Classic Insurance

I am itching to get my eldest car on the road again and I am planning to put classic car insurance on it. I don't know who offers classic car insurance, but I do know it won't cost me an arm and a leg to be legal. Other than who I can send my money away to, I am curious if I need to have a classic license plate on the car to qualify.

Nope, does not need to have a Vintage/Classic/Antique plate. You might want to check out our article in the July '10 issue of Classic Motorsports. It answers all of your questions...

Per

I've done it a few times. The rule at the time was the Classic has to be an extra car, that is, two drivers in the home you have to have two other cars. This keeps you from driving your classic as a DD.

You may be asked to bring it to an appraiser so they can take pictures of what they're insuring. Personally I have not, but others have. Depends on the company I guess.

Some have a use limit, under 2500 or so miles per year.

My 1954 Chevy was $76/year for liability, glass and collision. My 1952 Dodge truck was $60.

Dan

I love Hagerty and I don't have a classic plate.

Per Schroeder wrote: Nope, does not need to have a Vintage/Classic/Antique plate. You might want to check out our article in the July '10 issue of Classic Motorsports. It answers all of your questions... Per

Yup, and there are ads for all the companies.

Hagerty would not insure my Shelby Dakota as they had no record of such a truck being built. The representative told me my truck was just a pickup truck with stickers and they don't insure those. American Collectors knew my truck and issued a policy right away. Not a Hagerty fan.

spitfirebill wrote:

Per Schroeder wrote: Nope, does not need to have a Vintage/Classic/Antique plate. You might want to check out our article in the July '10 issue of Classic Motorsports. It answers all of your questions... Per

Yup, and there are ads for all the companies.

What they said. Several companies that specialize in classics, each with their own strong points. I personally use Hagerty for my 70 Opel GT. I have what is considered a personalized plate on my car, it's a retired military state plate but considered a standard plate since I also have one on my 99 Miata.

I can help out here. I work in the auto insurance claims business and worked for several years with collector car policies.

There are many companies out there that write collector/classic/etc...insurance. Hagerty, Grundy, Great American and I believe even Progressive now does too.

Most all of them have some basic guidelines....can't be a daily driver, must be garaged, etc... But you also want to read the fine print. Some have mileage restrictions, some don't. Most don't allow ANY commuting too/from work, but some will allow a very little bit of it.

Be very sure you understand what you're buying and follow the rules. They can...and will...deny your claim if you break the rules. Remember, the rates they charge are very, very low. So they enforce the rules strictly, as if you follow them, their risk of a loss is lower.

I have my 2004 Pontiac GTO (which I just sold today) insured with Grundy. Premium was about $300 for the year, full coverage with no deductibles.

Hagerty for a '62 Sprite w/ MD historic tag since 1997 - easy, convenient and low cost.

Liberty Mutual for a '90 Miata w/ MD historic tag for 2 months - cheap and gets me up to 4 cars on the policy.

Progressive for a '79 Yamaha RD400 w/ MD historic tag - Added it back to a multi-bike policy recently so I could get the tag at the MVA while doing the Miata paperwork - it's at their minimum rate of under $80/year.

For any "regular" classic car, ie. anything they've heard of, Hagerty is the biggest classic insurer I think, and they are established and easy to deal w/ quotation and renewal.

YMMV, etc...

914Driver wrote: My 1954 Chevy was $76/year for liability, glass and collision. My 1952 Dodge truck was $60. Dan

I recently picked up a Hagerty policy on my '69 96 DeLuxe. I wish it were that cheap.

From what I see on My Classic Car, Grundy wants to make sure that you are informed about an "agreed value policy". Meaning that you and your provider come to terms on the vehicles insured value.

+1 on Grundy. I had no hassles using them to insure my 01 Boxster for agreed value.

Hagerty refused to insure the car, 'cause it wasn't a "classic".

Powar wrote:

914Driver wrote: My 1954 Chevy was $76/year for liability, glass and collision. My 1952 Dodge truck was $60. Dan

I recently picked up a Hagerty policy on my '69 96 DeLuxe. I wish it were that cheap.

I don't know who I used, wasn't Haggerty though. Google Collector Car America or something like that.

Dan

You actually don't even need plates---my LeGrand is insured in case it gets hurt in storage, towing, in the pits, etc. Just as long as it's not on track... I think it's under $200 a year for it and the enclosed trailer.

Per

Put me down as another fan of classic car insurance. I have three cars so insured. One has a historic tag while the others don't. All have agreed-upon value. I also do it all through my local agent. Total bill for three cars is about $850/year.

kpm wrote: +1 on Grundy. I had no hassles using them to insure my 01 Boxster for agreed value. Hagerty refused to insure the car, 'cause it wasn't a "classic".

I think with Hagerty, this depends some on where you live. We have an '07 MINI convertible that we basically use as a 'classic' (less than 20K miles in 3+ years) and I casually asked the Hagerty agent about this when I inusred my Spitfire with them a couple of years ago. In PA, she said they couldn't, but in NJ, it might be possible.

My '88 325is is insured with Hagerty ($178/yr). It doesn't have Classic plates, but soon will so I don't have to deal with yearly emissions testing.

Moparman wrote: Hagerty would not insure my Shelby Dakota as they had no record of such a truck being built. The representative told me my truck was just a pickup truck with stickers and they don't insure those. American Collectors knew my truck and issued a policy right away. Not a Hagerty fan.

Friend of mine went through this same thing with her Shelby Dak. Almost word for word. I recommended American Collectors to her and they insured it.

I just got a Shelby Dak but it's on the regular policy until I get it a little more together. Most of the fleet is on the AC policy.

I am very happy with www.rallyinsurance.com (broker for American Modern Home)... but they will not insure anything that looks like a race car...

wcelliot wrote: I am very happy with www.rallyinsurance.com (broker for American Modern Home)... but they will not insure anything that looks like a race car...

Jeez, they probably ought to change their name, then .

I've never looked into this, because I didn't think it was old enough, but could I actually insure my '93 Miata through one of these companies? It gets driven under 4k a year, mostly to and from autocrosses. I might drive it to work on nice days, probably less than a dozen times each summer. Agreed value might be better for me anyway, by the tables I'm sure a generic '93 Miata is worth a lot less than I have in mine (coilovers, race seats, cloth/glass top, hardtop, wheels/tires).

Some companies will insure exotics or limited-production cars, even if they aren't old or "classics."

Sure are a lot of canoes tonight.

What about insuring locosts or "specials", things like model T speedsters.

http://www.nwvs.org/Photolib/800Pixel/RedCar3.jpg

Who do you guys use to ensure a car with a body you fabricated yourself?

BTW, I wrote to Tom and told him that both posts by olivernelson11 are canoes

Hagerty insured my '85 300ZX Turbo, but would not insure my brother's '84 GTI.

Hagerty is great......until you make a claim.