ACV vs Stated Amount vs Agreed Values for Vehicles

Every time you get into your car and start the engine it is very likely that pennies fall off. Well, not actual pennies but the value of the car drops a very small amount each mile it is driven. This is because most cars are a depreciating asset. With this in mind let's talk about three common ways you can insure the value of your vehicle. The three ways are Actual Cash
Value (ACV), Stated Amount and Agreed Value.

Actual Cash Value is the most common form of valuing a car by insurance companies. What this means is that after an accident they take the original value of the car when it was brand new and they then depreciate the car over time until the date of the claim. They taking into account the miles driven, prior damage to the vehicle, wear and tear and maintenance upkeep of the vehicle. The farther away you are from the date the car was made the lower the value of the car.

Stated Amount is a little bit different. In this case you would tell the insurance company what you feel your vehicle is worth, say $30,000. This $30,000 is now the most the insurance company will pay out for the car, however when you have a claim they will research to see what other vehicles similar to yours are being valued for. If that value is less than the $30,000 they will give you the lesser amount. You often see this in collectors cars or cars that have a lot of specialize equipment attached to the body of the vehicle.

Agreed Value is where both the insurance company and you come to a prearranged value for your vehicle. When you agree upon this value, say it is $30,000 again, when a claim arises you are going to automatically be paid the agreed upon value of $30,000. Unlike Stated Amount, they do not go out and decide if the market still feels your car is worth a certain amount, they just agree to pay the agreed upon value that was settled before the claim even happened. This is most used for classic/collector cars. In fact it is best to make sure your classic/collector car is an Agreed Value instead of a State Amount. Often this requires an appraisal which may cost a little money to have done. One other thing to take into account when vehicles are insured for an Agreed Value, they can often have a limit on how many miles the vehicle can be driven each year.

For more information on valuations of vehicles please feel free to get in touch with Fey Insurance Services. We have been serving the Oxford, OH and Cincinnati, OH areas since 1958.