence in any trial. which could take a couple of years. Sadly, I neither expect them to be found intact nor for the perpetrators to be caught - much less for me to end up in exactly the position I was in before the theft.

The shipping insurers have paid nothing as yet for the FHC. There are five parties with a finger in the pie and they are all playing 'Pass the Parcel' with regard to recompensing me. If there is a UK lawyer who wishes to advise me or take on any eventual case should it prove necessary, feel free to get in touch off-list.

On the plus side, the house in Gaithersburg should complete in two weeks and my green card interview at the US embassy is on Wednesday. I can't decide which approach to adopt. I could try a suit, bowler hat and patent leather shoes, accessorised with a rolled umbrella and carnation buttonhole or get some low-slung baggy jeans, reversed baseball cap and Nike tennis shoes, accessorised with multiple piercings and tattoos, to show I have my finger on the pulse of contemporary society.

I suppose I could keep a low profile to avoid drawing attention to myself and just wear a wet tee shirt, straw hat and flip flops, accessorised with fake Ray Bans and some Rio Grande river weed.

Pete

If you want your last disguise option to work, you'll have to brush up on your Spanish, preferably Central American dialect and accent.

PeterCrespin wrote: So far, my normal Footman James / Royal Sun Alliance insurance for the OTS has paid out a total-loss theft claim. The payout was not full market value as per policy but was capped at guesstimate given to them a few years ago when the policy was first taken out. Beware if, like me, you are happy to have your car insured at market value. That does not mean you will get it.

Pete

Pete,

Does'nt seem very fair that on your behalf , i would have thought market value would have been at the time of the loss not some guess made a few years previous, after all your insurance contract can only be a maximum 1 year old . Did you quote the prices of similar cars currently for sale as a settlement guide ?.

Steve

That is the problem with Classic Cars as unlike modern machinery their value tends to go up rather than down. There is a big difference between market value and agreed value because the latter requires supporting photographs and a valuation by an accepted specialist or Club. Even then you can get into difficulty because the 'agreed valuation' needs to be ideally completed every year, but most companies only ask for an update every four years although some are now changing the requirement to two years. Obviously they will fall back to the last valuation in the event of a claim which I guess is what happened to Pete. Modern cars have a market value courtesy of Glass's guide but even here you can get stung. When you get a quote it is based on the value of the car and that value is what you told them, and will dictate your premium. So you can say your BMW is worth ?30,000 and you will pay accordingly but in the event of an (immediate) claim they consult Glass's guide which may value the car at ?15,000 and pay out accordingly!

Heuer wrote:That is the problem with Classic Cars as unlike modern machinery their value tends to go up rather than down. There is a big difference between market value and agreed value because the latter requires supporting photographs and a valuation by an accepted specialist or Club. Even then you can get into difficulty because the 'agreed valuation' needs to be ideally completed every year, but most companies only ask for an update every four years although some are now changing the requirement to two years. Obviously they will fall back to the last valuation in the event of a claim which I guess is what happened to Pete. Modern cars have a market value courtesy of Glass's guide but even here you can get stung. When you get a quote it is based on the value of the car and that value is what you told them, and will dictate your premium. So you can say your BMW is worth ?30,000 and you will pay accordingly but in the event of an (immediate) claim they consult Glass's guide which may value the car at ?15,000 and pay out accordingly!

That's what Gap Insurance is for!

Heuer wrote: That is the problem with Classic Cars as unlike modern machinery their value tends to go up rather than down.

Which is precisely why I was happy to have market value. The only risk with MV is if the value goes down not up. But since my E-type was bought out of the proft from another sale and was worth 15-20K more than I paid, due to being de-lumped' and refurbished, I was/am relaxed about overall value, even if it went down a bit.

Heuer wrote: There is a big difference between market value and agreed value because the latter requires supporting photographs and a valuation by an accepted specialist or Club. Even then you can get into difficulty because the 'agreed valuation' needs to be ideally completed every year, but most companies only ask for an update every four years although some are now changing the requirement to two years. Obviously they will fall back to the last valuation in the event of a claim which I guess is what happened to Pete. !

Not really. There has never been a 'valuation' in the sense of anything verified. Had i said '60K' they would have wanted supporting evidence. Since i guessed 32K and was happy to get market value, they didn't ask for proof. Having sent them lots of market evidence to support 35K they didn't argue that it was worth less than that, thery merely used the 32k guesstimate as the limit of their liability and therefore total loss outlay. in my book market value is market value, with both sides sharing the risk. Agreed value is agreed value with the company free to charge a higher premium. But using a loose estimate with no evidence or agreement, to trump the market value is a one-way bet for the insurer and not what I bought with my premium as far as I'm concerned. Normally i would take up the fight, but moving to the USA and with another unsettled claim in process i don't have the stomach for it. i may decide to go after the shipper for the uninsured loss at some point - not sure.

Pete

Angus

Does Gap insurance work with a classic car?

Heuer wrote:Angus

Does Gap insurance work with a classic car?

Don't know tbh. I always ensure (now) that I'm insured for the correct amount. A mate of mine found this out recently following a no fault accident.

What is gap insurance please ?

christopher storey wrote:What is gap insurance please ?

Chris, simply put, if I buy a car for 25k, during the life of the Gap policy, I will always be able to claim back a total of 25k in the event of a total loss.