Classic car insurance quotes are cheaper than most collector car owners or shoppers realize. If you are shopping for a 1969 Chevrolet Impala but are worried about insurance prices, it may feel good to know that classic car insurance on a 1969 Impala will be more like 1969 insurance prices than insurance prices today for a daily driven vehicle. Here are the reasons why insurance rates are lower for classic cars. Classic cars are driven differently than daily driver vehicles. Classic cars are not driven to work or parked in parking lots or streets where it can get damaged. Because collector cars are garaged for up to half the year in the northern climates, there is less risk to the insurers. They all make for a small liability for the insurer, resulting in smaller premiums for the consumer. Compared to a daily driver vehicle, premiums are very low on classic car insurance claims.
However, to get these extremely great auto insurance rates there are a few catches. Because the insurance company is insuring your car as a collector car, your yearly mileage is restricted. Most classic car insurance policies allow up to 250 miles a month or 2500 miles a year. Some insurance agencies require yearly odometer readings, so keep that in mind while shopping around. Age restrictions are sometimes required as most classic car insurance policies require the insurer to be at least 30 years old, with a good driving record. Another requirement is a garage, but if your car has any serious value to it I can’t see it sitting out in the backyard or driveway. The last requirement is proof of another vehicle for your daily driving. This does not have to be insured by the same insurer. The collector car insurer just wants to make sure you will not be using the collector car as a daily means of transportation, and use the collector car for only pleasure cruises.
Before contacting an agent, you should have a rough idea of what your car is worth and how much you want it insured for. Typical insurance values and amount rewarded to a daily driven vehicle is somewhat different than a classic car insurance policy. On a new car, the car value can depreciate over time, and the insurance company will use a standard payment amount depending on the year/make/model, etc. and you do not have any say as to what the true value is, they determine it. This program is called an Actual Cash Value, and should not ever be used on an older classic car. An insurance policy with a collector car insurance agency will set up an Agreed Value Policy, meaning you and the insurance agent agree upon the value of the car beforehand, and this will not change due to depreciation, etc. You will get the full value you agreed upon in the case of theft or total loss. A cash value policy, which some classic car owners have with their current daily driving auto insurers, could actually pay only a tiny percentage of the true value. Collectability, rare options, and other details that make collector cars more valuable may just not be used in the Cash Value policy. Just don’t do it!
Most collector car insurers allow you to use any shop you want for repairs. It is your baby, and you should be allowed to use what shop you want. Make sure you ask this of your potential insurer, as not all of them allow this. Since most do, it is advisable to move on and find another insurer if they do not follow this procedure. Acquiring Hot rod insurance is just as easy, but it may involve more work proving the value of your ride. Proof of the purchase price and all receipts of labor and parts for building and restoring the hot rod will make the process a breeze.
If you are looking to buy or restore an old classic, do not skip doing the research to insure the car properly. Classic car insurance claims are extremely low compared to standard auto insurance since the loss of a classic car is likely to be more than a standard auto. If your classic car could be worth tens of times more than it is now if restored, it may be worth looking into insuring the car for the full value of what it would be worth when restored. This is especially true if it is going into a shop to be rebuilt. Many classic car car owners assume the body shop has insurance, and that insurance agency will cover the car. This may be true, but if somehow the shop goes up in flames, likely other cars will have been damaged and destroyed as well. If the shop only has a certain dollar amount in coverage, but the inventory that was destroyed was worth more than the policy, someone will be short changed. Don’t let it be you.
