When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hi any recommendations for car insurance on classic vehicles? I am having a hard time finding a company to insure my car. I’m being told it’s to old. Thanks.
Hi any recommendations for car insurance on classic vehicles? I am having a hard time finding a company to insure my car. I’m being told it’s to old. Thanks.
What type of insurance are you looking for? Daily driver or occasional-use antique? Specialty insurance vendors like Hagarty, American Collectors, etc, will happily sell you all the insurance you want at declared value, but their policies will have restrictions on how much you can use the car. This is to limit their liability. If you want daily driver coverage, any insurance company will sell you liability insurance. You'll be hard pressed to get collision and comprehensive simply because they have no way of estimating repair costs on a car that old. Parts simply aren't available.
I drive my old cars too much for classic car insurance as they have milage and usage limits.
I went for stated value coverage that way, God forbid, something happens, I will get closer to what I have invested, or at least feel is fair, as have had daily drivers totaled and felt rapped by the settlement.
Under an agreed value policy, you and the carrier agree in advance what will be paid if a total property loss should occur. Under a stated value policy, the carrier decides the value it will pay. If you disagree, you must litigate the value issue.
Too old a car is why we use agreed value Insurance from carriers that specialize in that field. There will be restrictions and they vary from carrier to carrier so shop around. I'm a Grundy guy and I find them better for me. I vacation with my cars and quite often put on a lot of miles, Grundy for me doesn't penalize or restrict me on mileage and their policy's are a little cheaper for me. If you are young or have young ones living at home that are driving this also can be a factor. My advice is get quotes from at least three carriers and compare...Tedd
I have had Grundy over 10 years and the only real mileage restriction is no driving to school or work. It's not meant to be a daily driver policy, but they're not numerically limiting how much a car can be driven in a policy period. - coverage is agreed value which increases incrementally each year from the prior year's value. In turn, so does the premium but not complaining - average policy cost is only a few hundred dollars a year.
I use American Collectors. Like USAA, their affiliate, they think they're the cat's ***. Also, like USAA, they're merely ok.
I sent in payment a little later than immediately. They stopped my coverage a day after the endorsed and deposited check showed up in my online banking. I tore them two new buttholes and they still don't really seem to understand how jacked up their company is for taking payment, then stopping service after they took the money. The problem with national level stuff is they no longer fear "the brick through the front window" from pissed off customers. I really think we lost a lot of America when stuff stopped being city-level.
Be careful with Grundy. At one time they were writing a lot of policies which capped your underinsured coverage at the respective state minimums. With over half the drivers on the road having either no coverage or inadequate coverage, a claim against your own carrier is a likely occurrence even when the other driver was clearly at fault.
I have had Hagerty on both my cars and I have made claims with no problems. They usually say get it fixed and we'll cover it. Large claims they will send out an adjuster.
I have it with American Modern via the Corvette Museum Insurance Co. It is agreed value for all the cars listed in my sig. For my mix of cars they are the lowest cost compared to other carriers.
Hagerty is great on the cost. Insured everything from my 72 CS to my 2008 300C SRT8 but the online application initially took my 2015 Ram until they found out it was my daily driver. You have to have your daily driver insured via other traditional ins co.....
I use grundy with agreed value coverage and unlimited mileage and use only restriction is not to use the car to go to work and I only pay 219 a year on my 57 olds
Just curious how many of you guys have had to use your insurance (file a claim). I have thought about getting other quotes, but I have been with Hagerty for many years and I have actually had to use it once. Before judging a company simply by their premiums or what they say they do it is wise to find out how they operate if you ever need to file a claim. Just to give my personal experience with Haggerty: The claim I filed was probably 7 or 8 years ago. I was rear-ended in a 64 Impala by a 17 year old doing at least 40 MPH when she hit me. She swerved into the on-coming lane just before impact, hit the 64 at a glancing blow in the left rear (I was making a right hand turn) and spun me completely sideways. If a car had been in the other lane, I think she would have been killed. If a buggy (lots of Amish in the area) had been where I was, I am sure she would have killed someone. Her insurance company initially gave my agent the run around so Hagerty took over. Hagerty sent out an adjuster to look at the car and the estimated repair value was WAY LOW. In his defense, the car was still drivable and looked pretty good, but the rear end was pushed over to the left so hard that the trunk lid was hitting the quarter on the right (1/2" to 1" gap on left), the passenger door rear gap had opened to at least double what it was and the driver door was rubbing the rear quarter (there was chipped paint on the front and back edges of the driver door from the quarter pushing the door into the fender on impact). So, I took the car to a restoration shop in my area. Their quote was about 4 times the adjuster's quote and just over my agreed value coverage. I thought Hagerty might want multiple shops to look at it, but they didn't. They cut a check for the agreed value and all was well. In the end, it took an extra step, but really was not too difficult. Hagerty cut a check to me and then went after the other driver's insurance to recoup their loss. I would hate to switch insurance just to find a cheaper rate, only to find out that the company is unwilling to pay if I would need to use the policy. To the OP and others looking for insurance companies, I would look into more than just premiums and mileage limits. Talk to people who have actually had to use their policies.
Last edited by Loaded68W34; Mar 9, 2021 at 06:35 PM.
I have my '72 Supreme insured with Hagerty, and I couldn't be happier. It's an agreed value policy, plus they insure your memorabilia as well. On a personal note, I recently purchased a hood that was almost the same color as my car, but a little off. I had planned to get it repainted, but wasn't in a hurry. Well, fate stepped in, and one day while driving home, a stone hit the hood and put a small chip in the black stripe so the white paint showed through. I called Hagerty, and they covered it, no questions asked. While it was in the body shop, the shop called me and said that they needed more money to finish the repair. I called Hagerty, they called the body shop, and that was that. Again, no hassles. I now have a fully repainted hood.
I had a pretty large claim through Grundy about 5 or6 years ago and they were Johnny on the spot getting it resolved. Grundy sent out a inspector the next day and all he could say was ho what a shame. I took my car to the best restoration shop in town and it was fixed as soon as we could get the parts found(hood). They have me for two other cars and soon for a third..... Tedd
Hagerty and Grundy will not insure my car while it is being restored (complete frame off). They are saying 75% completion is the threshold but I am still confused. Can I go to State Farm or another company that will insure my car at this point in the restoration for agreed value ? Would there be a deadline for completion ? I am at about 35% completed.
Figured I would ask for experiences/advice/opinions before I start making further phone inquiries. Thank you gentlemen.
Figured I would ask for experiences/advice/opinions before I start making further phone inquiries.
I think you need to make phone calls. The car is 35% complete. Where are the 65% of the parts? Spread around the garage? Out for restoration? I can see how an insurance company might have a problem insuring a pile of parts. It's much easier to steal a fender than it is to steal a whole car.
From what I've read, the ability to insure a non-running car varies by company and by state law. Is the car currently titled and registered? If it's titled but not registered, it might not be possible to get insurance for it.
As I say, I think the easiest thing for you is to call the local State Farm agent, tell them your situation, and see what they say. It will take you only a few minutes, and I'm sure they'll sell you a policy if they're allowed to. Let us know what you find out.
I have never heard of the 75% mark. It may be related to the amount of coverage ($) you are requesting. Have a 67 Camaro convertible insured through Hagerty as a build in progress (on and off the project since ~2013). No timeline from Hagerty to finish (I hope to be painting it this summer). When finished, will go back and increase the agreed value. FYI These are pics I sent to Hagerty for coverage to give an idea as to % complete:
I would deal with a classic car claim the way I would a normal car claim. I would have it fixed how I wanted it, and the body shop works for me, and the insurance will reimburse me whatever we work out.
I've been hit twice in 14 years of driving my current truck, and both times I selected the shops, paid the repairs with new parts, and took reimbursement.
