[DeTomaso] Insurance increase

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 11/20/13 20 38 14, asajay at asajay.com writes:


> I got an unsolicited phone call from them today.  The person who spoke 
> with me had seen an email trail... and mentioned "Mike Drew."  I don't think 
> Mike was the source, but that was the clue they probably have eyes into 
> this list.  It's the -only- place I've made any comment, and as I recall... 
> never mentioned their name, until now.  Of course Mike Drew hit the nail on 
> the head when he said I'd been "Hagerty'ed."
> 

>>>I certainly never contacted them, but presumably one of their customers 
on the forum has read this info and called them up to ask "WTF?"

The sad thing is, I really like the company.   They apparently have great 
service, and without a doubt they contribute more than others do to the hobby 
on all levels (I proudly have several free Hagerty hats and have eaten more 
than my share of free donuts at Pebble Beach, to name but one example).   
So as a company, they seem great.   But their underwriting standards and 
policies are just insane.

Here's a fer-instance.   Let's say you have a bone-stock 1969 L78 Camaro, 
fitted from the factory with a 396 rat motor that made, say, 375+ hp.   Your 
neighbor has a plain-jane Camaro with a 350 engine, which was factory-rated 
at 290 hp.   He put a different intake and carb on it, changed the cam, and 
now it makes 350 hp.   It's still 25 hp less than yours, but yours is stock 
so you get to pay $4 per $1000 of coverage, and his is modified so he gets 
to pay $9 per $1000 of coverage, on what are otherwise identical cars.

How screwed up is that?

It's clear that Hagerty is aiming at a very specific demographic in the 
collector car world--the guy who has a bone-stock, original car, of whatever 
specification or age.   There's nothing wrong with that, but I do think it is 
deeply unfair to penalize people like us so arbitrarily and capriciously.   

Fortunately, there are plenty of other options available to us in the 
marketplace, so if we are educated consumers, we can make choices that are best 
for us.   In some cases, that choice may even be to continue to pay more for 
your existing policy (for instance, if you have a claims history and your 
rates were *not* raised, you may find that other insurers ding you for having 
a claims history).

Mike
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