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Classic car insurance and car value

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wkilleffer

wkilleffer

Jedi Knight
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Hi everyone,

Now that my MG is running, driving, and properly tagged according to the laws in the State of Tennessee, I decided it's a good time to look into getting a classic car policy for it. I currently carry three cars on my insurance with NationWide: 2015 Chevrolet Sonic, 1996 Jeep Cherokee, and the 1974 MGB. My premium is up over $250 per month, and that's with a pretty clean driving record. I've never had a speeding ticket nor moving violation. The last wreck I had was in 2015 when I crashed into an abandoned vehicle at the side of the freeway.I didn't have comprehensive insurance on the car as it was 9 or 10 years old. A tree fell on my house in 2020 and did some damage to the Sonic, which was repaired by insurance.

Now, the question is how do I determine the value of my car for an agreed value policy? The car's rough around the edges and has some rust, gets its tires from Walmart, is non-numbers matching and pretty well serves as a fun car that I don't feel guilty about driving and enjoying. I say non-matching because it had an 18GK engine swapped in at some point. It's not a trailer queen and likely never will be. It may or may not outlast me. People talk about a car looking good at 10'. Mine looks a little ratty at 10'! This bothers me less than it used to.

So, we're not dealing with a perfect car. I haven't seen one for sale around here in a little while. I know that if I ever did need to replace it, it would cost more than what I paid for it 20 years ago. Do these insurance agencies even deal with cars like mine that are imperfect? Seems like they want the applicant to take photos and send them in with the application for a quote.

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

Edit: My father uses Grundy for his 1986 Corvette, and they seem pretty lenient on the type of driving he does as long as he's not using it for a daily driver. My NationWide agent recommends Hagerty because they've got some kind of deal going after NationWide quit writing agreed value policies. I don't use my car as a daily driver, but really don't want to be told that I can only use it in a parade or for a car club-sanctioned event.

Thank you,
-William
 
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Try the Hagerty Valuation Tool …..

MG models | Hagerty Valuation Tools

What’s your classic cars value? The Hagerty classic car valuation tool® is designed to help you learn how to value your classic car and assess the current state of the classic car market. We also offer classic motorcycle values and classic truck values.
www.hagerty.com
 
Gliderman8 said:
Try the Hagerty Valuation Tool …..

MG models | Hagerty Valuation Tools

What’s your classic cars value? The Hagerty classic car valuation tool® is designed to help you learn how to value your classic car and assess the current state of the classic car market. We also offer classic motorcycle values and classic truck values.
www.hagerty.com
Click to expand...
Think I'm goons see if I can add this to our "Resources" section.
 
Basil said:
Think I'm goons see if I can add this to our "Resources" section.
Click to expand...
Might want to look at it before you add it. It seems to assume that all 1974 cars are rubber-bumpered, and mine isn't. I found this a couple of days ago, and was pretty disappointed in it for that reason. You would think they would know that the 1974 model year started out with chrome-bumpered cars.

Their valuation for a fair condition 1974 as compared to a fair 1973 differs by around $500. Fair value for a '74 RB is $4500. Would it be reasonable to say that a chrome-bumpered car in fair condition would be around $5000?
 
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wkilleffer said:
Might want to look at it before you add it. It seems to assume that all 1974 cars are rubber-bumpered, and mine isn't. I found this a couple of days ago, and was pretty disappointed in it for that reason. You would think they would know that the 1974 model year started out with chrome-bumpered cars.

Their valuation for a fair condition 1974 as compared to a fair 1973 differs by around $500. Fair value for a '74 RB is $4500. Would it be reasonable to say that a chrome-bumpered car in fair condition would be around $5000?
Click to expand...
I didn't add just the MG section to the resources - I went up a level and added the overall tool where you pick what marque you have, model. I'm sure it isn't a perfect tool but it would at least give folks a general idea. As with anything, user discretion is advised.
 
A couple of thoughts.

1. I went to the valuation tool and Hagerty 'valued' Ms Triss at less than half of what my Hagerty policy values it at - and Hagerty just emailed me and said I don't have enough coverage.

2. I did have insurance with my regular company (Intact) and the cost was about half of Hagerty but they required an appraisal every 5 years the cost of which ate up some of the savings.

3. In terms of agreed value - classic insurance (with either carrier) is cheap. Go high! So, for the $20 or $30 dollars more it would (literally) cost I would aim for $10000.
 
I might be wrong but I think the change over to rubber bumpers was 74 1/2, not sure of the serial number. Didn't the early 74s have Sabrinas? PJ
 
When Hagerty gives a "valuation", based on a complex formula of various data, how do we use that valuation figure? Is it the replacement cost, or the average sale price, or the market value, or a guide for choosing an asking price when selling (knowing it will probably sell for less), or ...?

William is asking about an agreed value for a classic policy. I'd think you could pretty much choose anything reasonable value you want. As Paul says, it's relatively cheap, if you can live with any restrictions the company may impose.

Thanks.
Tom M.
PS - I've used Hagerty for around 15 years, and never disappointed, even when my 1958 Rambler needed $5K of damage repaired, and Hagerty didn't flinch.
 
One of my concerns is how much it might cost to replace the car in the event that something happened to it. Needless to say, I'm not hoping for that. But their value is going up and more of them have been through some kind of restoration, whether it's just lipstick or something much more in depth. Of course, the more fully restored ones are priced accordingly. Somewhat down at the heels cars don't show up as often as they used to.

As far as the 1974 year went, the rubber bumpered cars came out later in the year. My CB is a March 1974 car. As far as Sabrenas go, my car had at least two of them on it when I got it, but they disappeared between the time I paid for it and went to pick it up later that day.
 
Was your '74 like this?

74 with bumper guards.png
 
My experience with Hagerty seems to be that if you don’t exceed the value for Condition 1, they won’t question it. I use their tool and sale prices on Bring a Trailer to figure out a replacement value for my BN4.
 
I can highly recommend Hagerty. I have six cars and five motorcycles insured with them and I have had two claims over the years. In the last claim, I had some very minor damage to my TR4 from a parking lot incident. When we discovered that the car had lacquer paint and we could not match that finish with new paint, Hagerty stepped up and painted the whole car. In the end, my minor damage ended up costing $23,000+. At every step, Hagerty was great to work with. For all eleven vehicles, the total agreed value comes to about $300,000 and my annual premium is $1,400. They also offer an option where you get to keep your car if they total it and pay you the agreed value. I don't work for Hagerty, but I have to say that I have never found anything to complain about. Great rates and great service.
 
and to be clear while I have never had a claim I know they are extremely higly rated - it is the website that is making me pull my hair out.
 
I may take a harder look at Grundy because they are pretty explicit about having fewer limits on the type of driving that's allowed. I don't want to drive the car to work every day, but if it's a nice, blue sky early fall day and I'm going into the office on a Friday, their website makes it sound as though that would be allowed as long as it wasn't every Friday.

One issue that comes up around here is that this area is notorious for having a high percentage of underinsured motorists on the road. State law requires drivers to have a minimal level of insurance or to have put up a bond, but suspicion that a motorist is operating without is not an offense that can be used to pull someone over to check their status. There's also a tendency for people to think someone who's driving a special car is wealthy and just ripe for plucking a payout. So, it's generally wise to over-insure. I carry more on both of my "regular" cars for that reason. Some underinsured person hits my car and then complains that their neck is hurting, and then you've got a scenario that's not aytypical for this area.

All that said, you have to live your life, and that includes driving what you enjoy.
 
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