My 34 will be on the road soon; and is presently covered under the same policy I have for our other vehicles. The significant difference is in the insurance company's idea of its value. Is there a particular insurance company which specializes in these vintage vehicles, and how do you go about establishing value? Thank you
I had Grundy, then had a question and could not get them on the phone. I thought what if I have a real problem.... I switched to Haggerty and they have excellent customer service. As far as value, I insured it for what it would cause me to rebuild it, of course you may want to go higher if you cant fo a rebuild on your own. Hope this helps. Sent from my SM-N950U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I'm not an insurance agent and I don't play one on TV, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night. One article I read said be mindful of the difference between "stated value" and "agreed upon value". They are not the same thing and the terms should not be used interchangeably. They will probably want pictures, some agencies may want an appraisal. Keep all of your receipts. Think about this. If something bad happens and it's totaled, at some point they will send an adjuster out and only pay what they believe it was worth at the time, if that's the type of policy you have. The "depreciated value", not what you have into it, not what it would cost to replace everything. You can buy a policy like that, but it costs a lot more. Know what your policy covers, and what it doesn't. Sometimes you'll see idiots even try to submit a claim for theft say, when all they have is a liability policy. Doh!! Most of the collector policies require storage in a locked garage. No parking on the street.
Also, I did an agreed value policy, they wanted pictures and the policy was written in about 24 hours. Sent from my SM-N950U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
if you're over 50 and the car isn't a big-buck one, call aarp. i insure mine through them (the hartford) for agreed value.
No matter what ins. company you go with, take the time and go with an agent so if anything goes wrong you will have someone to go eyeball to eyeball with. Don't take it out on line!!!!!! I went with ERIE Ins. in my area. Best rates I have found yet...….
My regular cars are with a local agent who deals Nationwide and others. He wouldn't do my 32 sedan with them, and they also deal Hagarty for old cars. I was kinda in a hurry, and liked having a local agent to represent me if needed. I talked with a Hagarty rep about the agreed upon value, and they wouldn't give me all I thought the car was worth on my agreed value. It is a survivor car with faded and splotchy paint. I told them the car with zero paint was worth what I wanted for the value, but they would only give me about two thirds what I wanted. I haven't switched to another company yet. I'll be watching this thread for other good alternatives.
Chrome Insurance (ANPAC) has been great for me,they even offer a inexpensive builders insurance that covers your car should a tree fall on your shop or it burns to the ground,and believe me your up Shinola Creek if you think your home owners will cover it should the unimaginable happened. I had Grundy for several years and have absolutely no complaint with them with the exception of their rates were almost 200 dollars higher every six months for 3 vintage cars with the same insured dollar amounts, Saving almost 400 bucks a year for the identical coverage sold me, fortunately I have never had a claim with ANPAC or Grundy. HRP
Chrome here also. My agent is a car guy and totally gets it! No problem with the car and even covers my little teardrop Full Kustom drunk mobile posting
dang, i forget who's build thread it was, but after he got the car on the road it was stolen from his garage. because it was a glass body but titled as a 32'? the insurance company ended up claiming fraud and a lot of crazy shit happened. after reading that thread, anything insured with full coverage other than stock, is getting an appraisal that states exactly what's getting covered for how much.
Use restrictions vary among underwiters. Make sure that you get a policy in which any use restrictions won't prevent your intended use.
I use American Modern Home Insurance Company. Reasonable rates for my '31 as well as my OT '65 Mustang. Guaranteed value, no limits on driving. road service and, most of all, it stacks my liability limits with my Nationwide daily driver policy so that I have 4 car coverage on each car at no additional charge-ie not 100,000/300,000, but 400,000/1,200,000.
Don't do like a recent customer did when getting insurance for his Tiger, Grundy asked him how he was going to drive it and he said he'd be going to Summit Point and wailing the piss out of it! Not only didn't they turn him down they contacted all the other possible companies as well. Sad part is the guy is so mild mannered he'd never bang a gear, he's happy to talk like he could. Oh well.
Pretty hard to believe an insurance company would warn other companies about one individual who planned to drive hard.... Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
I have 5 cars insured with Grundy. Have used them for years, including project cars that I increased as they progressed 'til finished. All are "agreed value" from $30,000 to $135,000. Must be garaged & not your "daily driver". My OT convertible was scratched at a cruise-in, probably by a "Rodeo" belt buckle while leaning over the left quarter. Grundy sent an adjuster that owned & built Hot Rods, gave an estimate to cover a proper repair (repair damage & re-paint & clear from door jamb to door jamb, deck lid, etc). Repair was done by the same shop that painted it during restoration - matches perfect after 4 years. Check paid to me arrived within a week. They will increase the "agreed value" annually to reflect inflation/labor costs, etc, unless U tell them otherwise. I did use a local agent initially but after a couple of years they failed to pay Grundy my annual premium (an honest mistake) & I decided to deal directly with them when they sent me a notice that I was being canceled for non-payment. The local agent did refund my premium. I will add that most agencies have an umbrella policy that protects U in similar circumstances. I base the agreed value on what it would cost to replace the car as built - I have owned the repaired car since 1982 & it was built w/NOS front sheet metal, the rest is original sheet metal that had a dollar bills amount of rust behind the wheel wells. Where are U going to find a '70 GM A body convertible with a rust & damage free body?? Probably near impossible to find a body as good as my avatar. I have never had a problem in contacting Grundy. Should add that "competition" damage is not covered.
Recently insured the coupe with Farmers where my daily drivers are insured. Insured it on a 6 month classics policy. The winter 6 months I can drop liability and only carry comprehensive for $50. I put a value on it for rate purposes but if it's totaled they research the web to determine replacement value?? Needless to say, Whenever I see one sell on ebay I snap a screenshot and file it. May help, may not. The agent is local and she and her hubby have a classic as well.
Thanks guys. I just got a quote from Hagarty, I will contact Grundy next and my Farmers agent should have a quote on Monday. There have been some good points made with regard to total loss, and frankly - how do you replace a vehicle that was a rare find to begin with? So now I'm comparing what I have in it vs what it would cost to replace it vs what would would I be okay with in event it is a total loss. Shamus referenced the belt buckle scratch, what types of damage do you guys see? (This might be a good survey/thread) Here in CA, door dings, parking lot "bumps", etc are on the rise - with people just driving off as if it never happened.
Hagerty is good for me, I went through my broker that does my other car insurance. It was a little back and forth between Hagerty and my broker but we got it done. Went with agreed value too.
Have Hagerty, never a problem. Reasonable rates. But only as good as the first claim. Went with them because of an incident in AZ during the auction days (Barret-Jackson, etc.) where the whole world comes to buy and sell. A huge storm came through, blew down a tent at one of the auctions. Damaged a butt load of cars. Hagerty went in to help all the owners irrespective of their insurance company to get the claim process started. I did have State Farm several years ago. Very pleased with them. Had two claims, (rear ended and a vandalism), both were handled with no issues. Only drawback is your DD's have to be with them. Given I have USAA and they did not cover classics I went with Hagerty in 1995.
I've used State Farm for all my previous toys. This time it's a little different being totally built and mush more costly. Going to talk to them to see how they would handle it but also interested in reading other's thoughts and companies. Good thread. SPark
That's who I use... when I was shopping, Hartford offered the same or better coverage as Grundy/Hagerty and was a simple add-on to my current insurance.
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