Tractor Insurance: am I being ripped off

[LDWallace]

Is your tractor the TYM 474?
If so that seems to a Kukje A2300N2 engine. Which is the supposedly Cummins Onan engine.
View attachment 1856779

LouNY

Yes it is the Tym 474

 

[LDWallace]

That's one thing about insurance you always have to fight with them. Never take their first offer.
Remember....they have no issue taking more and more money from you, so don't let them off easy when it's time to pay up.

I have USAA for auto and home. They have always been very fair and almost generous.

Dealing with Equipment Insurance International (EII) has been an eye opening experience. I will be much more selective on my next insurance purchase.

 

[LDWallace]

Were it my tractor,and the block has no obvious damage, I'd tell the ins. co. to cancel my damage claim_period. Then I'd begin calling mobile mechanics for an in-frame overhaul
My nephew just performed an in-frame overhaul on my MF 135 perkins engine with cylinders full of anti-freeze.
All new bearings, new cyl. liners, head resurfaced, all new gaskets, etc.
He has approx, $1,800 in parts plus his labor.
Even if you must replace rods and pistons, that's probably about another $800.
The mechanic doesn't have to know your specific engine, just have a shop repair manual ready for him when he arrives.

 

[LDWallace]

RayIN

The tractor is still under warranty. Is it possible to get a “mobile mechanic” to work on the tractor and still have the manufacturer’s warranty? The tractor only has 350 hours..

It is the Kukje engine which I would assume is relatively simple to work on.

As I mentioned earlier, I had contacted several local dealers with bigger shops but they told they were not authorized to work on other brands.

Should I just search “mobile diesel mechanics”?

 

[RayIN]

RayIN

The tractor is still under warranty. Is it possible to get a “mobile mechanic” to work on the tractor and still have the manufacturer’s warranty? The tractor only has 350 hours..

It is the Kukje engine which I would assume is relatively simple to work on.

As I mentioned earlier, I had contacted several local dealers with bigger shops but they told they were not authorized to work on other brands.

Should I just search “mobile diesel mechanics”?

I can't speak to most mobile mechanics, but many RV mechanics/technicians work with mfgrs. for warranty repairs.
Enter Mobile Mechanic and your city in your search engine and see the results.
Then begin calling about one of them working with warranty claims.

If the loader was on the tractor when it was purchased, and financed as such, your Ins. co. will have a hard time proving their case.

 

[4570Man]

I can't speak to most mobile mechanics, but many RV mechanics/technicians work with mfgrs. for warranty repairs.
Enter Mobile Mechanic and your city in your search engine and see the results.
Then begin calling about one of them working with warranty claims.

If the loader was on the tractor when it was purchased, and financed as such, your Ins. co. will have a hard time proving their case.

According to the OPs first post the loader is insured under a separate policy and wasn’t damaged in the event. It seems reasonable to me to not pay for the loader. My insurance has my skid steer bucket insured separate from the machine. When my skid steer burned the bucket wasn’t damaged and they didn’t pay for it which I’m fine with since I still have it. A tractor loader is harder to reuse than a skid steer bucket but I’m not sure the legality is different.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

I feel like you should be able to have the engine repaired somewhere. Insurance never makes you 100% whole, whether it's a car, a house, or anything else. I didn't even know you could get insurance for you damaging the engine.

 

[redman135]

If the loader is under a separate policy, then "loader" would be defined as : loader arms, loader mounts AND loader controls which includes the valve bank.

The insu co says they will only payout on the BARE tractor. This EXCLUDES the loader mounts and loader controls as they are never sold with a bare tractor.
The insu co have hoist themselves on thier own petard so to speak.

I would go and get those parts as they are on a 2nd policy. If the insu co sold the loader mounts and controls and did not payout then they could be charged with theft.
Do you have an "Insurance Ombudsman"(mediates disputes) or equivilent where you are?

 

[JJT]

I'm surprised the insurance company is paying anything. This was self inflicted, operator error. To quote the original poster - "Recently I destroyed the engine.. It was stupid operator error." Be happy they are paying the claim.

 

[Panik]

I’d 100 percent be removing the loader mounts and the valve kit from the tractor. That’s part of the loader that they already claimed you still own.

^ This right here. I'm absolutely horrible about keeping paperwork around... so what I'm going to say next is a bit of a hypocrisy.... I'd suggest looking through the fine print of the policies for the loader & the tractor (if you have those documents) and check the wording about how the various parts on the machine are divided in the policies.

After doing so, I'd be very strongly considering asking around town for recommendations of a good claims/insurance attorney and calling a couple to see about setting up for a consult for advice.

Often initial consults are not that comparatively expensive (~$250.00 for some time reviewing documents and an in person discussion). It's been my pretty frequent experience that spending an hour with an experienced attorney discussing the issue (without putting them on retainer) pays serious dividends in terms of having a stable knowledge base from which to proceed in settling an issue.

I'd strongly suspect that within an hour's consult an insurance/claims attorney would be able to provide you the reassurance necessary to tell the insurance company to kick rocks about removing the loader mounts + hydraulic controls form the tractor based on the way the policies are divided.....And more importantly help you understand how to confidently proceed in refusing to accept diminished value for the tractor should the insurance company be problematic about you pulling the loader and associated equipment from the tractor.

(I say all this knowing that many people are leery of attorneys, just trying to point out that they can be valuable advice resources without sucking down tons of money)

As an addendum, I'm guessing if the insurance company is trying this with you I'd think it's probably a pretty fair bet they've done this to other people and there are records of their poor client relationships that might be worth looking into.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Still can't believe we are totalling a tractor over an engine issue.

Cost of adding an L series loader?

I'm looking primarily at L3200/L3800 used tractors. What sort of cost and issues should I be aware of adding a loader to a tractor not so equipped from the start (or factory)? How does a factory loader compare to an aftermarket loader (Woods, Bush hog, Koyker, other)? What sort of cost and...

www.orangetractortalks.com

 

[turbohawk]

AS time goes on I see Insurance companies in general trending more and more being a "screw you" give us your money (by law or agreement in most cases) and we decide how we will screw you and "what are you going to do about it" entity. You pay them and they decide how they will NOT help you. Sad days. Major reform needed in this industry across the board.

 

[dboreham]

Quick add that I discovered you can insure equipment under your home owners policy (at least, I did -- very common large US insurance carrier so I assume most will). Coverage I seem to recall even includes use off my property, but of course not commercial use. Anyway, for my coverage I had to specify a value for the skid steer, excavator and so on that I insured. I submitted the bill of sale to prove what I paid and set coverage at a bit higher to account for inflation and me having repaired various small issues on the machines. Insurance company WILL NOT pay more than the agreed valuation. The premium cost was really quite low, at least in the context of the overall mix of home owners, personal effects, vehicle policies that we carry, OP must have had some sort of policy where the equipment doesn't have an agreed value or coverage limit?

 

[Robin Veerman]

Did I miss tractor brand/model?

 

[charlessenf]

The insurance company deemed the tractor a total loss and took bids for salvage.

I did not know anything about the company.. my dealer made all of the arrangements with the financing and the insurance.

I know there probably is not much I can do.

They sent me a “release” today for me to sign.

Lesson 1 - Read Before You Sign (and, if you do not KNOW what you are agreeing to - Do Not Sign)

If you have NOT signed the release, they may still need you. Did you sign ANYTHING else between reporting the loss and receiving the Release Form (we hope you've yet to execute)?

What is the Small Claims Court Limit in your State/County?
What is the Market Value of a fully functional tractor (like yours)?
Where is your tractor now? And How did it get there? (Possession is 9/10 OTL?)

Most often folks sleep walk through such transactions signing everything put before them without actually reading much or even the 'fine print' even though these become legally binding contracts with the parties defined within.

I encourage EVERYONE to take a course or two in BUSINESS LAW at their local Community or state college. If you don't know a tort from a tortilla, the basics of Contract Law and don't have an attorney advising you before you sign, you are at the mercy of entities that have no mercy for the ignornant folks our system allows them to prey upon.

You may have rights and opportunities here. If the copany hasn't paid you yet, they may not have (technically) complied with their contract terms.

Write them a Letter demanding they hallt the proposed bidding on the tractor and return it to you or your dealer or agent. Take posession of your property (if you can - since you borrowed to purchase it, the lender may have rights you never anticipated).

Their response may clarify your position relative to the lender (who likely dod know all about the insuror the dealer 'selected' for their protection.

The dealer loans are as bad as the PayDay lenders we hear horror stories about insane interest rates and the like. They basically write the contract you have to sign to get the tractor without paying for it and the lendor demands you pay for insurance to cover their interests in the tractor - not yours.

This is another of teh hrad truths about the rules of capitalism your elected representatives wrote into laws to protect the Investor Class from harm.

You and all the other little guys just can't pony up enough in contributions to compete with the massive amounts Venture Capital is able to proise those folks you voted for.

 

[paulsharvey]

Ok, forgive me if I missed it.... how much do you still owe on the tractor, and was the loader not part of the loan package that you insured? I do get the idea that it's a separately serialized item. Also, I really think it's a miswording to say your insured, it's really your bank being insured, and you paying for the banks insurance. Regardless, $16,000 seems low, but at the same time, we are straddling the kine between an accident, flood damage, and a mechanical failure.

 

[Redlined0002]

You need to get the insurance commissioner for you state involved immediately. DO NOT sign that release. The loader mounts are part of the loader assembly. You can call me and I can tell you how to handle it. John 904-813-4740

 

[mike peyerl]

I haven't seen it mentioned but can you buy it back from the insurance company if it is only valued at $16k running with a $20k repair bill it can't be worth much now. But it back cheap and get it rebuilt by a mechanic or find out how much a replacement engine is.

 

[Mike rich]

I have tractor insurance on a 2022 48 HP tractor with 350 hours through EII Equipment Insurance International. I did not know anything about the company.. my dealer made all of the arrangements with the financing and the insurance.

Recently I destroyed the engine.. It was stupid operator error.. but that is why I paid for insurance.

My dealer said he would only replace the engine at $20k + since he did not have the facilities for a rebuild.

The insurance company deemed the tractor a total loss and took bids for salvage.

So here is the deal:

1. They said the FEL was insured separately and since it was not damaged they would cover only the tractor and not include the FEL.

2 despite much higher “comparables” and the fact you can’t buy a 48HP tractor without the loader they say they will only reimburse me $16k minus deductible.

They say they have no obligation to make me “whole”. They are only obligated to cover what they have decided is the value of the tractor. (Which I contend is much higher than $16k!)

3. My dealer suggested I remove the loader mounts and other parts and he might be able to order a tractor without a loader. (A much larger dealer in a larger town said they have no interest in ordering a tractor without a loader)

4. The insurance company has told me the tractor is out for bid and I can not remove anything from the tractor. I contend if they are not willing to work with me I should take the FEL mounts. I called the salvage company and they said they would rebid the tractor if I remove anything. I am sure the insurance company is going to tell me I have to “eat” any changes in the bid.. but . I have not yet “forced” that issue?

Do any of you have any thought or suggestion of what I should do? They sent me a “release” today for me to sign. Should I just remove the FEL mounts? The salvage company offered me $500 for the loader!

I am venting here. I know there probably is not much I can do. I feel like they have pretty much told me … “It is our way or the highway” and I am pissed!!

It is your loader, they r not compensating u 4 it. Take off the mounts, hoses, joy stick & cables.even the value.Everything that was extra,3rd.function valve,if it had one. Sell the loader, or put it on another tractor. Loaders aren't cheap 10,000 plus!!

 

[Shenandoah MF1760]

There are lawyers that will take on insurance companies.

Sometimes even mentioning a lawyer loosens things up a bit.

Sometimes you just need to get your hands dirty and get one.