200q20v insurance valuation??

[martinkuetzing at att.net]

Hi Taka,

I'm curious about your recent statement regarding 200q20v's:

> They're too rare to put a "book" value upon, all of the
> price guides I've seen are wrong. That's why with my next
> insurance policy, I'm going to get agreed-value, probably
> set around $15k due to stuff I've done to the car.

Have you actually researched being able to obtain insurance
for an "agreed-value, probably set around $15k"?  If so, who
is your insurance carrier?  What did they require?

I attempted to do the same, but got no cooperation.  First,
there is the issue of establishing value.  Even with my stack
of invoices and an inspection of the car, I was told (by
several insurance companies) that "value is a relative term"
and "varies from year to year".  Duh!  Translated, these
carriers wanted a "professional, certified appraisal" with
yearly renewals.

It appears that there is nearly a "professional, certified
appraiser" for just about every type of car BUT an Audi
200q20v.  Translated, unless the appraiser has credentials
relating to what he's appraising, the appraisal may not be
worth the paper it's written on.  I was unable to locate the
necessary appraiser.  And, the ones I talked to wanted about
$250 for each appraisal done - presumably once per year.

Ultimately, my current (and a couple of alternate) insurance
company said: "We only write policies for Blue Book values of
cars" anyway.  Translated, even if I could get the "authentic"
appraisal, my insurance company would ignore it.

It would seem to me that in the event of a loss, the only
avenue would be a day in court.  Perhaps, by laying out all of
the invoices along with yearly detailed photos of every aspect
of the car, one might be able to establish value and thus win
a judgement against the defendant (who I understand is the
personal at fault for the accident; ie, you don't sue the
insurance company.  That is, if the defendant loses, his
insurance company pays.  Maybe.)

The only other experience I have had with "special insurance"
policies had to do with some "very expensive" electronic test
gear that I had:  several analyzers worth from $35K to $50K each.
Essentially, I would have had to have taken out a separate policy
on each one, with premiums for each policy of several hundred
dollars a month.  Nope, didn't do it.  (Probably why big companies
don't but insurance!)

Anyway, I'm curious if you (or anyone else on the list) has
ever successfully dealt with this issue?

Martin