Engine swap insurance question

[tatertoph]

I called Liberty Mutual and they kept putting me on hold so I  figured I would post my question here before I call again.

My question is, does an engine swap increase the cost of liability?  Let's say I swap an rb25 or ls1 into my 280z and crash into someone else, and I never told my insurance company about the swap.  Would insurance pay for the other persons damages or would they drop me after seeing I have an engine with twice as much hp as a stock l28.

 

Searching online i have seen mixed answers.  Some people say that liability insurance only pays attention to the car, not the engine, so I don't even have to tell them about the swap.  I'm not worried about my cars damages being covered in an accident because I don't have collision anyway.

 

I'm under 25 years old, so I already pay a ridiculous amount for my insurance and don't want to pay any more if I don't have to.   

 

[Phantom]

Liability Insurance covers the other drivers car and it's cost is based on your age, gender, etc - or basically how likely they think you are to stack into someone else.  Unless you volunteer it an adjuster wouldn't look at your car as his agency wouldn't be paying for repairs on it. What will probably happen is they'll drop you after you have an accident - whether you have an L28 or an rb25 in the car.

[gnosez]

Well first off if you crash your car or someone crashes into you LM will only cover the cost of what they think the car is worth even if you have an appraised cost policy with them.  To get more than their estimate you would need to provide evidence you had all the value you claimed to have or you are a real PITA or this happens late in the year and they need to settle before 12/31 when they have to balance their ledgers.

 

Been there and done all of this.

 

If you had an appraised value with say Hagerty's then you get the full amount you paid for but will likely be dropped if you are at fault. But you're too young I am assuming for them to cover you.

 

After my single car crash, LM wanted the vehicle and offered me about a third of the value I had paid for. I was told within the first 20 minutes of my conversation that I would never get more than what they had offered. Cut to the end and I got 125% of the appraised value (PITA and 12/31) along with a letter from a lawyer ($200.) saying we would sue based on fraud charges (I paid for X amount and they offered 0.33X.

 

Never ever give up possession. Buy the car for salvage value.