The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk *#$%@($! Insurance challenges.....

Hello.

Anyone have recommendations for insurance coverage? I guess my situation is unusual, which I didn't realize until today. Currently have Grundy, but learned claims are routinely denied if one has a mishap in a covered vehicle, because they don't allow you to DRIVE it. Then why buy a policy?

I am the primary driver of my truck, although it is driven very little. (maybe 2 - 3 times monthly at the very most.) I do NOT own another vehicle; our household is blessed with a company car, through my husband's employer. Therefore, we do not OWN a 'primary' vehicle. That's the problem.

Had three companies today decline my application because due to this; wondering if ANY company will insure my truck outside of our homeowner's underwriter, which was charging $700/year.

Declining companies were American Classic, JC Taylor, and Heacock. Am also concerned that if each company is making hard credit inquiries, it'll screw up my credit.

Buying and registering a junker simply to qualify insurance for the 1950 truck isn't going to happen. No space, time, or money for such folly.

Policy w/Grundy expires next week, unless I send them another check. Planning to do so, at least to extend the minimal coverage I have with them now. Primarily worried about uninsured motorist coverage, which seems to be an epidemic problem here.

Any advice or suggestions, please?

Thank you much as always,
Mabel's momma

The first year I had Geico for my 53 3100 (about $500 for an everyday driver). They insuranced it no problem. You can get a quote online. After I restored it I sent pictures to Hagerty they emailed me back a value from the pictures($35,000). They call it "agreed valuation policy". I was figuring less so I said yes. The whole year cost $239. Hagerty does not have any limitation on mileage. I would suggest Geico if it is just a driver. BTW California doesn't use a credit score for vehicle insurance, I have no idea if Texas does. I think if you explain the company car to Hagerty they would have no problem either. They are a family owned company and everyone I have deal with there has been extremently nice, but I have not filed a claim with them so I wouldn't know how that would go. Good Luck Mabel's Mom.

Just call the lizard, of if you qualify USAA has been very good to me for many years.

how much is the truck worth, if it is low value you might
just put liability on it to meet Tx law needs..that should not cost you a lot, I think any Ins would cover it that way

you might have a problem trying to get high value Ins
from any of the classic type Insurer... they usually want
you to have a premier driver..

momma,

Did you check with the insurance company that insures your other vehicles?

State Farm will insure my trucks at a very reasonable rate as long as they are not my primary vehicles and as long as I do not regularly drive them to work. Also, I cannot drive them for any money-making (business) purpose.

Their price is better than Hagerty's but I am pleased with Hagerty and have not changed, yet. Hagerty requires that the vehicle be parked in a locked garage.

By the way, your question and situation is not that unusual: search this forum on the word insurance and you will get many threads that discuss this situation/problem.

she has stated that she does not have a primary vehicle, her husband drives a company vehicle and then she has the one that she is trying to get ins for but never really drives but 2 or 3 times a month................

Sorry about not reading the first post very carefully (it is a very clear posting/question).

Hagerty will most likely have problems insuring the old vehicle because the insured-person does not have another insured vehicle. That will be the case with most other insurers of antique vehicles.

The only other option, as suggested by others above, it to try to get a regular insurance policy with an agreed upon replacement-value. GEICO, State Farm, Allstate, USAA, . . . ??

You say you're not allowed to "drive" it. I don't understand. My '38 is insured by Grundy and I drive it a lot. There are no mileage limits. Do you mean that because it's your "daily driver" you might be denied if you have a claim?

My '37 Olds is insured with GEICO. No questions no hassle just pay the premiums and drive.

I am kind of confused by this whole thing. I live in Texas and have 5 vehicles insured with JC Taylor. My other vehicles are company vehicles, but my wife and I own the company. Belonging to an organization like the ATHS helps getting insurance. Actually, in Texas, if a vehicle has antique license it is not required to have insurance. However, I would never back out of the drive way without liability insurance. Unless a driver or a class of drivers, such as age, is excluded, insurance companies have to pay a claim. Although Grundy is a surplus lines insurer in Texas, they are still regulated by the TDI. Unless you are specifically excluded because of your age or driving record, you would be covered. This is another one of those situations where I would not rely on hearsay. I would call this agency's help line. http://www.tdi.texas.gov/webinfo/contactus.html They are getting paid Texas dollars to help consumers.

I have not had good experiences with USAA. When I finally retired form the military we wanted someone who could get to know us, our situation and what we as a family wanted to accomplish as goals. USAA could not meet this demand as every time we called we got (another service representative)

We studied and finally came to State Farm. When I was younger (read not a good driver) State farm had no problem processing claims for me.

My local agent is pleasant and because he and I can both put a face to a name the result has been really pleasant.

Unlike your situation we have a ton of scrap metal hanging around but only have one running truck that we drive. State Farm has not only been great to insure our daily driver (old Truck) but they have also offered policies for the other junk that is no way ready to drive at a REALLY reasonable rate.

I don't know your whole situation but we were able to qualify for their multi-vehicle discount based on our junk in the yard.

Don't know if this helps or not but thought I would toss in my 2 cents. in a day and age where customer service seems to take a back seat to best price, we were pleased to not only have a lower rate but great customer service by looking locally.

Good Luck.

That is the first negative I have ever heard about USAA, I like them just because when the insurance solicitors call they hang up as soon as I say USAA.

I will give you a second negative about USAA. When I tried to insure with them several years ago they told me I was not eligible. The reason- I served in the military as an enlisted person, not an officer. I have not and will not contact them again even though the policy has changed, along with the nation's attitude towards veterans.

Chuck

Sorry if this seems like hijacking the thread, but I have been with USAA (via my wife) for over 20 years and in all that time, I have never been disappointed by them. Top notch organization for sure. I like the fact that I dont have to go through an agent and more for insurance just to help a third party make a living.

When my '52 is fully restored, I will be giving USAA a call for stated value with a 16 YO using it as a dailey driver...that should be fun.

Our old trucks require hands-on seat time, and likewise insuring them in their earlier days was back when people did things face to face. I second the local agent option. Often local offices can provide policy options from several insurance agencies and will recommend the best for your situation. Let an agent do the leg work!

Also some policies allow you to pay an extra fee for free car rental service while a vehicle is being repaired. Since this is your only vehicle, that stipulation/ option might be a loophole to your denied applications.

Finally something that is in my wheelhouse.
I'm an insurance agent representing quite a few companies in WA, ID & OR. I would have a hard time finding insurance with one of the collector car market if the customer did not have a personal auto policy for the daily driver. The issue is that if the daily driver policy doesn't exist the collector car policy becomes a potential carrier if the policy holder borrows another persons car and gets in an accident. The policy on the borrowed car is primary but if there isn't enough coverage or no coverage the collector car policy can get drug into the claim, or atleast thats the concern. The collector car policies aren't priced to account for that.

Regarding exclusions, there are more exclusions in these policies than just class of driver issues. If the policy says we won't coverage the auto if you are driving it doing X. You better not get in an accident doing X. And if you are with a surplus lines carrier you better make sure you read and understand the exclusions. Surplus lines companies have greater liberty in drafting the exclusions. In WA the state commissioners office isn't alot of help if you get sideways with a Surplus Lines carrier. I write alot of surplus lines business, but I would never do it for a collector car or any other policy where there are non surplus lines markets.

And lastly make sure you get agreed value, not stated value, those are two entirely different terms. Agreed value says we will pay X, no questions asked. Stated value says will will pay X or actual cash value, whichever is less.

In the original post, I read out of it that the poster now has insurance with Grundy but is hesitant to renew because of hearsay that Grundy denies claims. I don't think the complete story has been told about claims being denied. If Grundy denied claims, it was because of what the vehicle was being used for, not for the particular person driving. JC Taylor sometimes questions the personal vehicle situation with me. I rely on my agent to explain to the underwriters that our personal vehicles belong to an S Corp which my wife and I own. If the person is now with Grundy and they are willing to renew, and the person is using the vehicle that was disclosed in the original application, I see no reason not to renew it. If the vehicle is using the vehicle for other purposes, no antique vehicle insurance company will write it. I still think that there is more to the story with the reports that Grundy denies claims.

i was told long a go to have an insurance policy even when not owning a car. i dont know who offers blanket coverage on a person but i am sure its available. once thats in place you could then insure through a specialty insurance company. the reason behind my agents suggestion was i drove a company vehicle 100% of the time but he didnt want me to have a lapse in coverage so it would be easy to insure my next vehicle.

Wow!
I just ran mine by Hagerty, and they are lower than my other quote, with unlimited mileage, and 125 mile towing.
'38 1 1/2 ton dump

I got Hagerty for my 1.5 ton when Progressive would not cover, and they've been great!

I live in colorado, and checked into hagerty. The said we would each have to have a daily driver for regular use in addition to the classic, I couldent drive just my classic. We have progressive now and they covered the 53 no prob.

I just checked my Hagery documents online and it is "Guaranteed Value" for $35,000 not "stated value" as I misspoke earlier in the post. My mistake. Thanks to the insurance agent for chimeing in. There is nothing stated about mileage limits in the documents.

Hi all,

Thanks for all the interests and posts. I'm contemplating switching off Grundy because of a few comments I read here last year (IIRC). The poster(s) had trouble with claims to Grundy and perhaps another carrier because (again, IIRC) the affected vehicle was being usedfor an errand or something, which is what I occasionally do with my truck. That's why we bought it! The last thing I want is to be on the way home from Lowe's or the local nursery, and have an incident, then have claim rejected. Trying to keep things honest, but certainly didn't expect this much trouble for something driven as little as Mabel is.

Will try Geico and call our (Farmers) insurance agent again. One of my new year's resolutions was to price-shop some of this stuff and save some money. (more money for truck parts!)

I recall receiving an acknowledgement form from Grundy with a stipulations such as no errands, etc. I crossed out one of them, signed it, and faxed it back. Never heard anything regarding it after that, so I didn't worry about it until reading the post here last year.

Grrrr.

Jrpontiac, Thanks for the stipulation explanation... that was a big help.

Will see if I can find something with mileage limitations and agreed value. I'm more concerned with being hit by an uninsured driver (epidemic here in TX) or Mabel being stolen. (not that a lot of people know how to drive manual transmissions these days!)

Might have to bite the bullet and just pay high 'regular' rates again for a 'daily driver'.


Mabel's mom

Able Mabel;

Keep us posted. I have been a loyal USAA customer for 23 years and have always been thrilled with their coverage. I just got off the phone adding my new 58 Suburban to my policy. When I asked about collector type insurance (in an effort to get back some of my purchase price investment should something happen to the vehicle) I was referred to a "associate" insurance company. They agent from that company was very helpful but basically said all I could do was take it to an occasional car show and look at it and go oooohhh aaahhhh. I want to be able to use my truck as a truck, not just admire it in the driveway.

I can't believe there isn't some kind of middle ground. If I bought a late model used car for $8000 they wouldn't have any problem insuring it as a daily driver for full value if I elected full coverage. Why can't I do the same thing on my 58 Burb. I'll pay more everymonth, but I want to be able to drive it.

Anyway, please post when you work out your solution. I am very interested.

Just finished a online quote with Hagerty for my 1953 & 1948 trucks & for the coverage there prices are very reasonable($400 for both for a year). I will take the quote to my local agent & see what they can do , if anything....

My State Farm agent (two regular vehicles with full-coverage insurance; and, homeowners insurance) was able to easily beat Hagerty - and, they had fewer restrictions. I have not yet changed, but I will do so when I get my COE in the road.

Many years ago I used Condon and Skelly for my antique cars because they had in their policy that you could use the auto for occasionally other uses other then shows, club events, etc. They are still in the business, not sure how their policy reads now. They were very reasonable . I would drive one to work once in while,the best thing you could do.

I feel your pain with Grundy and Haggerty. I was so [censored] when they basically said you couldn't drive your truck.

I went with American Modern Insurance. http://www.amig.com/

I have not had a claim, so I cannot vouch for the service. But I can do whatever I want within 10,000 miles per year. The value is an agreed price. Found them through USAA.

I just got off the phone with my State Farm agent that has our vehicles (except the '54), our home, my wife's business, and our umbrella. I asked him about State Farm collector car insurance. He said that it is available - but only for going to shows. I asked him if I would be covered if I drove it to buy an ice cream cone. He said NO. Only covered for shows. Told me that other insurers may have more flexible coverage. He was not anxious to sell me a policy.

I've had Grundy (now owned by Philadelphia Ins) for over ten years. Never had a claim so I don't know how good it is. I increased the value of the coverage on my truck with them today. And I finally read my policy. I'm happy with what I read ...

""Collector vehicle" means a private passenger auto or motorcycle that:
1. I maintained solely for use in exhibitions, parades, club activities, or other functions of public interest.
2. Is not used for regular driving to work, school, errands, shopping, general transportation, secondary or back-up transportation, business or commecial purposes, except for limited pleasure use."

So, I'm not totally eliminated from some pleasure use, and I confirmed by phone, too. If I drove it more often, then I understand that it should be insured as a regular vehicle - just don't know how to determine the value.

FYI - the Grundy policy includes
> 4% automatic annual increase for inflation
> $5,000/$10,000 medical insurance for me and my family for injuries / death at a car show
> Full windshield coverage
> $250 towiing
> $500 spare parts loss or damage
> $600 transportation expenses

I raised the liability coverage to match my other vehicles so that my personal liability umbrella would pick up any excess liability incurred.

That means only driving to car shows. If you stop by the grocery store on your way to a car show and you have an accident in the lot, guess what? Your not covered.

I take my truck to work a couple days a week, go to Home Depot, stop by the grocery store and I'm covered.

Grundy and Haggerty sucketh.

jomichael

A mystery phone person from Grundy told me that occational "pleaseure use" is covered.

I got an on-line quote from http://www.amig.com/ ( https://www.elitecollectorcar.com/ ). You're right, the coverage looks good. Agreed value + agreed milage + pleasure use accepted. The quote was competitive. Not sure about the AMBest rating of the company.

Yeah, they said that to me as well, and I said, "then can you put it in writing?"

answer: "no"

They had commercials on car show in which the president would talk about how they let people enjoy their car. False advertising.


My dislike for Grundy runs very deep.

Well, I got tired of being told "they" couldn't insure my truck because it had been modified and returned my check to me. Then I've been told I could only drive it to shows/parades ect.

I said to heck with them. Went to State Farm, then to an apprasier approved by them. Got my apprasier, for free, and took it back to them with about 3 shots of my pickup. Insured for Agreed Value of apprasial, which was a good one, and I pay $129 every 6 months and I don't have to worry about IF I'm covered in case something happens and I drive when and where I feel like it. I do have all kinds of discounts with them, mulit car,home ect ect... and I get an extra discount because I've been with them over a certain period of time.(over 40 years for me) I've been in some very bad/serious accidents over the years and I can say nothing bad about State Farm. My entire family insures with them.

Rates depend on individual circumstances but for me I don't like anyone telling me where or when I can drive my truck...and I drive it quite a bit. I pay a little more but I sleep good at night.

I know we have talked about insurance a few times but its nice to see it come up again ever so often to see/hear what others are doing and where we're treated like the good folks we are!!