I'm looking to switch the insurance on my coupe from what I have now. The 2 options I'm looking at are Hagerty, and American Modern. I've heard alot about Hagerty, but not much about American Modern. They say they have been insuring collector cars since 1965. So, does anybody here have American Modern??? What do you think of it???
I'm an insurance agent in Illinois and recently started offering Hagerty and I can tell you they're one of the easiest companies I've ever worked with from both an agent and client point of view. I'd highly recommend them.
I have American Modern but have never made a claim. Premium is cheap and hopefully they wont be cheap in the case of a claim. Of course I built them myself the first time and cant picture not being able to rebuild them myself too.
I just googled "American modern insurance reviews" 80% very unsatisfied Google it yourself and see what you find
I just switched from American Modern to Grundy. Better coverage and cheaper premium. I checked with Haggerty and they were higher than both AM and Grundy. The reason I had AM was that when AON went out of business they sold their "book" to AM. Never had a claim with AM but they would only insure my $45,000 invested Nova for $38,500 total loss max. Grundy is a true agreed value company. Not a "here's what we will insure you for and if you agree we'll do it. Grundy just charges X amount of dollars per $1000 of coverage. You just tell them how much you want. I also just turned in a tow bill for splitting the radiator open while on my way to a show, we'll see how good they are.
Hagerty here. Had a shop mishape a few years ago,car slipped off a floor jack. Took out the grill,grill shell,splash apron. Since I do all my own work,I was able to do my own estimate. I just needed to have it on a licensed body shop letter head. Local shop took care of that with no charge for me. Check was in my mail box in no time at all ! Can't beat Hagerty,they now have a life time customer.
I don't know if American "MODERN" collector has anything to do with American collectors but be sure to check with them first. I sent in the money and pictures and got a registered letter telling me they did not want my business. I went with another ins.Co. and finally found Grundy. I save over 100 bucks a year. That's pretty big money to me for a year.
I've got American Modern. The main reason I went with them, was that they offered "builder's" insurance. Here in NJ, to change names on a title, you HAVE to register the car. To register the car, you HAVE to have insurance on it (legally speaking!). Most of us wind up buying cars that need to be built, and that may take years. Why should I pay insurance on a car that I cannot drive for 2-3 or more years? In NJ, technically, legally, you are supposed to. So, American hs a very low inusrance rate to cover cars that are being built. This policy covers the value of the car while it is in a garage, or a shop getting work done. It also covers parts you mihgt have for the car, in case your garage getws broken into or blown down, or burns. so it works for me...and insurance rates are reasonable, though I've never had to put a claim in, so I cannot comment on that.
I have American Collecter's (no modern) and have had one claim. and they were fast and super for me. I went to them through USAA insurance. May be they changed their name and added "modern", I'll check?
Hagerty was high priced for me as was American. Grundy had the lowest rate, but the coverage was so restricted we didn't go with them. Chubb had a rate slightly higher than Grundy, but not nearly as restricted.
Don't they all? I don't recall having to list my daily driver to get the OK but they could never offer such cheap premiums if they knew you were using it everyday in rush hour traffic. You get the deal because they know that most of the time it is stored in a safe garage. Yes you will need a garage for their coverage but I think that is reasonable. American Collectors (no modern) refused to insure this because it had no fenders or bumpers and I had a stock SS Chevelle insured with them at the time. I had to scramble to get it insured in a hurry. A couple of years later a friend clued me in on Grundy and I have been saving money every year since. I say shop around. You might be pleasantly surprised. I was. don't forget to ask about a mileage restriction. Grundy has none.
I have american modern on my car. My dad has Hagarty. His insurance is about $80 more a year. But it sounds worth it. With American Modern, at least how mine is setup, you cannot drive your ride to work, and has a 1000 mile cap a year. They also wanted to make sure the car was on my property, locked up at night in a secure garage and so on. I also havnt had to file a claim, but ive heard very good things about hagarty and grundy, no milage limits, drive your ride to work whenever you want..... Good luck!
I have Hagerty on my cars and they seem fine so far. I have never turned in a claim. I fear the day I have to turn in a claim since I do my own work, I don't know how well that will go over. Cross my fingers I never have to find out. Hagerty wants to know what you have on your daily driver or regular car. They will only match the coverage you already have, by this I mean your comp, collison, and liability. Your max coverage (i.e. 250,000 property damage). This would be something I would sit down with your agent and talk about.
Just compared three Insurance companies and I think Im gonna end up going with Haggerty even though it isnt quite the lowest rate available. $270.95/12mos - American Collectors: 1 yr coverage, $500 deductible, $100,000 liability and uninsured motorist. Decent customer service, I spoke with the claims department and talked through sevral scenarios and they were no help at all. $172.21/12mos - Grundy: 1 yr coverage. $0 deductible, same coverages. Horrible customer service (maybe she was having a bad day, I dunno), also would not transfer me to the claims department to let me talk through some claims scenarios. $199.00/12mos - Haggerty: 1yr coverage, $0 deductible, same coverages. Customer service was excellent, he even went into detail explaining roadside/towing coverages and how they guarantee a flatbed will show up when called and they use soft straps, spoke with the claims department and specifically asked them about shop accidents (falling off jack stands etc...) and they were more than friendly and gave some real good answers to what I was asking. Bottom Line: I ended up going with Haggerty even though it is a little more than $20 higher than Grundy. I did it for the simple reason that customer service was better and they made me feel like I wouldn't get screwed over if/when I do have to file a claim with them. Hope this helps.
I don't know about American Modern Ins. I have American Collectors Ins. and have been very happy with them. I had a claim with them a couple of years ago when the front on my car got whacked. They had an appraiser here in a couple of days. He was great and very fair to work with and I got my car fixed better than before. Great service and they also support the HAMB.
No claims ever, but am pretty happy with Hagerty. Very low price for great replacement value and road rescue with flatbed and big milage is super. They support the sport and have been very easy to work with. ~sololobo~
I've actually had state farm on it for about 20 years. Rates have been real good on my coupe, but after a shocking $600 increase in the rate on my house last year, I am now pulling ALL my insurace from them, so I need to find a different carrier. I think i will probably end up with Hagerty. Thanks for all the opinions!!!
UPDATE: I emailed a copy of the tow bill last Saturday, I got a check in the mail today. 6 days turn around, I'd say Grundy is a keeper. I had the car towed to my house so I could make repairs. 140 mile round trip for the tow company. They did not have a problem with that.
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