E55BKS

I just read a post about a tuner that wrecked a car and the nightmare that ensued after. The car was wrecked during the weekend by an employee using it to take his kid somewhere. Luckily no one was hurt but the car was totaled. The tuner was not incorporated or LLC.....I'm not sure if that matters or not????
My intent here is to get educated so if something does go wrong I'm covered. Thanking you in advance for your help.

My question is what coverage should a tuner carry?

Should I ask for a copy of the tuners general liability insurance?

If the tuner is at fault and kills someone do I get sued also?

What questions do I ask before I let the tuner have my car?

One example: Let's say I take my car to a shop to get it dynoed and use an outside source to tune it, the dyno malfunctions and destroys my car, who pays for it? Should I get a copy of the shops insurance ?

What steps can I take to insure I'm not going to get the short end of the stick in the event something goes wrong?

With the value of my car dropping to biblical proportions, if my car was to get totaled by a tuner or someone I would have to write a check to pay it off, other than not letting anyone drive or work on my car, what can I do to avoid this?

jrcart

Where is that story, sounds like a good one .

E55BKS

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...ff-creech.html

prodigymb

yeah i read that a while ago and it's ashame. shops have different levels of coverage and when it comes to highly modified cars it's hard to get "everything" covered. my only real advice is to have adequate insurance coverage on your own car that will specifically state the aftermarket additions covered.

AZIPOD

On most automobile policies, there is a clause in the policy that states that the liability portion of your policy turns into an exclusion while the car is out of service at a repair facility.

This allows the insurance company to "transfer the risk" to the shop while it is under their custody & control. If the mechanic at the shop takes your car out for a spin and runs over a few pedestrians, the shop's insurance provides the liability. It makes good sense if you really think about it.

The "collision/comprehensive" portion of your policy on the other hand, will remain in effect regardless whether the car is at the shop or not. So if the shop was negligent and crashed your car, car fell off the rack, or if your car is simply stolen while it's parked at the shop, your own insurance carrier will come in and PAY YOU for the repairs/damages. They will then in turn, subrogate (legal insurance term for collection) against the shop's insurance company for their recovery.

We had a case where a nearly brand new Lamborghini Gallardo caught on fire within blocks of the dealership after the owner picked it up from service. The car caught on fire and was fully engulfed in flames before the firetrucks came. Our experts examined the car and found that the mechanic at the dealership improperly tighten a fuel line. The line came off the fighting splattering fuel all over the exhaust manifold which ignited the fire. The dealer refused to pay the owner so the owner collected from his insurance company. The insurance company subsequently made a claim through the dealership's carrier for reimbursement.

As for "tuner insurance," that's really out of my expertise. I'm sure there are carriers out there who will underwrite policies for the modifications owners do to their cars. These are considered specialty risk policies.

I hope this helps.

E55BKS

I would assume my insurance would go up if they had to fix anything on my car wouldn't it? What if they got full reimbursement form the shop insurance, would it still go up?

Thank you for your response.

jangy

Yes, if your insurance pays, your rates go up. This is actually a great question. Not being LLC or Inc is a wierd one, since it makes the business liability mix with personal liability for the tuner. LLC is too cheap and easy that it should be a flag if a tuner is not structured.

For they wreck tht you mention, the driver is who needs coverage, unless if the business wants to cover employees doing non-work business. Many tuners, mine included, drive the cars quite a bit and things can happen. Be very clear with your tuner on what your expectations are.

AZIPOD

In California (as well as other states), the Department of Insurance ("DOI") governs the insurance carriers on many things including their rating scale.

In order for an insurance company to increase premium on a policy, the increase must be based on a point system for a chargeable loss. Although there are exceptions, the chargeable loss has to related to an unsafe operation of your vehicle by a listed driver on the policy.

Examples of chargeable losses:
1) You drive the car and rear-end someone.
2) You lose control of your car and strike a pedestrian/car.
3) You have a moving violation.

Examples of NON-chargeable losses (even if your insurance companies makes a payment):
1) Someone steals your car.
2) Someone vandalizes your car.
3) Your mechanic damages your car.
4) You open your door into the path of a bicyclist (You're at fault, but your action
does not fall in the definition of operating a vehicle).
5) Your friend who is not listed on the policy drives your car and gets into an at-fault
accident which your insurance company pays out.

These are just a few examples....... hope this helps.

E55BKS

It does!! Thank you for your help.