Teamspeed.com - Fully-loaded Insurance Solutions: Find the Best Fit for Your Luxury Vehicles

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Fully-loaded Insurance Solutions:
Find the Best Fit for Your Luxury Vehicles
By: Nathan Lewkowicz

Automobile insurance often is viewed as a commodity, yet there are significant variations between insurance carriers in terms of coverage breadth and service quality. As a luxury vehicle owner, it’s important to know that your insurance company understands that limited-edition cars or multi-million-dollar collections require a more tailored approach to protect them adequately.

As wealth accumulates over time and you acquire vehicles or other valuable assets, you may not have paid particularly close attention to ensuring that your insurance coverage keeps up with your level of success. Many people remain with the same insurance provider year after year without knowing that they’ve outgrown their coverage.

Work with an expert
The first step to maintaining adequate protection is to seek out an expert. Independent insurance advisors can work closely with you to evaluate your needs. Unlike direct agents who only represent the company for whom they work, independent insurance agents have access to multiple insurance companies. They can “shop around” on your behalf helping to find the most customized solutions.

The most reputable agents and brokers have long-standing relationships with best-in-class providers, and they can quickly identify which ones will deliver the best fitting terms and service options.

Look for superior coverage features
Insurers specializing in protection for wealthy individuals offer automobile coverages that are tailored to high-end vehicles. Some key features to look for include:

1. Agreed value
Many insurers settle a total loss based on the actual cash value at the time of loss. This could result in a significant financial loss due to depreciation. Make sure your insurer protects your vehicles on an agreed value basis, which does not change due to market depreciation. Click HERE to read about this coverage in action…

Quote:

A man signs the papers and is handed the keys to his brand new $75,000 luxury vehicle. As with other new vehicles, the moment he drives off the lot the value of his car depreciates by an average of 11%.* Three weeks later, he unfortunately is involved in an accident and totals his car. The vehicle was insured based on agreed value, so despite the depreciation, he received a payment of $75,000. If the car had been insured on an “actual cash value” basis, the payment for loss would have been more than $10,000 less than the original purchase price that was paid just a few weeks earlier.

*Depreciation Infographic: How Fast Does My New Car Lose Value? - Edmunds.com

2. Cash settlement
After an accident, there can be a multitude of reasons why you may not want to keep your vehicle—even if it can be fixed. The repairs may be extensive and lengthy, or you may simply prefer to move on from your vehicle after the trauma of the accident. Depending on the severity of damage, a cash settlement feature gives you the option of taking an agreed value payout. Click HERE to read about this coverage in action…

Quote:

An accident results in extensive front end damages to a policyholder’s vehicle, but it was not fully totaled. Although it is repairable, he is not interested in keeping the vehicle. Since he had previously added the cash settlement option to his policy, our claims specialist offers him the option to receive an immediate payment for the agreed value. The policyholder selects the payout, and receives a check for the full agreed value just 24 hours later.

3. New vehicle replacement
If your newly purchased vehicle is "totaled" soon after it’s purchased, some insurers offer flexible options, such as replacing it with a vehicle of the same year, make and model; replacing it with a new vehicle of the same make and model or receiving an agreed value payout. Click HERE to read about this coverage in action…

Quote:

A policyholder adds a recently purchased 2008 Ferrari 599GTB to her policy. Two years later, the vehicle is involved in a head-on collision resulting in a total loss. Although it was insured for an agreed value of $288,000, the policyholder is able to replace it with a 2010 model—valued at $374,000—for no extra cost.

4. Original manufacturers’ parts
When repairs are needed, what replacement parts are covered on your policy? To ensure the same level of quality and safety as before your vehicle was damaged, it is important to use original manufacturers’ parts. Some automobile policies do not offer this certainty, and aftermarket parts often are used instead. Click HERE to read about this coverage in action…

Quote:

After a policyholder was in a minor accident, he visited a repair shop to discuss what needed to be done to return his vehicle to pre-accident shape. With original manufacturers’ parts coverage on his policy, he was confident that the replacement parts would be the highest quality when it came to fit, finish and reliability. If aftermarket parts were used, the parts potentially wouldn’t fix the damage correctly and could result in repair delays or inferior quality.

Expect services to match
In addition to custom coverage offerings, high net worth insurance companies also provide a level of service that often is unavailable through direct writers. In the unfortunate event of a loss or damage to your vehicle, you should expect a hands-on, prompt response. Look to those providers who offer choice and flexibility as well as care and compassion following a loss.

Nathan Lewkowicz is Strategic Marketing Manager for Private Client Group, a division of Chartis.

Chartis is a world-leading property-casualty and general insurance organization serving more than 70 million clients around the world. Through its Private Client Group, successful individuals can access innovative protection for homes, excess liability, automobiles, private collections, yachts and more. Private Client Group also offers supplemental services designed to minimize property damage, safeguard fine art and other collectibles, and bolster family safety.