And THAT is the end of your insurance discussion. The OP was simply asking if you would allow your agency to equip your ride or if you would just do it yourself. Stay on topic to that discussion. Thanks
Tony, Bear with me for 1 second, and then no more insurance talk.
I am quite sure there is no provision in Illinois state law for a "person" to carry emergency vehicle status with them from vehicle to vehicle. The "authorized emergency vehicle" is an authorization to the vehicle, not the person. It might be possible to word an authorization letter differently and have it accepted by Joe Officer, but it would not meet the letter of the law. If you disagree please provide a pointer to the relevant line in the vehicle code and the loophole you see.
As far as any prognostications as to what would or wouldn't be covered, I'm assuming you're not a lawyer or a licensed insurance agent in the state of Illinois. Otherwise, making a statement like you just did, you might want to put a disclaimer so that folks understand you are just talking anecdotally, not speaking based on any particular state law, case history, insurance policy wording, or other demonstrable facts. Your statement, distilled to its essence, says that a vehicle with a red light on and no siren >50% chance will be abandoned by their insurance carrier after an accident. You've omitted so many necessary facts that it's not possible to rely on this as anything other than speculation. If it was the case, it would be tantamount to malpractice for the insurance company. Who was at cause in this pretend wreck? Was the siren being off a cause of the accident? A proximate cause? What percentage of the cause of the accident can be attributed to the driver's non-use of the siren? (Was the siren even REQUIRED for the driving situation the vehicle operator was in at the time of the accident?) Even the word "covered" requires a definition. Let's end this speculation. If people want legal advice they need to go to a lawyer.
The OP is from New York, So your comments, and Illinois laws have no bearing on the matter, or on how we do things in The State of New York.
Pete L. has asked the following:
I hate to be the downer on this conversation but what about insurance ??
I you run code in your pov, you're vehicle insurance co. will have much to say.
Is your dept. going to pick up your increased premium ??
Just asking . . . . . . .
As a resident, and
POV emergency vehicle operator within the state, I have had these conversations with Multiple insurance agents. My apologies for dumbing down the response I got from all of them which was:
"If you are using emergency lighting and siren, contrary to your departments SOP/SOG/Best Practices, there is a good chance we will deny your claim"
Your utterly demeaning diatribe was quite unnecessary.
Back to the topic at hand.
So here's a question for you all, if you're agency offered to buy lights and other equipment to install in your pov, would you do it? I was recently elected 2nd Lieutenant of my ambulance corps (equivilant to 2nd assistant chief for most volunteer FDs) and I get to have red lights, siren, etc. My captain told me to go see our local dealer/installer and "get whatever I want." Part of me wants to get alot of cool stuff and get my car all outfitted. On the other hand though, I keep thinking about what happens when I finish being a line officer and the corps wants the lights back, do I want a vehicle that has extra holes and parts cut out from where the lights were? Now just to clarify, my agency has no term limits on positions, and I am the first new line officer in 12 years, so it is a possibility that I'll be a line officer for quite a while. I could always just pay for lights myself, but obviously I don't have as big a budget for that as my agency would. I will also add that both the Lieutenant above me and the captain both have take home command cars, which is something I will be pushing for myself in the future
You are quite fortunate that they will buy you whatever you want. Presently, I am having a used 47' Sounoff Signal Pinnacle Bar, and Older style Soundoff controller forced on me by my Fire district, but I am required to provide any other lighting. So Ive spent close to $1k on additional lighting to supplement their choice in Bar and controller
Down to the matter, how often do you get a new vehicle? Ive never owned one longer than 5 years. If you have a bunch of holes cut and drilled, it may effect your trade-in value, unless the lighting remains in place.