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AGREED VALUE POLICY? REPAIRED TO THE NUMBER YOU AGREED ON.

Hagerty, Chubb, Cincinnati, and every collector carrier in between — an agreed value policy is a documentation relationship, and so is a proper repair. Your car’s value was established with photos, appraisals, and paperwork; a claim either continues that documented story or damages it. We repair to the standard those carriers expect — genuine parts argued in writing, every stage photographed, the file delivered with the car — and Texas Insurance Code §1952.301 keeps the shop choice where collector carriers already put it: with you.

Start My Collector Repair Agreed vs. Stated Value, Explained
Documentation to the standard collector carriers expect
The agreed-vs-stated trap explained before it costs you
Genuine parts argued in writing — Tex. Ins. Code §1952.301
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Customer's Audi S3 after front-end collision repair at DG Collision Center in Lewisville TX — documented repair billed direct to the carrier
TL;DR

Collector and agreed value claims are the friendliest territory in insurance — if you know your paperwork. Agreed value (Hagerty’s version is called Guaranteed Value) means you and the carrier fixed your car’s worth when the policy was written, from appraisals and photos — and on a covered total loss you receive that full amount, no depreciation. Do not confuse it with stated value, the fine-print trap: a stated value policy pays the stated amount or actual cash value, whichever is lower — the number on your application is a ceiling there, not a promise. One word on your declarations page decides which world you live in; check it before you ever need it. On the repair side, collector carriers are built around specialist shops: Chubb publishes that you choose the repair facility (and offers cash settlement up to the policy limit on total losses), Hagerty’s whole model assumes enthusiast-grade work, and Cincinnati’s private-client practice insures collections it describes as art on wheels — while in Texas, Insurance Code §1952.301 backs your shop choice in law on every policy. What we bring is the half the policy can’t: a repair documented like the asset it protects — teardown photographed, genuine parts argued in writing, every stage recorded into a file that goes home with the car, because the same documentation that set your agreed value is what protects it at the next renewal. Free loaner, written lifetime warranty, direct billing to every carrier named here — your out-of-pocket is your deductible, which on many collector policies runs low or zero.

  • Agreed value pays the number — fixed when the policy was written, paid in full on a covered total loss. Hagerty calls it Guaranteed Value; Chubb and Cincinnati write it too.
  • Stated value is the trap — it pays the stated amount or actual cash value, whichever is lower. One word on the declarations page separates the two.
  • Shop choice is native here — Chubb publishes it, collector carriers assume it, and §1952.301 makes it Texas law besides.
  • The repair is documentation — your value was set with paperwork; the repair continues it: photographed teardown, genuine parts, a delivered file.
  • Protect the number at renewal — a documented, quality repair keeps the car’s story intact; an undocumented one invites questions.
  • Low friction, low deductibles — many collector policies carry small or zero deductibles; check your declarations, and bring us the claim number.

Reviewed by Shah Jiwani · Owner, DG Collision Center Updated I-CAR Gold Class · PPG Certified

How Collector Claims Work At An Independent Shop

An agreed value policy starts where ordinary insurance ends: with a number you and the carrier fixed together, backed by documentation, before anything ever happened. Hagerty’s Guaranteed Value pays that full insured amount on a covered total loss — no depreciation. Chubb writes the agreed number into the policy, publishes that the repair facility is your choice, and offers a cash settlement up to the policy limit if a totaled car won’t be rebuilt. Cincinnati’s private-client practice insures collections it frames as art on wheels, at agreed value. Different companies, one philosophy: the car’s worth is settled by evidence, in advance — which is exactly why these are the best claims in the business to run through a shop that treats evidence as the product.

Because here’s the part the policy can’t do for you: the repair itself either continues your car’s documented story or interrupts it. The same appraisal-and-photos discipline that set your agreed value is what a collector-grade repair looks like from the inside — the damage photographed before teardown, every hidden finding itemized on the lift, genuine parts argued to the adjuster in writing under Texas Insurance Code §1952.301, the refinish matched records-first and proven on a sprayout card, and the completed work photographed into a file that goes home with the car. That file is what protects the agreed number when renewal comes, what answers a future buyer’s questions before they’re asked, and what separates a repaired collector car from a car with a past. We already run this discipline daily across our luxury program and the forty-eight brand pages behind it.

Weighing a claim against paying cash, or wondering what a repair does to value? Our diminished value guide and file-or-pay guide walk both questions honestly before you commit to anything.

Agreed, Stated, Actual Cash — The Three Numbers That Decide Your Payout

Coverage Type
How The Value Is Set
What It Actually Pays At Total Loss
Agreed Value
Fixed by you and the carrier when the policy is written — appraisals, photos, documentation; Hagerty’s version is Guaranteed Value
The full agreed amount, in full — no depreciation applied on a covered total loss; the number is the promise
Stated Value
You declare a number on the application, with supporting documentation
The stated amount or actual cash value — whichever is LOWER. The number you declared is a ceiling, not a promise; the carrier isn’t obligated to pay it
Actual Cash Value
Nobody sets it in advance — the market does, on the day of the loss
Market value minus depreciation at the moment of loss — how standard auto policies settle, and why they fit daily drivers better than collectibles

One word on your declarations page decides which row you live in — and the difference between “agreed” and “stated” can be tens of thousands of dollars on the worst day of your ownership. Read the declarations page now, while it’s cheap to fix. If it says stated value on a car that deserves agreed value, that’s a phone call to your agent this week — not a discovery to make at a total loss. And if you’re not sure what your documentation should look like for an agreed-value application, the photographed repair files we deliver are exactly the kind of evidence those underwriters like to see.

Your Collector Claim, Step By Step

Claim Stage
What The Carrier Does
What We Do
1. Report the claim
Hagerty, Chubb, and Cincinnati all run collector-savvy claims desks — tell them your shop when you file
Nothing yet — or send photos first and we’ll tell you honestly whether it’s a claim at all
2. The valuation file
Your agreed value documentation frames the claim from day one
We photograph the damage against that baseline — the story of what changed, documented before a wrench moves
3. Teardown
Collector adjusters expect thoroughness, not shortcuts
Full teardown and blueprint — every hidden finding photographed and itemized against factory procedures
4. Parts & supplement
Collector carriers are the most receptive audience in insurance for genuine and correct-era parts
Genuine parts argued in writing under §1952.301 — and sourced with the patience a collectible deserves
5. Repair, delivery & the file
Pays the approved total minus your deductible — often low or zero on collector policies
Repair, records-first refinish, post-repair scan, detail, delivery — with our written lifetime warranty and the photographed file that protects your agreed number

The stage that decides your experience is #5 — the file. On an ordinary car the paperwork ends when the check clears; on a collector car, the delivered documentation is part of the vehicle now, and it works for you at every renewal and every future sale. The mechanics live in our supplements guide and diminished value guide.

Collector Claim — Or A Car That Deserves One?

Text a few photos with the year, model, and carrier — we’ll tell you honestly what the repair involves, what the documentation should capture, and whether your declarations page says the word that matters. Realistic answers, usually within minutes during shop hours.

Call (972) 219-0864Call Us Now Text Us Photos

Common Questions

AGREED VALUE & COLLECTOR CLAIMS FAQ

Yes — and collector carriers are the friendliest shop-choice conversations in insurance. Chubb publishes outright that the policyholder chooses the repair facility; Hagerty’s entire model is built around enthusiast owners and the specialist shops they trust; Cincinnati’s private-client practice works the same way. And in Texas, Insurance Code §1952.301 backs the choice in law on every policy regardless. Tell your carrier “I’m using DG Collision Center in Lewisville” when you file, and the claim proceeds exactly the same.
Everything, on the worst day of your ownership. Agreed value is a mutual commitment: you and the carrier fixed the number with documentation when the policy was written, and a covered total loss pays that full amount, no depreciation. Stated value only sounds similar: it pays the stated amount or actual cash value, whichever is lower — the number you declared is a ceiling, not a promise, and the carrier isn’t obligated to reach it. One word on your declarations page separates the two. Read it this week, not at the claim.
Yes — agreed-value and collector claims are home turf. We bill Hagerty, Chubb, Cincinnati, and every collector carrier direct, document to the standard their adjusters expect, argue genuine and correct-era parts in writing, and deliver the photographed file that a collectible’s ownership record deserves. The same discipline runs through our luxury program and the brand pages behind it — from daily-driven performance cars to the cars that only leave the garage on Saturdays.
The honest answer: the agreed number gets revisited at renewal, and the repair’s documentation is what defends it. A quality repair with genuine parts, photographed at every stage and delivered as a complete file, keeps the car’s story intact — the underwriter sees exactly what happened, what was replaced, and proof it was done right. An undocumented repair invites the opposite conversation. We can’t promise what any carrier decides at renewal; we can promise the evidence will be on your side.
Yes — and this is the easiest audience in insurance to make that case to. Collector carriers understand better than anyone that a collectible repaired with imitation parts is a different asset afterward. We argue genuine and era-correct components in writing on every estimate — and Texas Insurance Code §1952.301 bars any insurer from limiting coverage by the brand, type, kind, age, vendor, supplier, or condition of parts, so the law backs the request even when a claim runs through a standard carrier instead.
Update the number before you need it — appreciation you haven’t told your carrier about is value you’re not insured for. Collector markets move; review the agreed value at every renewal, and support increases with fresh evidence: recent comparable sales, an updated appraisal, and current photographs. If we’ve repaired the car, the delivered file doubles as exactly this kind of evidence — underwriters like documented cars, and documented cars get their numbers approved.
Usually, yes — and they matter. Collector policies earn their low premiums through conditions: annual mileage caps, pleasure-use-not-commuting expectations, and secure-storage requirements are common, and they vary by carrier and policy. None of that is a trap so long as you know your own terms — so read the conditions section the same day you check whether your declarations page says “agreed.” If a claim ever puts usage in question, honest documentation of how the car actually lives is your friend, and ours arrives with timestamps.
Your deductible, once — and on many collector policies that’s a small number or zero; your declarations page has the exact figure. The carrier pays the approved balance directly to us, the parts get sourced with the patience a collectible deserves (timelines stated honestly, in writing), and a free loaner from our 50+ fleet carries you the whole way — no day limit, whatever your policy says about rentals. The car comes home with our written lifetime warranty and the file that proves every decision.

Free · No Obligation

START YOUR AGREED VALUE REPAIR

Claim filed or not — tell us what you drive and what happened, and we’ll call back with the real number and next steps.

Prefer to talk now? Call (972) 219-0864 · or text us photos

Hagerty®, Chubb®, Cincinnati Insurance, and all carrier names on this page are trademarks of their respective owners. DG Collision Center is an independent repair facility and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any insurance carrier named on this page. References are for factual identification only.

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