any opinions on classic car insurance?

[shanebo]

After our most rescent hail storm I got to thinking about my insurance. I saw Hagerty has an agreed value as part of their plan....which would be a real peace of mind. I don't have full coverage on my eagle right now because my current insurance would total it for a rock chip and give me scrap value....many of us have a lot of money tied up in these things but being as they are not considered "classics or collectors" to the masses, a lot of insurances will only pay blue book, which is is not much. I was just wondering if any of you folks have used a collectors insurance on your eagle.

[mechanic80]

I've been using  (www. americancollectors.com) for my older, little used but specialty autos.  The premiums are small and the coverage is good, but keep in mind an "agreed value" can (and likely will) be disputed in the event of a major claim and unless you have a document of appraisal by a certified professional appraiser, you'll be dealing with insurance company bean counters.  That being said, the optional coverage offered is great (roadside assistance, towing, accomodation reimbursement etc.) and the peace of mind is a blessing if you meet their requirements.   

[eaglefreek]

Keep in mind, many of the collector car insurance policies require the car to be garaged and may have limitations on mileage or how the vehicle is used.

[recomer]

Looked at my insurance companies website (State Farm) concerning this and it states:

-----------------------------------------
Is your car eligible for coverage?
If you’re not sure, these definitions may help:

Classic Automobile: A motor vehicle ten or more years old, which is rare or of special historical interest because of exceptionally fine workmanship or limited production. A classic motor vehicle 25 years old or older is covered as an antique.

Antique Automobile: A motor vehicle 25 or more years old.
And here are some important conditions for eligibility:

Your antique or classic car must be used on a very limited basis, such as exhibitions, club activities, and parades or similar events. You need to have restored, maintained, or preserved your antique or classic car.
---------------------------------


I drive mine too much to qualify for this.

[rollguy]

I know this may not help with most of the 'nesters out there, but it was great for my situation.  When I had the '80 Turbo Diesel Eagle wagon, I had collector car insurance through AAA.  It had the same stipulations as State Farm, but that was fine with me.  I had it insured for an agreed value of $125,000.  The premium was less than $200 a year. 

[priya]

The Saskatchewan government licenses cars here and I got additional insurance on my Eagle through them.  It required an appraisal which must be updated every five years, it costs about $140 per year to cover my Eagle for $18000.  It is classified as an antique and to license it as such it cannot be your primary vehicle but I don't think there are any real restrictions in terms of mileage and so on.  I drive my cars very little as it is so that is not a concern for me.  I think one can buy the additional insurance through a non-government agency as well, but I'm not sure about that.  After all I've put into my Eagle I sure wouldn't drive it without that coverage and even as it is I'm paranoid driving it, it feels like every other car on the road is out to hit me.

[Whuntmore]

I don't...  I just have regular insurance on my eagle (occasional and/or pleasure insurance).  I tried to get classic car insurance, but the ones I called had too many restrictions.

[AMC of Houston]

I use Hagerty because they don't seem to be as anal as others on the restrictions.   Have 10 cars on my policy!!   Averages out to ~$65 per car per year.

[captspillane]

I have a related question. My family has always had 12 cars but only 6 insurance policies. About once a month we would call State Farm and they would switch insurance from one to another, to be active immediately that day. The policy number for the insurance would not change and we got the 10 year customer discount even though that policy had been applied to dozens of different vehicles over the years. We would try to limit ourselves to one change per policy per month, but even then we pushed that when I was in high school. In a sense I was insuring each vehicle day by day. Exactly six cars were insured at any one moment, no matter which six it was that day.

With State Farm, the "primary" vehicle is always 30 to 40 dollars more expensive than that same vehicle listed as a secondary vehicle. There must always be exactly one primary vehicle for every driver listed. I've found that trucks and Jeeps are the cheapest primary cars while Eagles are always cheaper as secondary cars.

Now it seems they don't like doing it as readily. They also delete the old VIN number as soon as they switch it. In the past they kept it on record and we would just say what the car was and they would have all the former information, most importantly the VIN and the monthly premium for that particular car, on hand and ready to apply. Now we have to start from scratch every time I switch.

Is a company in existance that will let me switch a policy from one car to another as many times as I feel like it in a given month? I would also like to do this online instead of calling, with a new card ready to print out immediately.

[vangremlin]

I have Hagerty on my TBird and Gremlin as they are garaged, which is a requirement of the policy.  The other limitations don't seem too bad.

My Eagle is insured through Farmer's.  They will do an agreed upon value policy even if your car doesn't necessarily qualify as a classic, and there are no restrictions.  Shanebo, if you're interested I can get you my agent's number (she is in Parker) and she can fill you in on the details.

[captspillane]

How is Farmers when it comes to switching insurance from vehicle to vehicle?

In my case I have three policies at all times. The first one is the Scout, the CJ8, or the J10. The second one is an SX4. The third is an Eagle station wagon. Which Eagle or truck is insured at any one time changes often, but the price per months stays steady within a dollar because I'm substituting like vehicles for each other within each policy.

[shanebo]

I have progressive right now and aside from a few little gripes they have been pretty descent....they have paid on many claims on my other vehicles and served me very well . When it comes to the eagle we don't really see eye to eye. It's not a primary vehicle and it could be garaged real easy....if I kick my wifes truck out  ...I may give daves agent a call and talk some numbers.

[vangremlin]

How is Farmers when it comes to switching insurance from vehicle to vehicle?

I don't know, I have never tried to do that.

I found that its very helpful to have an agent experienced in the agreed upon value or is at least persistent in getting the details.  When I first talked to my agent she wasn't familiar with it but did a lot of digging to come up with what I wanted.

[macdude443]

I recently signed up for Hagerty.  I liked the more lax restrictions, though they do require it to be garaged as someone mentioned.  It was recommended to me by my dad's Corvette collector friends.  I've found that a few of the other classic companies require you to be at least 25 years of age.  That didn't work for me, at 24.  Also, the Hagerty agent knew what an Eagle is.

[JayRamb]

I have my 87 Eagle with Hagerty.