Classic car insurance for ungaraged cars

Terry Lange

PCS Member
I know the broad topic of pro-car insurance has been covered in other threads over the past year, and I have re-read them all. I called Hagerty today to add my '59 Comet Olds to my policy for my garaged '72 Malibu rag. Once they found out that the new addition will not be in a locked garage, they weren't interested. I checked the websites for all the other big guns in the classic car insurance business (Grundy, J.C. Taylor, American Collector, Leland West), and they all have the same requirement. Some actually require a photo of the garage with the car in it.

I also noted that some of the big general insurance companies (Geico and Hartford AARP) are now offering classic car insurance with few restrictions. However, they will not offer guaranteed value insurance, and their rates are very much in line with an everyday driver. They basically are just offering a regular auto insurance policy with the words "classic car" thrown in front of it, to gain some of that market share.

My coach will be in an RV pad with my garage as one wall, a 6 foot concrete block wall on the back end as well as the opposing side, and a locked 10 foot metal RV gate on the remaining end. Are they worried that someone's going to lift it over the wall?

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Terry
 
Mine are insured with different companies. Non of the insurance companies are antique car companies. I have different companies because I find the one that is best for the specific car. I use some of the cars at the funeral home, so I have them insured for that use. Some are pleasure drivers
 
Illinois farmers will do an agreed upon value policy with no requirements for storage. you must supply pictures of the car and an appraisal from one of their
recognized appraisers. you must sign a form stating that you will not use the car for regular use. cost is a little cheaper than a regular car policy.
 
Check with Infinity Insurance - agreed value based on pictures. Nothing ever mentioned about locked garages. Very reasonable, in my opinion.
 
State Farm here too. Less than $8.00 per month per car. Full coverage with $250 deductible at agreed car value. No garage questions ether here. They also will insure your spare parts as well!
 
Just an update on this topic, as I've spent some time over the past few days researching this further. Neither Hagerty, Grundy, J.C. Taylor, American Collector, Heacock, Leland West, Condon & Skelly, Infinity, Safeco, or American Modern will insure a car as a classic/antique/specialty vehicle unless it is in a secure, locked garage. Farmer's writes their collector car policies through J.C. Taylor, so the above applies with them, as well. Even if this requirement is not specifically addressed when you apply for insurance through these companies, if you suffer a loss, they will likely tell you to "read your policy" and deny the claim if the vehicle was not garaged.

I also spoke with a State Farm agent yesterday. While they do offer collector car insurance, she was unclear as to whether they would be interested in insuring a classic car unless they were also insuring the rest of my vehicles. She also stated that they do not offer "agreed value" policies, and that State Farm will ultimately decide the value of the vehicle. She said that if I felt a vehicle was worth 15K, and State Farm felt it was worth 5K based on their criteria, they would pay 5K in the event of a loss. Lastly, she told me the amount of money spent on a restoration would have no bearing on their determined value of a vehicle, since many people "over-restore" their cars (Her words.) On that basis, they probably wouldn't give much credibility to a written appraisal, either. I asked her how they would establish value on a vehicle where only one is known to exist. She couldn't answer that one.

I also spoke with the owner of a classic GM restoration shop earlier this week, and he advised me to stay away from the big insurance companies who offer classic car insurance. He said you are in for a battle when it comes to agreeing on value in case of a loss, and they always get the final say.
 
From what I remember about being told about his loss, the cars didn't have enough insurance on them, and the company paid the amounts of insurance as declared, took the cars, and sold them at auction.
I have spoken extensively with Haggerty about claims and insurance amounts, and the statement that I have received, is that if the car is "properly" insured, they will pay up to 70% of the stated value to repair the car in the event of a claim. After 70%, the vehicle is considered a total loss, and they pay the entire agreed upon amount, and take the vehicle for salvage.
I have had only one claim with Haggerty, and it was handled OK, but the adjuster wouldn't pay for the wooden framework repair, since he claimed that it was dry rotted, which it was. Prior to the damage, the wood looked OK, because it was painted. Had they considered the wood damage, then the vehicle would have been over the 70% and would have been totaled, since it was only insured for $5000. I sold the car, and between what I got from the insurance and the sale, I was over the $5000 amount, so I can't complain.
Unfortunately, you only find out how good your insurance company is after you have the claim. I have had Haggerty Insurance for almost 20 years, and am very satisfied with them in all aspects. :applause:
 
I have had no trouble with Progressive. Put it in the commercial class, and you can set the value of the car, no questions asked. Yes, I have had 2 seperate claims on the same car and no issues whatsoever getting the car fixed. Once a tree fell on it and did damage to the rear of the car and top. One time I hit a deer, they hat to replace prettymuch all front clip and some framework, no problem. The car had over 100,000 miles at the time of each claim.
 
For what it's worth, we have Hagerty on our classic cars. We had a car damaged a few years ago, while stored in a rented garage. I have to say that they were fabulous. I am a very satisfied Hagerty customer!
 
For what it's worth, we have Hagerty on our classic cars. We had a car damaged a few years ago, while stored in a rented garage. I have to say that they were fabulous. I am a very satisfied Hagerty customer!

Bill, I have Hagerty on my garaged '72 Malibu convertible. They just won't add the Olds coach to the policy since it won't be garaged.

Terry
 
Back
Top