When Pat Callinan was pondering his insurance policy, he was surprised by the true value of the mods on his Ford Ranger!
Pat Callinan is one of the most well-known names in Australian 4X4 media and a long-time friend of Club 4X4, having owned many seriously modified rigs throughout his career. From time to time, Pat pops into the Club 4X4 Customer Hub on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast for a chin wag with our sales and service teams where they get a chance to pick his brain, both as a refresher for our more experienced staff and to bring our new additions up to speed.
On this trip, Pat was on his way north to film for the next season of his TV show as the last run for his 2020 Ford Ranger FX4MAX, which he wanted to give the Club 4X4 team a chance to check out in detail on the way through.
As often happens on long drives, a thought popped into Pat’s head about the walkthrough he was about to give on all of the accessories and modifications he’d installed; “I wonder how accurate my guesstimate of the gear on this thing was when I took out my Club 4X4 policy…” Being less than 2 years old, this vehicle is eligible for new-for-old replacement and insured for market value, and Pat had quickly tallied up $30,000 of accessories and modifications on top that you’d think would have everything covered, right?
“Sitting down to crunch the numbers,” said Pat, “I was shocked to find that I’d fallen seriously short, something like $30,000 for a real total of $60,000! As anyone who has kitted out a 4X4 knows, getting the right gear can add up quickly, but even I was surprised at how much had gone into this Ford Ranger.”
“Club 4X4 pointed out that labour costs could also be covered,” Pat continued, “as they’d have to fork out similar amounts to get me back on the road if a claim were to occur. We went with a round $30,000 increase as I was comfortable with a total sum insured that still easily covered my 4X4 as it sits today, especially with it being up for sale soon to move into the seriously slick next generation of Fords.”
“That being said,” Pat added, “the comprehensive lighting and electrical fit out alone cost about $5,000 to install, so I’d encourage anyone who has or is considering Club 4X4 insurance to check over their invoices and put some thought into their mods list to make sure they’ve got accurate cover for every inch of their 4X4.”
Below is a complete list of the accessories and modifications now insured on Pat’s Club 4X4 policy, totalling $54,486 at retail value. Rounding this modifications and accessories value up to $60,000 meant double the previous level of cover for this gear, which attracted a premium increase of $1,640 per year.
This is a great example of why it’s worth keeping Club 4X4 up to date with any changes to your four by to ensure you’re not left out of pocket should something happen to your pride and joy.
ARB Bull Bar $3421 (Fitted) ARB Rear Bar $1700 ARB Slide/Side Steps $1700 ARB Underbody Bash Plates $1202 (Fitted) Outback Armour Suspension $3000 FUEL Rims $1400 VRS 12000LBS Winch $1200 Recovery Points $600 NightHawk Driving lights $999 Long Ranger Extended Full Tank $1800 Beaudesert Exhaust System $1370 ARB Canopy $5124 (Fitted) Rhino Rack Pioneer System $2057 Rear Rhino Rack $1200 Bushwakka Awning $2249 Nighthawk 43.5” Light Bar $555 2x Nighthawk Side lights $500 Cel-Fi Go Repeater + Antenna $1200 Safari Snorkle $1044 Clearview Towing Mirrors $1500 Rear Draw System $2600 Clearview Fridge Slide $1100 Engel Fridge $2000 REDARC 200AH Lithium Battery $3200 REDARC Pure SIN Wave INVERTER 3000W 12V $3061 REDARC Tow Pro $660 REDARC Total Vehicle Management System $3431 ARB Dual Compressor $849 iDrive Throttle Control $349 Uniden UHF + Antenna $530 Black Duck Seat Covers $585 Exitrax $300 Vehicle Wrap $2000
