Knock on wood, I haven't had any claims. I will say that during the quote process Grundy is the company that stood out as the most "Hot Rod" friendly. I read damn near every thread about specialty insurance and got quotes from Hagerty and Grundy. Hagerty looked at my 4-wheel discs, and IFS as modifications that caused a rate hike. Grundy simply asked for a list of modifications, a front & rear 3/4 view and the agreed value desired. Done. Excellent service, and they'll email you a POI card to take to the DMV. I think my truck is insured for $12k and the annual insurance premium is only a little higher than my annual tags.
Grundy is the way to go. Haggerty's pricing has got out of hand recently. You do have to be proactive in going to the right shop, making sure that the appraiser knows vintage cars, and the agent is only the agent for the Underwriter. I am a Licensed New York State Appraiser. I've seen many unqualified Appraisers "trying" to handle claims on old cars. I build em', repair em', and have spent 34 years around em'. Knowledge is power. I believe that most states have Insurance Departments that dictate how a claim is handled. If you have problems, one call to the state Insurance Department will get action.
Yes, I had Sneed, Robinson, and Gerber for my red '90 Corvette convertible for many, many years. It was listed under a special type of insurance they had at the time called "Show Machine". Was basicly for newer Corvettes, Mustangs, mini-trucks, stuff like that that wasn't daily drivers. I got rear ended one spring day by a pickup truck. No hassles what so ever, even used genuine GM parts when I insisted instead of aftermark replacement parts. With all that being said I use Grundy for Big Olds and am thrilled with them.
I've got four cars with Hagerty, but it's time to get the shoebox covered so I got an estimate from Grundy before I called Hagerty. Hagerty wanted nearly twice as much for the same coverage because of "modifications", all my modifications are cosmetic (frenching, smoothing, shaving and flames). I'm in the process of movin' everything over to Grundy. As a side note; if you have Geico ins. on anything and ever need to use it......just bend over.
Hagerty does not have mileage limitations. As for over insuring something, keep in mind what it can cost to rebuild a car. If you wreck the car and say it was a '32 Ford Roadster. If the car was insured for $100K, I could probably rebuild it for less than that. Not everything on the car is a write-off. The engine may be good, the transmission and the rear end too. I can get a rolling chassis from numerous vendors as well as a body shell from Brookville Roadster. I don't have to get an original '32 body if they are not out there. The biggest cost will be labor. A friend wanted to insured his '88 Mustang GT for $45K. I could rebuild that car too for less than the insured amount. It's not the lottery ticket you may think it is. Most, if not all collector car insurance companies, including both Grundy and Hagerty, use independent appraisers (like me). These companies do try and make sure that qualified people are looking at these cars. Most adjusters working for personal lines companies don't deal with these cars enough to be familiar with them. Also, with the advent of computerized estimating systems, many don't know how to use these systems on cars this old. I was trained to hand write and use computer software when I got in the insurance biz in '85. The training was invaluable. As for repair shops, unless a company has a direct repair program, like Allstate or Progressive, it's up to the owner to choose his repair facility. Neither Grundy or Hagerty have these types of shops. If a customer asks for a referral, I will only do so if I know three shops in the area that do great work. This way the owner still has to choose the shop. This way the owner is responsible for his choice of shop. Checks are made out to the insured, not the shop. While I always suggest that the owner hold the check until the repairs are completed, and the customer is happy, I can't control what they do with the check. A shop shouldn't need a deposit. In many ways, this really isn't different than writting an estimate, or repairing a Honda Civic. Don't get me wrong, the devil is in the details. But putting on a fender or painting a door, is really no different in the big picture of things. One last thing to keep in mind. These are repair policies, not 'restoration' policies. This means that the appraiser can use an equivilent part from an aftermarket supplier or a salvage yard as necessary. I'll try and work with the insured's wants when I can (if realistic), but it's no guarantee. Some may scoff at using Brookville parts instead of ginny Ford parts, but it depends on what's available. It also doesn't mean the shop can charge what they want. Repairs estimates are written on flat rate, just like that Honda. Oh sure, many of the limitations are removed for certain procedures, but the insurance company does not give a body shop a blank check. If the car goes to a restoration shop, it's possible you'll be upside down from what the insurance company allows if the repair shop goes crazy with their billing. And this example should tie this all together. A guy with a mid-'50's pick up gets rear ended. The damage pushed the bed into the cab and doors. The truck was insured for $92K even though it was appraised for $48K. When we were done, the insurance company paid out $46K for repairs (and the insurance company really went overboard) and the total cost was over $62K. The shop was restoring this to a better condition that it was in. The insured wasn't happy, but he was also warned twice before taking the truck to this shop, and was reminded halfway thru when additional damages were found. The customer thought he would be a contractor instead of letting the shop deal with the repairs. He also thought he knew the policy better than the professionals.
On my repairs, I had no bill until the car was completed. They are a T&M shop so I got weekly progress invoices right down to the minute & penny. When all was done, bill was about $300.00 over the appraisers amount. Philadelphia asked me to send the bill, & they cut a check for the difference. I had absolutely 0 out of pocket expense. They even covered all flatbed towing (2 times) All my cars are insured at appraised value. No funny business. Shop rates can range from $35.00 per hour all the way up to $130.00 per hour. I went near the top because I wanted 0 problems. I can honestly say I did expected to pay some out of pocket overage but they covered every penny. I also got 2 calls about 2 weeks apart after car was completed to make sure everything was satisfactory.
I don't mean to suggest that all restoration shops 'over bill', but just that there is a possibility that out-of-pocket expenses can happen. I've had cars at the same shop that I made as an example and had no problems.
I'm with Hagerty, but fortunately have never had to use them. However, a friend who is also with them had his '50 Ford Tudor Sedan t-boned when a "Good Samaritan" was trying to let make a left turn across two lanes of traffic. That was two years ago, and he still raves about Hagerty's service--they even insisted on paying him for his own time spent on repairing the car.
<TABLE width="90%"><TBODY><TR><TD>"Just wanted to let everyone know that yesterday we (ANPAC CHROME Insurance) announced that we have purchased the collector car book of insurance business from Seed Insurance (previously Sneed, Robinson & Gerber). We will also become the Official Insurance Product of NSRA ending Sneeds 37 year association with the NSRA as the Official Insurance Administrator. If you currently have Sneed Insurance and have any questions about this change and how it will effect you, please call 800-CARBUFF (800-227-2833) or you can just ask me on the message board or e-mail me at [email protected] " The above was posted by Craig Meads on the NTBA website. So, if anyone has Sneed, you might want to give Craig a call to see how this effects you. I had or thought I had Chrome Ins., but after all the crap I went through, I have Grundy now. Got my insurance and they answered all my questions, plus they were cheaper. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Just got declined by Grundy. I put on the application form that I would use the car for errands, and evidently they don't like you being honest with them. Bummer, now I'll have to find someone else or put it on my Progressive policy.
I have two cars with Haggerty but never had a claim. They seemed to be getting a little pricey so I stopped at the Grundy booth at GoodGuys Columbus. I told the woman i was thinking of switching and she told me they write one basic policy for everyone. When I asked if I could take a look at that basic policy she sad no. So no swap for me--I stayed with Haggerty.
I will always use Grundy for all my insurance needs. I wrecked my 53 chevy and they paid out immediately no questions asked. They were very easy to deal with.
The Jalopy Journal
