Pre-completion insurance

[AA-ron]

Hello everyone,
This is my very first post. My Roadster kit is on order and due to arrive in September, and I have a motor on the way from Mike Forte. My question is this: as there will be a big chunk of money tied up in this project before it's actually a "car", how have you handled insurance? I suppose I could ask my home insurance company, but I'm guessing you guys and gals are a more entertaining group to ask. Also as this is my first post I'm just now realizing there's no spellcheck... gulp. I think I was out sick the days they covered spelling and car building in school (as you all will undoubtedly come to realize the more I post).

Thanks in advance!

[EZ$]

Not completely well versed in insurance, but from what I have read over the years your homeowner's insurance will not cover you for your investment in the kit. Best to check with your agent though. They will typically only cover you for a small portion of the total. For me, I did not insure it until I was ready to go-kart. Good idea, bad idea, I don't know, but it worked out for me. Just depends on your tolerance for the possible loss due to fire, etc.

As far as missing out on the car building, not to worry. I hadn't worked on a car for about 45 years when I started. Any problem that you run into, there will be someone on the forums that has had it happen before, and or, the knowledge to talk you through it, so just ask a lot of questions, and take your time. The order of doing items as it is in the manual is not always the best for making things easiest. Familiarize yourself with things that you will need to do down the road, and make sure what you're about to do doesn't interfere with future tasks.

As far as spellcheck, I'm not sure how it happened on my computer, but I not only have spellcheck, but I also get prompts for incorrect grammar. The words that I'm typing show as underlined twice in blue when there is a possible misspell or grammar flaw.

Best of luck with the build, and have fun. I started mine about nine years ago, and I'm just now at the painter.

Just a note, if you put a location in your information, there are probably builders in your area that would be happy to come by to help if you run into a problem. I've had a few, one in particular, that without them I might have walked away from the build.

[BadAsp427]

For insurance, give Robbin at Midwest Insurance a call... They are a vendor here on the forum.

[JohnK]

Check with your insurance agent, as I suspect this will vary based on local/state policies. In my case (California) I was advised that my personal articles policy would cover the car in the event something happened up to the point that it was titled and insured as an actual car. that said, most personal articles provisions on standard homeowners policies don't have anywhere near enough coverage to cover the cost of the project so if going that route you may need to increase the personal articles coverage on your homeowners insurance, or buy a separate personal articles policy (generally the latter is the better way to go if you have any collections - art, jewelry, cars, etc.)

[CaptB]

As a member of USAA (veterans) they sent me to American Collectors Ins. I have an agreed on value for the pre-completed car.

[Papa]

My insurer covered me during the build for invoiced parts value. Obviously no liability or collision coverage. Check with your agent.

If they tell you it's covered by your home policy, ask what the coverage limit is. Most home policies will cover "parts", but cap out well below what you'll have in the cost of parts for your build.

[nucjd19]

Agree to check with Agent. I have State Farm and they wrote me a car issuance policy using the MSO number and once it had a VIN they changed it to the VIN/ tag and title they changed the policy to reflect the VIN number. Just had to get the pictures of everything and receipts. So when I was go carting it I had coverage on it. Again just check with them.

[edwardb]

Also as this is my first post I'm just now realizing there's no spellcheck...

Most browsers have built-in spell check. You just have to make sure it's switched on. For Chrome (what I use...) go to Settings -> Advanced -> Languages and the spell check setting is there.

For build insurance, X2 on (1) checking with your agent for your homeowners. Likely it will cover "car parts" to some degree. But once it's starting to be like a real car, they're probably not going to cover it. (2) Robbin at Midwest is the man. Used for my cars for 10+ years now. Others have said he can provide coverage for the build period. I chose to not go beyond what my homeowners covered for builds though.

Congratulations and good luck with your build. It's quite an adventure.

[Alan_C]

Agree to check with Agent. I have State Farm and they wrote me a car issuance policy using the MSO number and once it had a VIN they changed it to the VIN/ tag and title they changed the policy to reflect the VIN number. Just had to get the pictures of everything and receipts. So when I was go carting it I had coverage on it. Again just check with them.

I would be dubious about what you agent did for you. I have State Farm and tried to get insurance for a build in progress 2 years ago and the answer was a clear no. Vehicle has to be running and driving and 80% or more complete. Maybe State Farm's underwriting criteria is different state to state as I am in AZ. The last thing you would want to happen is to have a fire or theft claim only to find out the insurance was invalid.

[Blitzboy54]

I was covered by my home owners. I didn’t need a rider

[Otee453]

American Family had to go to another company (Midwest I think), but my policy and payments are through AmFam, but I had to pay 6 month or a year at once. They wrote me a policy that covers any loss for the stated value of only what I could produce in receipts. I think I covered it for ~ $40k for just over $200/year. This was a full blown collision & comprehensive auto insurance policy, so it will cover it when I get it registered and drive it also. I can up the stated value after completion

[JeffP]

I have USAA and first called my Auto agent - they told me they couldn't offer any coverage until it was titled and then they had no problem covering it. They transferred me to my homeowners agent to see what they could offer - they had no issues covering the pre-completed car under my personal belonging coverage (which far exceeds the value of the car). They even said my coverage would extend to my transporting the kit home from FF/Forte (when I asked, I used the analogy would I be covered if I had a bed full of expensive TV's.. because at this point thats all it is - a bunch of parts) and they said yes, my homeowners covers personal property even while traveling. Of course my homeowners deductible applies which is higher than my auto - and should the kit get damaged in a named storm well then the big deductible applies. Once the car is titled though, Homeowners no longer will offer coverage.

[AA-ron]

Hey thanks for all the responses-- love the wealth of info in the forum. I checked with State Farm who insures my other cars and he's checking but doen't think they can help me until it's titled. I'll take a swing at my homeowners policy to see what they say.
Also, thanks for the advice on my spell check. It's still not working, but I'm sure I can figure it out. FYI, my wife claims the lights in the house dim when Spellcheck reviews my writings.
I can't add to my profile until I hit a certain number of posts so until then...
Here's my temp bio:

York, Maine
Empty nester this year
First build
Background in Industrial Design (furniture and archtecture), metal fabrication, skiing, mountainbiking and soccer
Just completed design and build of an electric motorcycle
And like most in this forum, it's been a life-long dream to build a Cobra... oops, I mean a Roadster.

[Papa]

If you PM David Hodgkins, he may grant you full access since you have a kit on order. Welcome to this crazy, wonderful hobby!

Dave

[Blitzboy54]

I have USAA and first called my Auto agent - they told me they couldn't offer any coverage until it was titled and then they had no problem covering it. They transferred me to my homeowners agent to see what they could offer - they had no issues covering the pre-completed car under my personal belonging coverage (which far exceeds the value of the car). They even said my coverage would extend to my transporting the kit home from FF/Forte (when I asked, I used the analogy would I be covered if I had a bed full of expensive TV's.. because at this point thats all it is - a bunch of parts) and they said yes, my homeowners covers personal property even while traveling. Of course my homeowners deductible applies which is higher than my auto - and should the kit get damaged in a named storm well then the big deductible applies. Once the car is titled though, Homeowners no longer will offer coverage.

This is exactly the same for me

[FF33rod]

With a quick browse through the answers so far I didn't see Hagerty - they also will cover the car/parts during the build stage.

Steve