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Collector car insurance companies-claims

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Westfield_XI

Westfield_XI

Jedi Warrior
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I am considering switching my policies from my current carrier (Safeco) to one of the specialty carriers, Grundy, Hagarty, etc. They all will give me a lower rate for an agreed value policy than I currently pay, and the mileage restriction is not onerous. But which one is the best if I ever have to make a claim? Does anyone here have any real-world experiences to relate?


I would be listing my two Smarts, the 600SL, my F-250 tow vehicle, my boat, my Benz E320 wagon and my Westfield. Only the SL and the Westfield would be on limited mileage policies... Except for the Smarts and the Westie, none are newer than 2000. The 2004 Phaeton is to be sold since we no longer will be using it for long trips.
 
Here's the specific question to ask the representative: "Can I use any of these cars as my daily driver, to & from work, shopping, etc.?"
 
tony barnhill said:
Here's the specific question to ask the representative: "Can I use any of these cars as my daily driver, to & from work, shopping, etc.?"
Click to expand...

Hagerty will say "no" to this. I have my Midget with them to save money, and my GT with AAA so I can drive it to work etc.
 
It's somewhat of a crap shoot to determine which insurers have good claims service. Possibly the best way is to go through your local Agent, or get your Agent's advice. A professional insurance agent knows the markets and generally won't recommend a dud.

The key collector/antique car coverage in my opinion is "agreed value" physical damage coverage (comprehensive and collision). With agreed value, your car is insured up to a specific amount, no more. If it's totaled/stolen, etc., you get the whole amount. Repairs will also be done up to that amount. This is the way to go. Without it, you get a depreciated (i.e., practically nothing) claims settlement from your insurer.

My family vehicle insurer, GEICO, referred me to a company they use for collector car insurance (American Modern Home Insurance Co.). My premium is $135 per year for $500,000 liability and $7000 agreed value on the car ($0 ded. comp; $100 ded. collision). That is a good deal.

My tuppence worth, FWIW. :thumbsup:
 
I looked at collector insurance and instead of using them, I decided to get comprehensive through my regual insurer on my '69 Super Bee w/ and agreed value of $25,000. For the same money as a collector company, I got on my regular policy and I didn't need a note from my mother to drive my car.

We already have Allstate and pay stupid low rates.

$25 a month per vehicle for compresensive.
 
I had a claim with Hagerty. Totaled my '70 Opel GT, they were great. I wasn't on the way to work which may well have voided the claim, I don't know. I was joy riding and headed to a tire/wheel shop. They paid the agreed value fast, paid all the towing. Everything was fine. Only objection is the buy back price was a bit too steep in my opinion. I should have bought back the wreck and parted it out, I would have made good $$. In their defense, I think they offer the wreck to bids and the high bid becomes your buy back price so it isn't really set by them, but I'm not sure how that works.
Yes, I can recommend Hagerty but beware that technically it can't be a regular driver. I don't know what would happen if you wrecked during a commute. Ask them flat out "what happens if I wreck on a rare ride into work?" Cheap insurance is worthless if your claim is rejected.
My Midget is insured through them, I never take this one on a commute to work, I drive it quite a bit but not as commuter. I think, with my historic plates, agreed value of 8K I pay $130/year something close to that.
 
My experience with Hagerty is that they want you to have 1 "regular" car for each named driver and want to see a copy of the "regular" insurance policy for those cars. I don't know if they will provide that coverage.

Marv J
 
Healeysince59 said:
My experience with Hagerty is that they want you to have 1 "regular" car for each named driver and want to see a copy of the "regular" insurance policy for those cars. I don't know if they will provide that coverage.

Marv J
Click to expand...

Yep - got to have a garage place for it as well.
 
As far as claims go with Hagerty

I took a rock in the windshield. I called an they said take it wherever I want. 6 weeks later, as I waited for new glass to come from England, they called and asked if there was anything they could do to help as it had been a quite a while since they had heard from me. I told them I was still waiting for parts. When the parts came it was ZERO deductible, that is is cost me not one cent...

Another time, a guy backed into me who had no insurance himself. I told Hagerty I was out for a pleasure drive, stopped for tacos and got hit in the parking lot. Again, take it wherever, ZERO deductible. I'm paying about $110 a year with an agreed to value of IIRC $9000.
 
But, that's it...for Haggerty it an only be used for shows, parades, going to/from shop, pleasure/test and organized drives....if you're doing anything else, you have to lie.
 
Tony's right. And if you "lie", or in insurance terminology, make a "material misrepresentation" on the insurance application or renewal form, it's grounds for denial of claim/coverage.

Not worth the risk IMHO. You gotta tell the truth to your insurance company. And the car damage is just the tip of the iceberg: your liability coverage is far more valuable if you're in a wreck.

Unless you have a pretty bad driving record with lots of speeding tickets and/or wrecks, it's not hard to obtain agreed value coverage. You may have to switch insurers to get it, but you also may just reduce your overall premium while doing so.

Try GEICO, cheap and reputable company. Hagerty, etc. There are plenty out there. :yesnod:
 
I have had no claims with Hagerty so I cannot comment on that. However, before buying a policy from them I did inquire about their definition of "pleasure use". Their answer was that the term was more or less flexible. Daily use of your car to commute to work is not pleasure use nor is use of your collector car when your daily driver is in the shop. Driving on a weekend or out for a sunny afternoon cruise, that IS pleasure use, at least according to the sales rep I spoke with.

By contrast J.C. Taylor told me they had very specific limits on the use of the car. Their description of acceptable use is what Tony is describing above... shows, parades, limited annual mileage, etc.

Though I'm happy with Hagerty, I have been tempted to look into Heacock Insurance. Heacock underwrites several SVRA events and according to their literature they "encourage" pleasure use of collector cars. I'd like more information on what that means. When my policy is up for renewal in the spring I intend to call them for clarification on their definition of acceptable use.
 
Since I am a self-employed/semi-retired, commercial landlord, I don't have a workplace to drive to. Thus all my driving is pleasure. Is this not correct? They also offer a package deal for all my cars and boat with only the collector cars having limited mileage.
 
Hagerty doesn't limit mileage AFAIK. Since I never drive the MG to work I figure I'm all set. I remember them asking me what I was doing/going during the wreck, don't know what would have happened if I'd have said "going to work", because I wasn't. There's a thread here somewhere (I know because I was in it).
 
It is difficult, from a legal standpoint, for an insurer to exclude coverage for something as common as driving to work. For example, using the car for business purposes is excluded from all family auto policies (unless commercial/business auto coverage is purchased), and so is using the car in the commission of a crime, and usually, liability rising from racing the car is excluded. Pretty obvious stuff for an insurer to exclude.

However, few, if any family auto insurers specifically exclude the act of driving (e.g., in the policy language) the collector car/LBC to work. That's why they ask on the application of insurance if you use the car for driving to work. Your statement on the application regarding how the car is used may be used to deny a claim in some rare cases. To counter this, you might indicate that in an emergency you <span style="font-style: italic">may</span> drive the collector car to work, but only if no other transportation is available. If the insurer doesn't accept that, to heck with them, purchase coverage from another insurer who will accept it.

I told my insurer (GEICO) that and they had no problemo at all with it. I also put it on the application. No problem.

YMMV. :thumbsup:
 
As Tony pointed out, Hagerty's policy says --limited pleasure driving-- and --test purposes--. It's language is not unlike that used by the state (Washington) for collector car or "year of car" plates, which I also have. When I was looking into Hagerty I told my agent, IF the roads are dry, I plan to drive the car. In THIS state, that qualifies as limited driving, at least according to my agent. The State's language says something like --for the pleasure of others without recompense-- and since I never charge people to tell me how cool my car is, and always get some sort of smile when I drive it, I figure THAT qualifies. And it's ALWAYS a TEST to see if the car will get back home, isn't it? That alone makes it a qualifier every time I drive.
 
Bill, your logic is impeccable. I say that wherever I go I end up showing someone my car, therefore I'm always en route to a car show. Works for the state requirements (in my eyes anyway) insurance I don't know about. That's the important one. I'd guess most of us are somewhere in between. Mine certainly isn't a daily driver but I will drive it any day the weather is decent and my destination isn't too dangerous, that's pretty much daily in the summer.
Yesterday I took it to pick my daughter up from school. There were two young kids in a front yard. I was surprised they DIDN'T seem to react to the car (kids usually do) then a second later my daughter was waving behind us (they just needed a second to recover from the shock of seeing such coolness on their street).
 
Westfield_XI said:
Since I am a self-employed/semi-retired, commercial landlord, I don't have a workplace to drive to. Thus all my driving is pleasure. Is this not correct? They also offer a package deal for all my cars and boat with only the collector cars having limited mileage.
Click to expand...
Nope...a trip to the supermarket is not pleasure; a trip to pay your electric bill is not pleasure, etc.

I've never put collector insurance on any car I own...or the rare ones, I get a stated value & go with my normal insurance company.....& only 1 of my cars - the '53 TD - has any restrictions on it doing business that way.....heck, in the winter, I change all my insurance on the LBC's & 380SL to storage or under restoration.....saves a bunch of $$$$'s.
 
I have often wondered about this. I told them from the start when I got my Hagerties insurance that I might drive it back and forth to work once in a while in the off season to keep the battery up and they had not problem with that. Also, once a year they have a car show at my company, so I should be able to drive it to work for that then also.
 
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