Insure.com Looks at Policies for Tricked-out, Souped-up Cars
28 January 2009 - 9:30PM
PR Newswire (US)
DARIEN, Ill., Jan. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- For some car
owners, "bling is king" and style and speed are everything. But one
thing is certain: "Souped-up cars" or "bling machines," as they are
commonly called, are considered high risk by many insurers because
their parts are often worth more than the car itself, and their
owners have a reputation for driving on the wild side. Bling
machines are not necessarily luxury vehicles, classic hot rods or
fancy sports cars. Popular choices for souped-up cars are often
older Honda Civics, Acura Integras, Ford Mustangs, Mazda RX7s and
Nissan 350Zs, because you can buy them cheap and use your bucks for
customizations. Insuring a bling machine can get expensive if you
want to be fully covered for the modifications you've made. Let's
say you want to insure a '93 Toyota Supra that you bought for
$7,000. It has a 600-horsepower engine, custom paint job, spoilers,
ground effects, custom wheels, a highly customized interior and
roughly $30,000 worth of stereo components. You poured around
$130,000 into the car. Your estimated annual premium would be
$2,000 to $2,500 -- and that's assuming you have a clean driving
record. You don't necessarily need to find a specialty insurance
company to secure coverage for a modified vehicle. It depends on
how much work you've done to the car. For example, let's say you
spent a few thousand to upgrade your stereo equipment, add custom
wheels and install a spoiler and neon undercar accent lights. You
may find coverage with a standard insurer. Insurance companies have
their own ideas on what they consider "modifications." Have you
ever spotted an "art car" on the road? These cars are modified as
an act of personal artistic expression. They can range from paint
jobs in the form of hippie "flower power" patterns to something as
extravagant as turning your car into a drivable sculpture with
protruding spikes. You may have a hard time insuring the art on
your car. In this case, you may want to consider "stated cash
value" or an "agreed-upon value policy." Agreed-upon value policies
are just as they sound: You and your insurance company both agree
on the value of your vehicle and it does not depreciate. If you
total it, you receive the predetermined amount. While you may be
tempted not to tell your insurance company about your upgrade
escapades for fear that your premiums could increase, it is not a
wise move. In the event of an accident, you may not be reimbursed
for all the bells and whistles you've added to your car. For more,
read "Insuring Your Tricked-out, Souped-up Car" at
http://www.insure.com/articles/carinsurance/upgrades.html. About
Insure.com Originally founded in 1984 as Quotesmith Corporation,
Insure.com owns and operates a comprehensive consumer information
service and companion insurance brokerage service that caters to
the needs of self-directed insurance shoppers. Visitors to the
company's flagship Web site, http://www.insure.com/, are able to
obtain free, instant car insurance quotes, instant life insurance
quotes, home, business and health insurance quotes from leading
insurers and have the freedom to buy online or by phone from any
company shown. Insure.com also plays home to over 2,000 originally
authored articles on various insurance topics and also provides
free insurance decision-making tools that are not available from
any other single source. Insure.com generates revenues from receipt
of industry-standard commissions, including back-end bonus
commissions and volume-based contingent bonus commissions that are
paid by participating insurance companies. We also generate
advertising revenues from the sale of Web site traffic to various
third parties. Shares of the Company's common stock trade on the
Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol NSUR. DATASOURCE: Insure.com
CONTACT: Amy Danise, Editor of Insure.com, Inc., +1-860-386-6446,
Web Site: http://insure.com/
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