Where can I get low cost, affordable classic car insurance?

Classic, vintage and antique vehicle owners who have their vehicles insured through standard insurance providers often complain about high premiums and undervaluation of their vehicles. This usually comes about because standard insurance plans assume that you’ll be using a vehicle for regular use – commuting or driving to work, errands, travel, leisure – and this entails a lot of mileage and time on the road, and thus a corresponding quantity of risk. Furthermore, under a standard auto insurance policy, your vehicle is subject to standard valuation practices. This means that, like any regular-use car, the value of even your classic vehicle is assumed to depreciate over time, and therefore, should you experience a total loss, you’ll only get a fraction of the real value of your vehicle back, even though you may be paying a pretty high premium.

The best way to get a much lower premium, and better, more appropriate coverage, is to go with a specialty auto insurance policy, intended specifically for a classic vehicle, through a provider with expertise in this area. The most important thing about this type of policy is that the insurer will recognize that your classic car isn’t going to be on the road that much; in fact, they generally require that you have proof of insurance for another, regular-use vehicle before they’ll insure your classic car. Once this has been established, you can get a much lower premium. After all, if a vehicle isn’t meant to be on the road that often, you shouldn’t have to pay as much to insure it. Also, under a specialty classic auto insurance policy, the value of your vehicle will actually appreciate over time – as it should.

There are a number of insurers that specialize in providing policies geared specifically toward classic, vintage, and antique automobiles. Additionally, each provider offers its own advantages, so it’s worthwhile to take the time necessary to figure out which one has the best policy for your particular vehicle and situation. Among these are: American Collectors Insurance, which offers flexible mileage plans tailored to meet your needs; CHROME Specialty Vehicle Insurance, which offers a volume discount for owners of multiple classic vehicles; Grundy Worldwide, which has no limitations on the model or year of vehicles it will cover; Hagerty Insurance, known for a wide variety of private client services and community-type features; Leland-West Insurance Brokers, who offer new purchase coverage of up to $100,000; and Sneed Insurance, covering a wide variety of exotics at affordable premiums.

Compared to the sort of coverage you can get with a conventional auto insurance policy, these and other specialty classic car insurance providers will cover your classic car at a much lower cost. Perhaps even more importantly, these policies will cover your vehicle at a proper, accurate valuation, and in situations which aren’t normally covered under standard insurance policies, such as car shows, foreign tours, shipping, and restoration. Who knows – with the savings from a true classic car insurance plan, you might just be able to get even more enjoyment out of the hobby.

Posted: July 29th, 2009 under Classic Car Insurance Explained.