The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Insurance for my Baby

Okay, okay, this is technically not a drivetrain question. But it is about driving.. My 54 Chev is ready to roll, but I don't have insurance yet. Called my broker and ouch!! She's a cute truck but I'm feeling the premium pain. I only want the truck to be a limited driver. Does anyone know of a collector car insurance carrier that is reasonable???

Bruce: I can't recommend a collector car insurance co. but if you do go with one of them make sure you read the fine print. Some companies require you to keep your truck in a garage and limit the number of miles you can drive in a year. Just my $0.02.

I have mine covered by State Farm. My agent is a car guy too, he specializes in classic cars. It's all based on an agreed value of your truck. Right now while my truck is under construction the insurance is cheap. Maybe $100 a year for full coverage, but thats for an agreed value of $2500 I'm sure it will be more when it's finished.

I'm sure someone else will chime in on this one.

George

Insurance will vary from state to state, of course, but your best bet will be to get coverage with your primary carrier, if at all possible. Here in Texas, all of the carrier's will cover an older vehicle for liability and property damage with out much of a problem. They like to see you limit your driving to functions such as parades, picnics, shows, etc. and some carriers will even give you a special reduced rate if you do that.
The real issue, if there is one, comes into play when you wish to get collision coverage or comprehensive coverage. At that point they require you to have the vehicle appraised and then agree to an amount of coverage based on the appraisal. My experience with doing that has been good. I am an insurance agent and I am also an accepted "appraiser". So far, I have been able to get coverage for everyone who wants it.
One thing that they will not do is place collision or comprehensive coverage on a vintage vehicle for everyday use. And one other thing I have seen happen, if you have two drivers in your household, or three, they will not place collision or comprehensice coverage on your vintage vehicle unless you have a regular daily driver for all of your listed drivers. I know that is the case for just about every carrier and in almost every state.

I have State Farm, $5,000 value, $231 for 6 months that I drive in the summer.

I have my 37 insured through state farm with a value at 12000.00 and it costs me around 110.00 a year

Have you checked out Grundy?

Unlimited mileage, full coverage ... my truck is covered for $25,000.00 and costs me $190.00 per year.

Bruce,

You are only comparing apples and oranges unless you know specifics about what coverage you want and what conditions/requirements are imposed on your use of the vehicle. Also, as indicated above, your state/location is an important cost-factor.

Some coverage information would be:

Liability 100,000/300,000/100,000:
100,000 per person personal injury liability
300,000 per accident personal injury liability
100,000 per accident property damage liability

100,000 supplemental uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (for people in my vehicle) in addition to NYS required PIP Personal Injury Protection

5,000 per person Medical Payments (for people in my vehicle)

Full collision and comprehensive ($0 deductible )

Road service and towing (flatbed tow service, lock-out assistance, jump start) - up to 3 per year ($50 per event - could be changed to $100 per event).

Cost: Around $200 for two antique vehicles per year (agreed replacement values of $10,000 and $15,000 - I provided pictures via email).

There are three household drivers (one high risk) in my family and three other fully insured "normal" vehicles.

Some conditions/requirements are:

1. You must have another fully insured vehicle.
2. Your antique vehicle cannot be significantly modified (mostly speed-type modifications are not allowed).
3. I think your antique vehicle must be stored in a garage.
4. Your antique vehicle cannot be used for driving to work (to your job/employment).
5. You cannot use the antique vehicle for income-producing activity.
6. The vehicle must over 25 years old.
7. You are allowed limited pleasure driving. It is a pleasure to drive my '54 pickup to carry things for me and for my friends.

Many insurance companies have websites where you can indicate the levels of coverage that you want and the cost of the policy is immediatelt calculated for you. The best sites also clearly state the conditions/requirements of their policies. You might want to check out Hagerty Insurance for comparison with other "collector vehicle" policies.

I chose Hagerty because its website gave the clearest quotes and coverage information of all the companies I found listed in Hemmings. Also, I easily got a human being on the phone and they allow me to change coverage limits on-line. I am allowed to drive my trucks daily for pleasure purposes but I am not supposed to drive it everyday to work. (I could drive it to work every a few days a week).

Good luck,
Tim

Alan -
How do come up with full coverage? When I went in for a quote, my choices were Liability and Collision with Comp only. No Medical, no PIP, no Bodily Injury and no Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage.

What I meant by "full" coverage was that I have collision, not just liability.