Looking for Alternatives to KTAC Insurance

[olddude]

I just bought a L3301 and financed it through Kubota so I ended up with KTAC. At first, I didn't like the idea of having to buy this just to get my new tractor but 45 hours later I'm glad I did. At 15 hrs it need to regen and I tried everything the book said but still would not regen. I called my dealer and they said I had to bring it in so they could hook it up to some machine. I didn't have a trailer to haul it with so I had to pay them $150.00 for them to come get it. They brought it back 4 or 5 hours later and I noticed it was almost empty. When it left my yard it had a little over 1/4 of a tank. I went out and picked up 5 gals of fuel and as soon as I stepped up on the front wheel to put the fuel in........ what a crappy place to put the fuel fill. As soon as I got in position and just as I was about to take the fill cap off I saw this big knarly line of scratches on the top of my hood. I know they were not there before it left because you know how you are when you buy something new, especially something that cost over $33,000.00, I wiped that thing down everytime I used it and sometimes when it didn't need it.
Anyway I called them and naturally the said they didn't do it and the lady I was talking to got down right indignant when I told her the scratches were not there when it left my place.
I had another problem with that crappy quick connect attachment on the bucket. I ordered the front bucket, a set of heavy duty folks and a grader box when I bought it. When it was delivered it had the folks hooked up with the front bucket sitting on them. I didn't need the folks so I put the bucket on and started scooping up gravel and some dirt I had piled up. On about the third scoop the dang bucket fell off and bent that quick attach bracket. I called them about it and they said you will have to bring it back in and it will have to sit here for at least 2 months maybe 3 depending on how long it takes the insurance company to investigate the claim. I asked her why a insurance company this should be fixed under warranty and I was trying to explane to her why I thought that but she kept going on saying you broke it so it will have to go under insurance. After that I told her that I couldn't let the tractor sit for 3 months while you guys fiddle around. She again butted her way in saying well that the way it's going to be. Oh boy fire flew out my mouth and I gave her a good mouth full. Also I told her that if I could get that bucket back on she wouldn't have to worry about me any more because I'd be at the John Deere place in the morning to trade this 3 legged POS off and get a real tractor. She started running her mouth again about I broke it..............I hung up on her.
What I was trying to tell her is the reason the bucket jumped off was on the right side that pin that goes down to lock the bucket in place was frozen and wouldn't slide through the carrier to lock it down all the way. That was the first thing I noticed when I was trying to hook the bucket back up. I put some PB blaster and a shot of WD 40 on it and let it set for a minute or two then tapped it with a hammer and it finally broke free. I greased it good and it slid up and down like new. The thing is the two lock levers were all the way down so everything looked like it was good to go. On top of all this I decided to grease the whole tractor and while doing so 3 of the grease fittings just pop out as I was taking the grease gun off the one on that slide pin popped out too. I ran a thread chaser into the holes to clean out the threads and installed new fittings.
I really hadn't planned to trade it off because I liked the tractor although as soon as I started using it I wish I had moved up a size or two but that happens all the time. I was still stuck with a bucket I couldn't get back on so I looked around to see if I could find another dealer that wasn't Hoober and I came across another dealer that seemed to want to help. They sent a mechanic out and buy the way they are close to 50 miles away, and when he got here he had the bucket on in about 5 minutes. I asked him how did you do that and he said I've done it many times it happens all the time.
Now to the point I have been trying to get at is he took some pictures and said thay would handle the insurance company and he would come back when they had done their thing and install a whole new quick connect kit. I was telling him about my expirence with those other people and also about that mystery scratch and he took pictures of those also and said he would be back once they had the parts. A week later the insurance company called with their approval and sent the dealership and me a copy of the claim with a cost break down. When I looked at it I was shocked because the claim was for a little over $5,000.00 I said to myself I could have bought a whole new fel for that then I saw they had included a new hood as well. You can't do no better than that, a $5,000.00 fix and it only cost me $250.00 All I can say is that I'm glad now the insurance was included. Sorry for the long azzed long first post.

 

[cuboodle]

I just bought a L3301 and financed it through Kubota so I ended up with KTAC. At first, I didn't like the idea of having to buy this just to get my new tractor but 45 hours later I'm glad I did. At 15 hrs it need to regen and I tried everything the book said but still would not regen. I called my dealer and they said I had to bring it in so they could hook it up to some machine. I didn't have a trailer to haul it with so I had to pay them $150.00 for them to come get it. They brought it back 4 or 5 hours later and I noticed it was almost empty. When it left my yard it had a little over 1/4 of a tank. I went out and picked up 5 gals of fuel and as soon as I stepped up on the front wheel to put the fuel in........ what a crappy place to put the fuel fill. As soon as I got in position and just as I was about to take the fill cap off I saw this big knarly line of scratches on the top of my hood. I know they were not there before it left because you know how you are when you buy something new, especially something that cost over $33,000.00, I wiped that thing down everytime I used it and sometimes when it didn't need it.
Anyway I called them and naturally the said they didn't do it and the lady I was talking to got down right indignant when I told her the scratches were not there when it left my place.
I had another problem with that crappy quick connect attachment on the bucket. I ordered the front bucket, a set of heavy duty folks and a grader box when I bought it. When it was delivered it had the folks hooked up with the front bucket sitting on them. I didn't need the folks so I put the bucket on and started scooping up gravel and some dirt I had piled up. On about the third scoop the dang bucket fell off and bent that quick attach bracket. I called them about it and they said you will have to bring it back in and it will have to sit here for at least 2 months maybe 3 depending on how long it takes the insurance company to investigate the claim. I asked her why a insurance company this should be fixed under warranty and I was trying to explane to her why I thought that but she kept going on saying you broke it so it will have to go under insurance. After that I told her that I couldn't let the tractor sit for 3 months while you guys fiddle around. She again butted her way in saying well that the way it's going to be. Oh boy fire flew out my mouth and I gave her a good mouth full. Also I told her that if I could get that bucket back on she wouldn't have to worry about me any more because I'd be at the John Deere place in the morning to trade this 3 legged POS off and get a real tractor. She started running her mouth again about I broke it..............I hung up on her.
What I was trying to tell her is the reason the bucket jumped off was on the right side that pin that goes down to lock the bucket in place was frozen and wouldn't slide through the carrier to lock it down all the way. That was the first thing I noticed when I was trying to hook the bucket back up. I put some PB blaster and a shot of WD 40 on it and let it set for a minute or two then tapped it with a hammer and it finally broke free. I greased it good and it slid up and down like new. The thing is the two lock levers were all the way down so everything looked like it was good to go. On top of all this I decided to grease the whole tractor and while doing so 3 of the grease fittings just pop out as I was taking the grease gun off the one on that slide pin popped out too. I ran a thread chaser into the holes to clean out the threads and installed new fittings.
I really hadn't planned to trade it off because I liked the tractor although as soon as I started using it I wish I had moved up a size or two but that happens all the time. I was still stuck with a bucket I couldn't get back on so I looked around to see if I could find another dealer that wasn't Hoober and I came across another dealer that seemed to want to help. They sent a mechanic out and buy the way they are close to 50 miles away, and when he got here he had the bucket on in about 5 minutes. I asked him how did you do that and he said I've done it many times it happens all the time.
Now to the point I have been trying to get at is he took some pictures and said thay would handle the insurance company and he would come back when they had done their thing and install a whole new quick connect kit. I was telling him about my expirence with those other people and also about that mystery scratch and he took pictures of those also and said he would be back once they had the parts. A week later the insurance company called with their approval and sent the dealership and me a copy of the claim with a cost break down. When I looked at it I was shocked because the claim was for a little over $5,000.00 I said to myself I could have bought a whole new fel for that then I saw they had included a new hood as well. You can't do no better than that, a $5,000.00 fix and it only cost me $250.00 All I can say is that I'm glad now the insurance was included. Sorry for the long azzed long first post.

I didn't like what KTAC added to my monthly tractor payment, it was a hard pill to swallow but after reading your post. It went down a little easier.

 

[Staggerlee1976]

Looks like the OP's issue is resolved, but for anyone else this may help, I chose not to have my insurance bundled with the financing. For one thing, if I decide to pay off early, I would still need to pay for insurance I will not use. Bundling $2500 in the loan sort of defeats the great rates Kubota finance is offering. The dealer hooked me up with Iron Guard, and my premium was $217 for the first year for an LX2610 without cab. It has a $1000 deductible, and I paid the premium out of pocket prior to delivery. It is a bit frustrating to know my tractor (personal use) is also covered by my homeowners insurance, but Kubota requires this anyway. However, in a time of 8%+ car notes, I am happy to get the lowest rate possible!

 

[fried1765]

As

Looks like the OP's issue is resolved, but for anyone else this may help, I chose not to have my insurance bundled with the financing. For one thing, if I decide to pay off early, I would still need to pay for insurance I will not use. Bundling $2500 in the loan sort of defeats the great rates Kubota finance is offering. The dealer hooked me up with Iron Guard, and my premium was $217 for the first year for an LX2610 without cab. It has a $1000 deductible, and I paid the premium out of pocket prior to delivery. It is a bit frustrating to know my tractor (personal use) is also covered by my homeowners insurance, but Kubota requires this anyway. However, in a time of 8%+ car notes, I am happy to get the lowest rate possible!

As always....."cash is king."

 

[DustyRusty]

I save money on extended warranties by not purchasing them. Never needed one yet.

I bought an extended warranty for $2,000 on a used Mercedes........many years ago,...once.
Wasted my money!
Never since/again....on anything.

My 2016 Ford Explorer is presently at the Ford dealership and the original estimate of repairs needed was just shy of $4000. All of the work is covered by the Ford Extended Warranty and all I have to pay is the $100 deductible. This is the 4th time that it has gone in for expensive work due to our living on an old abandoned dirt road that beats the hell out of the suspension and wheel bearings. The extended warranty cost approximately $2000 when the car was 3 years old and the factory warranty was expiring. It was the best deal that I have ever made on an extended warranty. It covers the car till 2025 and 110,000 miles. On my 2019 Ford Explorer, I have 0 deductibles and the same coverage, and it cost an additional $200 for the zero deductible.
My neighbor maintains the road and does a crappy job of it, but will not listen when I make suggestions. Since they also plow it in the winter, I just keep quiet about the crappy work on the road, and make the best of it. He is out there every weekend, running up and down the road with the bucket down and filling in the potholes, but hasn't a clue about doing it correctly. The neighbor is a campground and the maintenance man gets paid by the hour, so there is no incentive to do it correctly.

 

[Staggerlee1976]

As


As always....."cash is king."

Yep, but cash is for the house and land projects right now. Couldn't pass up free money from Kubota.

 

[PaulL]

My neighbor maintains the road and does a crappy job of it, but will not listen when I make suggestions. Since they also plow it in the winter, I just keep quiet about the crappy work on the road, and make the best of it. He is out there every weekend, running up and down the road with the bucket down and filling in the potholes, but hasn't a clue about doing it correctly. The neighbor is a campground and the maintenance man gets paid by the hour, so there is no incentive to do it correctly.

But you have a tractor. A box blade or a grading scraper on that BX, you could just get out there and do it properly. They probably wouldn't even notice, other than not needing to do as much maintenance.

 

[jasonTDI]

"Inland Marine Ins. Co."
Sold by many/most independent insurance agents.

Exactly. I have mine with my State Farm agent. it is definitely cheaper than Kubota. And you can choose your deductible. I had one claim years ago and they covered it without question. There was some follow-up addendums to the initial claim and they just sent a check to cover those items, too.

 

[fried1765]

Exactly. I have mine with my State Farm agent. it is definitely cheaper than Kubota. And you can choose your deductible. I had one claim years ago and they covered it without question. There was some follow-up addendums to the initial claim and they just sent a check to cover those items, too.

Good to hear!

 

[kosherdill]

This comes up once in a while and there are usually a bunch of answers that may or may not be correct for your usage and legal venue. The only way to truly address your exposure on your tractor, attachments, and liability is to sit down with an insurance agent in your area who has experience insuring farm/construction equipment.

For example, I know a LOT about the coverages available in NC and the finer points of what policies cover landscaping, construction, farm, personal use, etc. I know just enough to be dangerous in CA. Just because XYZ works great for someone in Ohio doesn’t mean much for your situation in California.

The most comprehensive and most cost effective option depends on where all you use it and whether you ever accept money for doing work with it.

The real key is to make sure the agent you’re dealing with has experience and expertise insuring both the equipment and the associated liability. If the agent who insures your home, cars, and even business doesn’t also routinely insure equipment you need to speak to someone else. It’s not a task for those out of their wheelhouse so if you hear something like, “I’ll check with my underwriter and get back to you”: keep looking. If you don’t you can easily be under covered or overpaying; or even worse be overpaying for inadequate coverage.

Since your experienced with NC, would you mind sharing what carrier/coverage you have had good experience with? I'm also in NC and about to make my first Kubota purchase. Thanks in advance!

 

[NCL4701]

Since your experienced with NC, would you mind sharing what carrier/coverage you have had good experience with? I'm also in NC and about to make my first Kubota purchase. Thanks in advance!

NC Farm Bureau. They insure quite a lot of farm equipment, landscaping/commercial use equipment, and personal use farm type equipment. Their agents normally have a good understanding of available coverages for equipment and the associated liability exposures.

Nationwide would probably be my second choice in this market if the agent is in a rural area where they’re familiar with the exposures and coverages unique to ag/construction equipment.

I am not intimately familiar with KTAC. Right or wrong, my dealer said it wasn’t an option because I didn’t finance so I didn’t look at it when I bought mine.

 

[TGKY]

I just went through this. I was about to extend my KTAC. Since I waited longer than 30 days after payoff I was going to have to pay for an inspection to certify to KTAC that it was in acceptable shape to insure.

I understand this and was prepared to do that but on a shot I called State Farm and ended up getting coverage there. The premium is less and the deductible is less but it doesnt cover it as comprehensively as ktac would have. I’m ok with that because my biggest risk is when I trailer this machine and use it on my farm which is about 50 miles each way. I was really sweating this in particular so for me more so than small claims this was my major issue.

not totally apples to apples to KTAc but good for my needs.

ky farm bureau wouldn’t insure it because I was not already a customer. It didnot matter with my local State Farm.

 

[olddude]

Every Insurance broker I inquired with had offerings "if" I was a farmer, landscaper, rental fleet, or anything else revolving around the tractor being used for business. The tie in to another insurance policy like home insurance isn't practical for my situation. The KTAC Insurance is pretty empty for $533 a year during the 60 month finance period, if you look at the actual policy it only covers the depreciating tractor nothing else.
Paying cash for the new tractor allows me to avoid the KTAC Insurance ripoff.

I felt the same way until I bought my new L3301. The thing is with all insurance it's a crap shoot. your guessing that something will happen they are hoping it won't. In this case Kubota is financing your tractor with '0' % interest and it is natural for them to want to protect themselves from a possible total loss.
Look at it this way, you go out and buy a brand new tractor, you pay nothing down and pay for it over 3 to 5 years with no interest for that period of time. You bring the tractor home and are doing some yard work when all of a sudden big a limb falls out of a tree and breaks your new tractor in half. Once the shock wears off you realize you can no longer use it so why make payments on something you can't use. So far you have made just 3 payments and now they don't have anything either but a pile of junk. Sure, they can sue you but good luck with that, the guy goes belly up and files bankruptcy. Now not only do they only have a pile of junk but also have to pay the lawyers to boot.
My L3301 had just 15 hours on it and that stewpid quick coupler pin was not all the way in the slot and while loading gravel one side of the bucket came off bending the quick coupler. I tried for an hour or more trying to get it back on. My dealer was no help but I found a new dealer that was very helpful and delt with the insurance co in getting it fixed. While the mechanic was there, I told him about the mystery scratch that I believe was on there when I bought it. He said they could get that fixed too. The total bill was just over $7,000.00 and, in the end, I was only out $250.00 but ended up with a brand-new hood, brush guard and quick attachment. I wouldn't call that a rip-off by any means.

 

[kosherdill]

NC Farm Bureau. They insure quite a lot of farm equipment, landscaping/commercial use equipment, and personal use farm type equipment. Their agents normally have a good understanding of available coverages for equipment and the associated liability exposures.

Nationwide would probably be my second choice in this market if the agent is in a rural area where they’re familiar with the exposures and coverages unique to ag/construction equipment.

I am not intimately familiar with KTAC. Right or wrong, my dealer said it wasn’t an option because I didn’t finance so I didn’t look at it when I bought mine.

Thanks for your input and experience. Even though we currently deal with NC Farm Bureau, I got a broad range of a premium quote with a lot of "it depends." At the same time, I got a warm fuzzy from my Kubota dealership and how they handle KTAC claims, including recovery and transport of the tractor, if needed. So, in the interest of time and convenience I went with KTAC for now. I'll update with any good or bad developments, if any. Thanks again!