Come on now Lance, I gotta beg to differ with you on this one! I just read my policy over cover to cover and NOWHERE does it state that modifying my truck voids any coverage. (remember, according to the OP, his claim was denied based on his CAI). Now granted, water will get sucked into the engine much faster through a CAI, but at least my policy has no disclaimer to disallow a claim based on that.
Also, I'll give you the guy was stupid for venturing into water deep enough to hydrolock him, but claims were paid all over Florida this summer as people did the same after we got 22" of rain in a 4 day period.
Besides, I also saw no "stupidity disclaimer" in my policy. What makes him any different than an a$$hole who rear ends someone because he/she is talking on a cell phone and is paying no attention to the road? Those claims are paid too.
If insurance companies could deny payments due to stupidity or errors in judgement while driving, better than 90% of all claims would be disallowed...

 

Well, there is a difference between

1. Person on the cell hits another car. They did not think to themself that I can hit that car without issue then hits it. That is an accident (yes I give you stupid), but not an intentional action.

vs

2. Driving through the water thinking to themself I can do this. That was an intentional action.

The last paragrah told him what he needs to do and really is his only courses of action. It is quite possible if there is nothing in his policy about void of coverage it may be easier than we all think. But that is my opinion of how it all came to be and I guess someone at the insurance comany is thinking the same thing. I wish him luck, it will not be a fun ride.

One other consideration, it may still be cheaper to just go with a new engine and pay up. The claim will hike his rates most likely, and depending on his age and current driving record will determine the amount of the hike over the next 3 years or so.

 

My two cents worth! Every insurance company that I have ever spoke to to get a quote asked me the same question, 'Is the vehicle modified in any way?' If you don't declare your modifications to them then you are giving them a million and one excuses to deny coverage in the event of an accident! Even if the accident was not caused and or had no bearing on the modifications in their eyes you are in breach of contract and theoreticaly driving without insurance! (The police tend to get a tad pissed about these things as well!) Some insurance companies will ignore it as a good will gesture but definately not if the modification was a direct contributor to the claim as in your case! A lawyer will tell you that as well.

Next time either declare the modification to the insurance company so they have no way of denying any claim. A bit extra on your premium is nowhere near the cost of a new engine! Better still do the smart thing and replace the modified item with a stock item before you go cap in hand to the dealer!

 

yea last time my hemi drinked a lil water i ended up slinging a rod out the block an a pistion out the oil pan.. it was all from a homemade cold air intake talk about saving some money huh lol

 

yeah it was more water than i originally thought it was. had to get pulled out by my mother inlaws chevy. still hearing about it. ive looked over my policy cover to cover and cannot find anything about the cai alowing them to deny a claim. ive been working my up the chain with geico and everyone tells me its in there but i have yet to find it. i asked them to send me my policy and highlight where it says it at and now no one from geico will even return my phone calls. i was a dumbass for driving into water i will admit it but. im 23 with a clean driving record and i pay over 4k a year for insurance that doesnt do me a damn bit of good when something happens.

 

Always remember the insurance company's system

Deny

Deny

Deny

Pay

keep buggin them and get a lawyer involved, they'll pay

 

So how deep was it?

 

bout two and a half feet. it was a ditch and my passenger front side dove in. right where the intake is. we were out looking at new houses and i wasnt paying attention and fell off a driveway

 

Ok, I had a buddy of mine that ran into the the same situation. 1995 Honda Prelude, with an Ebay CAI. He thought his little death trap car was invincible and decided to go through a foot of water. Sure as nothing ran he waterlogged his engine too.
There was no warranty on his car since due to the age.
IMO if you have a problem with your vehicle and decide to take it to a dealership....TAKE ALL OF THE QUESTIONABLE MODIFICATIONS OFF OF YOUR VEHICLE AND REPLACE WITH STOCK!!!!
I also have a 2004 ford F350 6.0 diesel, has an edge chip on it. Pulled too heavy of a load up a hill with it and when it down shifted, it blew the head gasket.
I took it to the local Ford dealership and they wouldn't touch it because of the chip. I went home and removed the chip, and took it to another dealer and they fixed it.

Now, back to the Honda, his insurance tried to baulk on him too, but when his lawyer contacted the insurance company, they came through.
You just have to stay on your insurance company's *** until the situation is resolved.

 

Trust me on this one as my ex wife worked as a claims negotiator for 10 years for a huge multi national insuranced company! Then she worked for 4 years as a claims negotiator for Mondial assistance in Europe. Mondial assistance was the company that dealt with all the BMW warranty claims. Your policy wont tell you that they deny coverage for a cold air intake. What they will tell you is that they deny coverage if they are not notified (in writing) of any modification from stock!

My ex wife always told me that any modification from stock has to be sent in writing to the insurance company or they will use it in court to deny coverage! Who was I to argue with her as that was her job! Her job was to find ways for not paying! She did this for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. She also told me that most insurance companies won't load your premiums for simple mods like CAI but if they do or refuse there is a justifiable reason. That means if they deny coverage for your CIA they're not being difficult what they are saying is that this modification causes claims and it is not a safe modification. After all if you had told your ins. that you are fitting this thing and they told you, No we won't cover it as we have had too many water damage claims! Would you have fitted the thing to your truck? Or they could have said, Yes we will insure it but won't cover you for water damage, that would have told you of the problem before you blew your engine. The moral here is tell your insurance everything you intent to do before you do it. After all they want your business so they will actually try and help you. If you are still unsure of this I have a Supercharged Hayabusa in England (Suzuki GSXR1300 motorcycle) that pushes out 250hp at the wheel! It has a 4 page modification list totaling over $60,000!!!!! For this my insurance company increase my yearly premium from $500 a year to $800. Thank God I told them as 6 months later I got wiped out and the total damage was over $16,000! They paid out without question and I had my bike back on the road within a month!

P.S. Next time instead of a cold air intake buy a snorkle! :-)