Check your insurance coverage/contract

[PyrPatriot]

I had a flop on a BLM trail in 2008 with my 2004 TJ Rubicon. There was about $6k worth of damage, mostly to hood, fender, windshield frame, windshield, door, soft top, and scratched wheels and rear corner armor (I had the stock wheels painted black). State Farm covered all of it ($0 deductible). When my agent asked where and how it happened, told her I was offroading on a BLM trail and the Jeep rolled into a gully where the trail had washed out.

I asked the body shop for the prices of the replacement parts, which they gave me. Their cost for a replacement soft top was pretty high, so I asked if they would purchase a Viking Fastback soft top for it, which was cheaper, and they agreed. They even repainted all of my wheels and rear corner armor since the black paint they used was slightly different than what I had used.

My agent asked if anything was damaged which wasn't stock and I told her about the painted wheels and corner armor. She said it was covered. I didn't check my policy, nor have I checked it for the JL, but will be doing so.

see, that may be because you are in a state with a lot of BLM land. State Farm in KY told me they wouldnt cover such incidents.

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[Windshieldfarmer]

I’m insured by American Family. I’ve been told by my agent that damage is covered if it occurs on a government managed road. Many of the trails in Colorado are technically county roads.

 

[Jmonroe]

see, that may be because you are in a state with a lot of BLM land. State Farm in KY told me they wouldnt cover such incidents.

I'd double check that. I don't think it's correct, although I've been retired for a long time.

What "we" (I worked for State Farm for over 30 years) did have were limits for recovery (towing). You had to be within a specified distance of a public road for us to pay the recovery & tow charges. This was to specifically exclude having to go get you out in the middle of nowhere. The carnage was covered regardless. Might get the attention of underwriting, however, affecting your future rates or access to coverage.

 

[PyrPatriot]

I’m insured by American Family. I’ve been told by my agent that damage is covered if it occurs on a government managed road. Many of the trails in Colorado are technically county roads.

Well, it's been about a year since this thread was started. I'm happy to say in my year or so of ownership I have not caused anything to need an insurance claim. Hoping 2021 goes the same way. Through some digging I did find at least one more thing to consider: that how you convey you would use your vehicle. Specifically, sure the policy might cover the "road" you were driving on, but it may not be the case of intent of travel. For what it's worth, I've cleared my "off road" use with both an underwriter and claims specialist, in writing. YMMV.

The case that got me thinking of this was Am. Family Ins. Co. v. Almassud, a 2018 case from GA. The court held that:

The application indicates that Almassud would “use” the Jeep to travel “to/from work/school.” Almassud argues that AmFam learned he had been using the Jeep for other purposes in 2012, after the wreck. Then, AmFam asked Almassud what the purpose of his trip was, and he responded that he had gone to the mountains. However, taking one trip to the mountains would not constitute a material misrepresentation because a single excursion would not likely influence a prudent insurer's decision of whether or not to issue coverage. The type of off-roading revealed at the underlying trial, on the other hand, undoubtedly would. Thus, the Court finds there are questions of material fact as to when AmFam first learned of the Jeep's off-road use and the extent of Almassud's off-road activities. There are, likewise, questions of fact as to whether Almassud misrepresented his use of the Jeep in the application—i.e., whether he answered the question, as it was asked, or whether he was required to disclose all the ways he would utilize the Jeep that would materially impact AmFam's risk in issuing coverage.​

 

[Hitdog540]

Right. This thread is to raise awareness of that. I want to know how other states compare. Here in KY offroading in Jeeps isnt very popular. But in Colorado it is much more a lifestyle and I would bet there is legislation mandating coverage for trail riding and mods

These are all the reasons why people choose carriers like Geico...they're cheaper because there are no agents to help you not only understand the policy but get involved in the claims process and get you paid. Saving money is great on premiums until you lose all that and more when you file a claim. Just saying...it's ok to pay a little more as long as there's a value.

 

[CT_LFC]

I've had Geico for years and the times i've filed a claim they have been very easy to work with and the payout has been competitive (both totals).

First one was when my neighbor crashed into my E46. Because it's has the uncommon ZHP package they allowed me to provide comparables of recent sales and bumped the compensation accordingly.

Second time was when my mother got into a highway accident and to my surprise they actually paid us more for her 2016 Rogue than she had paid for it a year earlier.

 

[PyrPatriot]

These are all the reasons why people choose carriers like Geico...they're cheaper because there are no agents to help you not only understand the policy but get involved in the claims process and get you paid. Saving money is great on premiums until you lose all that and more when you file a claim. Just saying...it's ok to pay a little more as long as there's a value.

Geico was by far better than All State or Progressive. Neither could provide me a definition on what a "road" was. When I asked if backroads, old county roads that were rock ruts and mud would be covered, agents said no. They were also way more expensive than Geico. And finally, I had worked a lot of insurance claims, Geico was by far the easiest to work with and quickest to respond

 

[entropy]

Most legal trails I know in California are forest roads, they even appear in google maps and have names. I know Geico would cover me if I had an accident on a forest road. I would just say I was camping and driving on the road and things for hairy. Done deal.

I do report my mods to Geico. I don't have much, but I reported it anyway. They sent me a letter denying coverage for my winch after I reported I added a winch. Something about my vehicle not intended to have a winch. I am not sure what their issue with winches is, but I've heard they don't cover winches.

I've heard of people's Geico coverage being cancelled because they added a winch to their vehicle.

 

[Deleted member 59498]

Geico was by far better than All State or Progressive. Neither could provide me a definition on what a "road" was. When I asked if backroads, old county roads that were rock ruts and mud would be covered, agents said no. They were also way more expensive than Geico. And finally, I had worked a lot of insurance claims, Geico was by far the easiest to work with and quickest to respond

I have had awesome experience with Geico myself and are the cheapest even with 50 dollar comp because of the rock magnet windshield!

 

[omnitonic]

I do report my mods to Geico. I don't have much, but I reported it anyway. They sent me a letter denying coverage for my winch after I reported I added a winch. Something about my vehicle not intended to have a winch. I am not sure what their issue with winches is, but I've heard they don't cover winches.

I just went through this with them myself. I had to assure them that I don't use my winch for "off-roading" or for any kind of recovery work for profit. I just checked the updated policy documentation, and they simply listed it as a "Truck accessory" or something to that effect. I get the impression she edited my modification declaration to just make the word "winch" go away.

 

[entropy]

I just went through this with them myself. I had to assure them that I don't use my winch for "off-roading" or for any kind of recovery work for profit. I just checked the updated policy documentation, and they simply listed it as a "Truck accessory" or something to that effect. I get the impression she edited my modification declaration to just make the word "winch" go away.

As long as they dont deny me coverage I am cool with that. I dont really care much if my winch is insured or not. It is a ~$600 winch

 

[AcesandEights]

I'm sorry, I didn't read all of the responses. Couple things, as a prior insurance adjuster. Every state is independent to set their own insurance laws, so no two states may be exactly the same. The policy in Kentucky won't match the policy language in Oregon as an example.

That being said, generally, if you pay for a policy then it covers your liability (if you pay they "bind" coverage), but not intentional damage (commercial and racing aren't part of a typical individual auto policy). A policy covers the vehicle (and the policy is priced accordingly) based on a typical vehicle. You pay for insurance on a Jeep Sport (as an example) based on the exposure the insurance company expects to have. If you have a Jeep Sport, dipped in gold with $100k in accessories, you're not paying enough to insure it, unless the insurance company has been advised of it's actual value. That's why it's important they know what accessories you have. Most policies cover some basic amount, but it's not replacement cost, it's actual cash value (ACV) if your vehicle is totalled, or the item is depreciated.

As an example of ACV, if you have two identical 2019 Jeep Sports with 35k miles, how much would you pay for either one, the same amount. If those two Sports are sitting there, but one has a three year old Warn Zeon 8S on it, would you pay the same price, plus MSRP for the Warn, probably not. The one with the winch might be worth $450 more than the other one, but not $1,200 more. So, the replacement cost, to include the winch might be $1,200 more, but the ACV would be $450 more.

Most policies will pay for your loss, then drop you, if you didn't honestly present the value of your vehicle (one with $10k in modifications), but it also won't pay dollar for dollar replacement cost of all of the modifications because they don't add actual cash value (what a buyer would pay for your "used" Warn winch).

This could be a 10-page post, but that's why it's important for you and your insurance carrier to be up front and honest about what you're insuring. It's "bad faith" for either of you not to disclose what should be covered or not.

 

[omnitonic]

As long as they dont deny me coverage I am cool with that. I dont really care much if my winch is insured or not. It is a ~$600 winch

I agree completely. I was simply being up front with them that I do have one, and bumpers, and a lift, etc., so there could never be a time when they said, "But you told us your vehicle was totally stock."

 

[Jmonroe]

I've been retired for a number of years now but the only limit we had (State Farm) was on recovery. It had to be within so many feet of a legal road. You were on your own for any additional recovery cost because the wreck was 15 miles from nowhere. The actual damage would be covered regardless. There was no language in any if the physical damage or liability coverages other than territorial, i.e. not covered outside the U.S. or Canada.

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