Anyone had a glider totaled/stolen-Did they pay what it was worth

I used to be with Daily Underwriters and discussed this with them. They are still of the clearly outdated opinion that a glider is worth the same or even less than an equivalent emission truck. Anybody that follows the glider market knows this is entirely false. They also tried to tell me my plain jane Hyndaui van is worth more than my loaded Great Dane with stainless nose and tail, auto inflate, auto lift axle, and disc brakes! I am with Great West now. Not sure what their position on the issue is. I have also heard, but my agent doesn't seem to know anything about it, that some insurance carriers offer "stated value" insurance, where the value you put on, it is what is paid in a total loss, period. For those that don't know, in most commercial coverage situations, they ask you for a value to price your policy, then they pay whatever they determine the actual cash value (ACV) to be, only up to your claimed value, of course. Daily USED to have what they called a "co-insurance penalty" where if you were more than 20% off they would penalize your settlement further! Easy to do with volatile equipment pricing and incorrect valuation on their part!

 

Gliders are only worth more because people who want to avoid elogs and emissions are willing to pay for that benefit.

 

In a previous career I was the Operations Manager at an auto salvage auction where a large part of my job was validation of ACV figures to validate our auction prices were reflecting a realistic percentage of the ACV. It was important to the sellers as it was to me since my bonus was based on how close to the predicted sale price vs. actual sale price we came in at.

ACV is a tricky thing to figure and it can fluctuate often. Worse yet, many underwriters use a floating 36 month average, so their number doesn't reflect a realistic at the moment of loss value.

Further complicating things is the limited number of glider kit trucks on the market, leaving few market comparisons available to determine what it would cost to replace with a like kind and quality truck. The fleet spec trucks are so much easier to get an accurate valuation on.

The other issue is domicile vs. point of loss calculation, where some underwriters will use the lower of the two numbers as the value, or find comparable sold trucks way beyond a reasonable distance from your domicile that it would be impractical to purchase the truck as a replacement.

My best advice is to have a professional appraisal completed to establish a base line value, keep detailed records of upgrades, repairs and overall condition including photos, and communicate with your agent before renewals to see if their guidelines have changed.

Stated value policies can hurt you more than help, and as you said, they only pay ACV or stated value whichever is lower. Keep your eye on the glider market as well, so you have an idea of what they are selling for. Unfortunately we tend to get emotionally attached to things we have put a lot of work into and what you think your truck is worth is nowhere near what the market is willing to pay.

Example, with freight rates in the toilet and companies failing daily, the truck market is down -even gliders- so it is possible may drivers currently owe more than their truck is worth. Eventhough gliders are out of production, limited supply to replace them, they still are only worth what the market will bear if someone were to try and sell one today.

Some underwriters even argue that since they are not 50 state legal they are worth less than an emissions compliant truck or that an emissions complaint truck is an adequate and equal replacement because the perceived value of having a glider just isn't obvious to them as it is to those that chose to own gliders.

 

I saw a you tuber state that he’s putting elogs in all his gliders due to the DOT spending way longer trying to find defects on his paper log trucks as compared to his elog trucks.. He doesn’t agree with it but his authority is his livelihood..

 

DOT looks at my paper, but i honestly don't think they want to mess with it.

They look at every page, but none have ever gotten in depth. I think I've had 5 inspections now, maybe 6.

30 minutes and out.

As to the OP, if you're insuring fully and expect same $$$ upon a claim, you really should get at least two figures from reputable sellers every year, to show ACV at least for that 12 month period.

 

I’m convinced dot doesn’t even know how to read paper any more, my last one a few years ago the guy thumbed through them quick but still took him over 2 hours under the truck before he found an air hose he didn’t like

 

Myself I prefer elogs. Its just easier but I'm in a different boat than a lot of folks.

 

On days like next Wednesday paper logs are crowded also elog saves me time at drops when some take 5 minutes or so … on the highway I like paper but got used to elog so it’s only when uncontrolled issues arise that I miss paper.

 

Yes and no. A large part of the reason is the above sure. But its not the whole story either. Gliders are an unusual addaptation of a vehicle and have to an extent become a show item or a status symbol to an extent kinda like a classic car. Opening a hood with an old D60 or C15 under it or stuff like A models or say a purple big al will get a LOT of attention. Even if the truck is objectivly worse in many ways.

I mean take an old 1960s era...say shelby cobra. By all objective mesures save looks the thing is vastly inferior to many modern super cars and even many modern off the shelf sports cars. However, the value is far above its actual worth due to the status attached to it.

Same concept. The big diffrence here and where a lot of disconnect comes from is the fact a shelby is obviously for shows and a status symbol. An old 359 with an A or B model or a 379 with a C15....less so. Espcially while they are being used for work. This means there is more demand for the vehicles but due to being used for commerce as much as looks in many cases it skews the value. Afterall, in THEROY a brand new 589 would be many times better and more efficent then a 359 or 379.

Anyone who has delt with the obsurd prices of trucks and the bull crap that is emissions knows otherwise but still. That said though the era of classic trucks is coming to an end. Regulations forceing them into museums, private collections or scrapyard likely arent more then a decade off at this point. Less if the current admin is any indication.

 

I don't think so. For the most part, and most folks, even the single truck OO, the math work out in favor of technology.

The folks who can afford to make a living with older equipment are often making at least some repairs themselves, and keep a much closer eye on their equipment.

Ole .gov going after old iron just wouldn't make sense in the long run.

Last week I stopped at the rest area just east of South Fork, CO on 160. During my morning walk, I noticed not another truck in the rest area was probably older than 2012.

Yeah, maybe only 25 trucks, but I'd bet that overall.the #'s match. 1 in 25 trucks are pre eld