New insurance

[birds_first]

Gentlemen: Sorry this is a long one. There are a few things one should know
about their insurance. 1st do I have Agreed Value, Stated Value or will I
receive lesser than Stated Value sometime referred to Actual Cash Value. 2nd
The true definition of Actual Cash Value is if you sold your coach today, right
now and you actually put $40,000 in your pocket or bank account, that's Actual
Cash Value (ACV). However the Insurance Industry uses NADA and usually the low
book to define ACV. 3rd NADA numbers are far from correct, there are more
coaches which exchange ownership through private treaty then sell through the
public auction facilities, or franchise dealerships who report to NADA. Since
Blue Bird is orphaned who do you think reports values to NADA??? Peter Pan!!!
So you're SCREWED if you pay premiums on Stated Value policies and expect to get
paid the true Fair Market Value for your coach which is the real value one would
obtain if the coach sold through Private Treaty. What you actually need is an
insurance company who will write a policy for an Agreed Value. Meaning you
bought your coach today for $40,000 and 11 months later it got burned to the
ground from mechanical failure which caused the fire. With Agreed Value there
is do depreciations or less than ACV on low book. You would get an insurance
check for $40K less deductable. There are several companies who will write an
Agreed Value Policy, National Interstate and for older coaches (80's) you might
look into Blue Sky. Lastly, get a Certified Appraisal from someone who has some
sort of credentials which satisfy the uniform standards for professional
appraisal practices (USPAP), not from a dealership or someone who will put
numbers on a letterhead. Ask if their appraisals will meet the needs of the
court system and the IRS, if not keep your money. Another thing the reasons why
some insurance companies don't require an appraisal are because you won't have
documentation, without documentation you generally lose in court if you ever
pursue it with litigation. Lastly an appraisal done through the Internet via
email will not stand up in court, they are only good for non- court issues, so
don't waste your money. There are a couple organizations who claim their
appraisals are good via the Internet, and I am a member of one of those groups
but I'll wait awhile for a court case to see it it's worth anything but until
then I will only do appraisals if I have seen them in person, which my
credentials state I must do. When I do an appraisal I'm signing an affidavit
stating I physically saw the coach on a specific date. I'll be at the Good Sam
Rally in Louisville in July, Hershey in October, RATS in October and will be on
vacation in August in South Dakota, or if your within an hour of Louisville, KY
I can come to you.

John McGinnis, CAGA
Certified Appraiser
88FC35 Louisville, KY
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