Need insurance claim advice

Joined
18 August 2003
Messages
56
Location
San Diego, CA
So I just smacked up my NSX today while evaluating a brand new set of Kumho Ecsta 712s on a canyon road (needless to say, DON"T buy these tires), and I need input from those of you who have been involved in an accident where you were driving, were clearly at fault, and the accident involved no other vehicles or people. After you had your insurance pay for the repairs (I'm lookin at 5,000-10,000 bucks here), how much did your insurance premiums go up?
 
The advice on how to deal with the claim is easy:

1. Tell the truth.

2. Get the car repaired by a properly-qualified body shop. Most body shops are accustomed to dealing with insurance companies to get the claim paid for.

As far as the effect on your rates, don't be afraid to ask your insurance agent/company; they should be able to answer the question. The impact (sorry for the pun) on your rates might be small or even zero, if it's your first claim; however, there might be a significant effect if you want to get a quote to switch to another insurance company.
 
Bulldozer27 said:
So I just smacked up my NSX today while evaluating a brand new set of Kumho Ecsta 712s on a canyon road (needless to say, DON"T buy these tires)...
Sorry to hear your about your car! Driver and passanger okay? As to the 712's: yes, they are junk IMO, which I have noted here before. I was absolutely shocked to see more than a few people tracking their car at XPO with these things on their wheels.
 
You couldn't have gone more than 55-60 mph in that corner - make sure the insurance company knows that.

Estca 712(s) is very good in the rain for some reason. That is one attribute I give to them: "Better grip in the rain." This is my personal opinion.
 
NSX/MR2 said:
You couldn't have gone more than 55-60 mph in that corner - make sure the insurance company knows that.

Estca 712(s) is very good in the rain for some reason.
I heard there was quite a bit of gravel on that corner?
Rain grip good? Never have had mine in the rain yet. Not that I'm avoiding, just not a daily driver.
 
I, for some reason like to drive the NSX much more than the MR2 in the rain. The reason why is because the NSX is a more easier controlled vehicle in the wet, and the MR2 is not (smaller wheel base.) Beside, I have lighten the MR2 for future track event, so I really don't want to push my luck in the wet.
 
Incidentally, when you're trying out new tires, don't expect them to stick like some other kind of tire. In fact, don't expect them to stick when they're brand new; as noted on the Tire Rack website:

Tires are comprised of many layers of rubber, steel and fabric. Due to these different components, your new tires require a "break-in" period to ensure that they deliver their normal ride quality and maximum performance. As tires are cured, a "release lubricant" is applied to prevent them from sticking in their mold. Some of the lubricant stays on the surface of your tires, reducing traction until it is worn away. Five hundred miles of easy acceleration, cornering and braking will allow the mold release lubricant to wear off, allowing the other tire components to begin working together.It is also important to note that your old tires probably had very little tread depth remaining when you felt it was time to replace them. As any autocrosser or racer who has tread rubber shaved off of his tires will tell you "low tread depth tires respond quicker." Don’t be surprised if your new tires are a little slower to respond (even if you use the exact same tire as before). Their new, full depth brings with it a little more tread squirm until they wear down.

NOTE: Be careful whenever you explore the capabilities of your new tires. Remember that every tire requires a break-in period for optimum performance.


Next time, you would be wise to start out in a non-threatening environment (i.e. not canyon roads) driving very gently, without pushing them hard, and work up from there very gradually, carefully noting their characteristics and responses. If you were out-driving the capabilities of your tires, it's the driver's fault; don't blame the tires.

Of course, hindsight is always 20-20, and it sucks to have to live with consequences. Good luck getting your car repaired.
 
POWERED by HONDA said:
Sorry to hear about your incident...

Even after the 712's are "broken in"... they are no where near the grip levels of the OEM tires.

I wouldn't say: "no where." I would say they don't grip as well in the dry in some situation(s,) but are better in the wet. However, I guess since you are living in SD, California (mostly nice weather) and donot take your car out as often as I do, you can make that statement.

I was there when it happened, I know what it was like.
 
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Re: Re: Need insurance claim advice

KGP said:
I was absolutely shocked to see more than a few people tracking their car at XPO with these things on their wheels.

Not to get too far off the topic of insurance, but I ran the Kumho's at Infineon at NSXPO and was pleased with their performance. This was the first time I had them on the car but they were broken in on another NSX last season on the track. Other than more squealing than OEM's, I felt they had great gripping ability at Infineon and I had no problems with them despite the higher speeds in our "A" run group.
 
sorry to hear about your car.

more likely your premium will increase the next time you renew your policy. i've had an accident before so im speaking through my experience. my increase was not that much.

goodluck
 
You need to read you policy to determine their definition of "chargeable" incident. For example, my carrier gives one "free" accident before premiums will be increased or coverage terminated if an accident is solely your fault. Others will increase your premiums with only one chargeable accident.

Policies differ from carrier to carrier so check the language in yours.
 
Sorry about your accident. Hope you get your car fixed soon. I was contemplating buying your brand of tires when the time comes, but looks like I should reconsider.
 
Last week I was driving home and and I was caught on wet streets but it had stopped raining. The Yokos were giving me fantastic starts and I was sort of racing from the line. Then I hit a patch of leaves from a start and for the fiirst time ever the rear wheels spun. It was strange as I didn't feel TCS kick in and so I let off the throttle on my own. Very slippery leaves.

Carl
91 s/b automatic

PS. I read on the M3 board that canyon runs at high speed + turns+ gravel = death + 60% burns.
 
Add me to the list of people that ran the Kuhmo 712s at NSXPO this year. In fact, I ran them when I drove to Wisconsin in 2001 and I ran the same set at Road America too. Granted, I'm not the fastest guy on the track, but I didn't start with any false allsusions that my $400/set Kuhmos were going to act like Yokos or Pilot Sports. The old adage "you get whay you pay for" holds true for tires as well as most anything else.

I smacked up my car on a canyon run back in 97' (running Yokos at the time) and my insurance proceeded to go up the following year, where it stayed until just this year when my rates came back down. My insurance company is AAA.

As is usually the case, the nut behind the wheel has more to do with driving incidents than does the selection of tires.

Sorry to hear about your accident Bulldozer27. Use the repair as an opportunity to freshen your paint - it's unlikely any serious damage was done to your car.

DaveG
NSXCA member #38
 
I don’t know much about Kumho 712s, but I do know an Allstate broker. He just wanted to make sure there were no dogs that ran onto the road in front of you …
 
Daria said:
I don’t know much about Kumho 712s, but I do know an Allstate broker. He just wanted to make sure there were no dogs that ran onto the road in front of you …

And I've also heard that there are Coyote's in the canyons.
 
Now you guys aren't suggesting that it's ok to add in a animal or so to the accident circumstances are you? Of course not! :rolleyes:
Stories like dogs, ghosts, coyotes, deer that leave no physical evidence ie. hair, blood, feces etc. get little/no absolution from the underwriter. If it didn't happen I suggest you leave it out.
The aduster is always asked to find some evidence of animal collision.
It is a common form of insurance fraud to try to dress a collision claim as a comprehensive claim and they are always suspicious.
Add in a high performance car that has superior handling, and brakes and the question becomes how could you lose control if you were going at a prudent speed. They think "if this insured was not going too fast, reacted and lost control in a car purpose built for superior control, then they could have gone into another lane, had a head on accident or gone off the side and hit a pedestrian" or, just as bad "maybe our insured is lying". :eek:
"Perhaps this person is a greater risk than we thought".
These are things you don't want the company to ponder.
Your risk profile is what determines your rate. Just because the company pays the claim and doesn't call you liar or challenge your story doesn't mean it won't impact your rates.
NSXTASY's 1st post was was the best advice.
 
I was only adding some sarcasm to this thread. I was actually involved in a situation while on vacation in California recently where an animal ran into the street right in front of me. I had three options: First was to slam on the brakes and be rear-ended by an SUV, second was to to weave into on coming traffic, and third was to hit the animal. I choose option three (poor Sparky)because my girlfriends life and my own live are more important than an animal and car.

In the situation being discussed here, the truth is definitely the best plan. Either way the insurance rates are going to go up, but that's why we have insurance to pay for damages that we could otherwise not afford. Also, it's easy to blame the tires or a mechanical failure when the driver doesn't want to realize their responsibility in the crash. The fact is that on any new tire there is a break in period, just like bedding in new brake pads. I bet if this incident happened to occur with brand new pads that they would have been to blame too. FYI, I drive on the 712'S and they are very slippery for the first 500-700 miles, just like the Bridgestone's that I also put on my MDX.
 
NSX/MR2 said:
I wouldn't say: "no where." I would say they don't grip as well in the dry in some situation(s,) but are better in the wet. However, I guess since you are living in SD, California (mostly nice weather) and donot take your car out as often as I do, you can make that statement.

I would have to disagree here. I ran 712's for 20,000 miles rain or shine and was never impressed. I replaced them with Yoko ES100's that were grippier and I now run oem rubber that is stellar compared to the 712's. The 712's are a budget performance tire with performance to match. There better tires out there for about the same amount of money.

Bulldozer27, sorry to hear about your incident.
 
steveny said:
Please post some pics of your car after the wreck.

Are wrecked-car pictures like porn to you or something?

Let me clear up a big misconception by some of you here. I take full responsibility for the accident as I was going too fast around that particular corner given the tires, so in that respect, it was driver error pure and simple. Having said that, on the straightaway just prior to the accident, I had made the comment to my passenger that these Kumho 712s had a ridiculous amount of sidewall flex in the preceding corners while taken at speed. The car felt as soft as a late-70s Cadillac, a problem I never encountered with the OEM RE-010s. My point is that it highly likely that I would have made it through at the same speed on OEMs, but I was trying to save 300 bucks (so in addition to driver-error, there was also an error in judgement:( ). Like DaveG said in an earlier post, you get what you pay for, which is pretty much a law of nature. I've learned my lesson, and will never again cut corners on something so crucial. So I'll amend my original post by saying that if you just want a set of tires for nothing more than separating the car from the road, by all means, get the Kumhos. But if you want to see what an NSX is truly capable of, get something else.
 
Bulldozer27 said:
So I'll amend my original post by saying that if you just want a set of tires for nothing more than separating the car from the road, by all means, get the Kumhos.

While you are entitled to your opinion, I'll stand by my original post that the Kumhos held up extremely well at Infineon. Your statement above would appear to be an over-reaction to an unfortunate incident. Most times it's not the arrow, it's the Indian.
 
Bulldozer27 said:
Are wrecked-car pictures like porn to you or something?

No. I am interested in what 5-10k worth of damage looks like to you. Have you had an estimate or are you just guessing? I have rebuilt salvage cars in the past although never an NSX. My experience with damaged aluminum cars is limited. One thing I am sure of is that the damage is almost always under estimated.
 
RSO 34 said:
While you are entitled to your opinion, I'll stand by my original post that the Kumhos held up extremely well at Infineon. Most times it's not the arrow, it's the Indian.

Thanks, the cheesy metaphor and holier-than-thou attitude are much appreciated:rolleyes:
 
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