KurtZehrINS

Hey Everyone,

I am looking for your help. I work for Zehr Insurance and am working hard to try and create a program for modified cars, which do not fit under classic or collector car programs.

I have been an car enthusiast all my life, and since I was about 11 years old I have always wanted to own an Rx7, after seeing Toretto's in Fast and Furious(Cheesy, I know). However life has never allowed me to realize that dream and with a wife and children I have had to push it off, but the want will always be there.

I know that finding proper and affordable insurance for modified vehicles can be very difficult/impossible. My brokerage specialized in Classic Car insurance, where it is not difficult to insure modified vehicles. Take on old Impala and put a Cummins diesel in it or something crazy, and I would have no problem. Same Impala but with a full custom paint job, again no issue. Even roll cages are doable. But you do an engine swap or any of the above in your newer car and insurance is impossible to find. This is unfair! If you have put the time and money into your vehicle, you are going to take of it just as well as any "classic" car owner.

In terms of your Rx7's however, even the newest 3rd Gen is over 15YO and could be insured as a classic/collector car. Where as I stated, if modified there would be a lot less trouble getting you insured.

I am looking for those of you who have put the same passion you have for your Rx7 and have pushed it to other cars as well.

I am hoping to compile a database that can help me approach my insurance providers to create a specialty program for enthusiasts like yourselves. If you are willing I have provided a link below to a 10 question survey, which will help give me an overview of the potential market, and give me ammo to get this program started. The survey should only take 1 minute.

I would be so appreciative if everyone could fill out the survey and pass it along to anyone who may be willing to help me out. Thank you very much for the time and consideration. If you have any questions or input in terms of desired coverage etc, I would appreciate all feed back.

Modified Vehicle Questionnaire

wreckerx7

Thanks for doing this, dude! It's awesome that an actual human who likes what we do is in the insurance industry.

As an aside, a huge negative for me is that in Ontario cars are insured, not people. As a car lover, I've at times had 5 or 6 cars roadworthy, but could only afford to insure 2 of them. Ridiculous, considering I can only drive one at a time. It would be so awesome if I could just hop into whichever car of the bunch I felt like driving and go. I believe in other provinces, drivers are insured-- rather than cars-- which makes so much more sense to me.

clicking the link now.

KurtZehrINS

Thank you for the response. I am glad to see the positive reception so far.

This is a project I have wanted to tackle for the last few years, and this year have decided to buck up and dive right in. I mean the worst that happens is I put in my time and my idea gets turned down and nothing happens. But I have at least done what I can.

The great part about working for Zehr Insurance, is the level of car enthusiasm that exists here. The companies founders started the collector car program and were the first company to provide a collect car market, which now means that we are celebrating our 50th year of providing insurance for collector cars. Beyond this the owners have nice car collections, along with a few of the other branch managers. I hope to join the ranks one of these days!

I agree with your interpretation of the system. A few tweaks could be used. In an ideal world, you should pay the liability portion of insurance on yourself, based your age and experience, etc. Then there should just be a charge for physical damages for all of your vehicles. Instead of paying for liability on every single vehicle. Alas, this is far beyond my abilities to change, at least for now. I am going to start by insurance sweet custom cars, and we will go from there.

Again I appreciate everyone who fills out the survey. This is still the very early stages of my work. All of these responses, will build a case to show the potential size of the market and the use etc. If I were to approach a company and just say hey, I was at a car show and there were lots of modded cars, and we should create a special program fro them. I would just be laughed at. If I can go to them with 200 survey responses and say; here is 200 responses for owners of modified cars, who have trouble finding proper insurance and 95% have less then 2 tickets and no at-fault accidents, etc, then I have given this a lot more validity. So this is my current project, and I am glad that I have had a good response so far.

Thanks,

jcyken

iTrader: (5)

I just filled out your form - I appreciate what you're trying to do for us. Insurance, especially in Ontario is such a scam. Trying to insure a RHD car is just as big, if not more of a pain. I find it very discriminatory how RHD cars from Japan can't be insured with a classic/collector car policy unless its over 25 years (also funny how it used to be only 15 years, but they changed it when more JDM cars reached that age), but a car from any other country could. Having a 10+ year driving record with zero accidents or tickets makes no difference either. Best of luck.

KurtZehrINS

Thanks for filling out the survey.

In terms of collector car insurance I am pretty sure RHD has always been this difficult but I could be wrong. From my experience I am pretty sure we are one of the only companies to provide collector rates for RHD. Our rules have always been collector cars start at 20 years old if stock and 25 if modified.

We do have markets that will start accepting vehicles as classics starting at 15 years, but none of them accept RHD vehicles.

Hopefully you find a decent solution for your import until it is eligible for collect car rates.

Cheers,

7_rocket

iTrader: (6)

Filled out your survey!

KurtZehrINS

Thanks!

Every one helps!

A lot of you have filled this out stating that your RX-7's are for pleasure and show use. Just as a heads up, if you are not on collector rates already, an RX-7 easily qualifies as a collector car. Beyond what I am doing here, if you ever have questions about collector car programs, please let me know.

Cheers,

johnny55

iTrader: (1)

Hey,

Just filled out your survey.

It took me over a month to get insurance once I purchased my FD last year. I was given quotes over the phone periodically while I was looking for the car, and a quote the day before I purchased it from my then current insurance company. Once I purchased the car and was going to go ahead with the insurance, they changed their minds. Continued to look around with different brokers without much luck, even with the appraisal they requested. I actually spoke with a broker at Zehr, but was too young to qualify. Only a few more months...

Johnathan

KurtZehrINS

Thank you very much for taking the time to fill out the survey. Sorry to hear of the difficulty for insurance your car. By the sounds of it you know the age when you are eligible for collector rates. I would be more than happy to help you out when that time comes.

Cheers,

Hodgfrog

Hey, insurance for a modified car usually costs more. Not only because a modified car has parts and details that are harder to find, but also because modifying a car also lifts the price of a specific vehicle higher. As a result, the car will cost more, and so the insurance for this car. The best thing to do for you is to visit https://www.moneyexpert.com/car-insu...car-insurance/ and ask for the professional help from a certified insurance specialist. Guys working there will help you find the most suitable insurance company for you.

wreckerx7

how’s this project coming along?

gulward

Insurance for the modified car is always high in price as parts are most of the time expensive and cost more, recently I got an insurance for my car and I was happy to pay more as it;s worth it