Classic Car Insurance
The Classic Car Club of America defines a classic car as an American or foreign built vehicle, made between 1925 and 1948 that was build in a limited quantity and had a very high price tag at launch. Insurance Information Institute (III) defines antique and classic cars as those made 30 or more years ago. Heacock Classic Cars defines an antique car as those vehicles made more than 25 years ago and classic cars those manufactured 15-25 years ago. This market for classic and antique cars is very big in the United States with more than 6 million collectors and 25 million cars, according to AutoTraderClassics.
If you are one of those lucky 6 million people that have purchased the car of your dreams recently, it means that you now are looking for classic car insurance. In order to find out how much this policy will set you back, you need to find out the exact value of the vehicle. You will want to know this piece of information so that you will know what amount to use for your agreed value with the company that will insure your car. If you don’t know what the “agreed value” is, it is the amount the insurance firm agrees to pay you in the unfortunate situation in which your classic car is totaled.
The next logical step in finding insurance for your classic car is determining if you are eligible to purchase it. If you read the below requirements and cannot meet one or more of them, it means that you will have to find somebody who will ensure the car for you. Here are some of these qualifications that must be met: the car cannot be used for general transport, all of the modifications brought to the vehicle must be documented, you cannot have more than one at fault violation in the course of the last three years and also you must be at least 26 years old.
If all of the aforementioned requirements have been met, then the first place to start searching for classic car insurance would have to be with your current insurance company. You need to get in contact with other insurance firms and find out a couple of quotes. Some of these companies will offer discounts and special offers for local customers.
Another solid way of obtaining insurance for your classic automobile would be by browsing the Internet. There are a bundle of companies that specialize in car insurance that have websites on the Internet. Most of the firms that specialize in offering insurance for classic cars will have more expensive prices. Some of the best websites in this domain would have to be Grundy, ParishHecock, ClassicAutoInsurance, AmericanCollectorsInsurance and Hagerty.
The classic car insurance quotes vary greatly depending on the model, age, value and use of the car. The most common savings for collector car insurance rates can be from 1/3 to ½ of the insurance rate. Although there are many classic and antique cars that are less expensive to insure in comparison to standard cars, the policy of the first can come with a couple of restrictions, such as: who drivers the car, mandates on how the vehicle is stored and limits on how many miles the driver can use the car annually.
Regardless of the model and make your classic car is you need to ask the insurance agent these following questions: will my car qualify for insurance as a classic car? Is this an “agreed value” policy? Do I need to hire an appraiser? Do you need to approve the appraiser I hire? How often can I drive my car? How do I need to garage it? What kinds of discounts can I get? Are there any situations in which you could deny my claim? What are the liability terms? What is the limit on the collision coverage and what is the maximum limit on the comprehensive coverage?
With collector car insurers the terminology has the tendency to get quite confusing and for this reason you shouldn’t assume anything. Each of the insurance companies might answer your question in a different way. You need to learn more about the Actual Cash Value (ACV) , Stated Value and Agreed Value. The ACV coverage is the type that insures most everyday vehicle and pays out a depreciated “book” value in the event of a claim; the older a vehicle is on an ACV policy, the less value it will have. The Stated Value is better than the Actual Cash Value due to the reason that it allows the car owner to “state” a value for the vehicle which is more than the depreciated “book” value. However, the Stated Value still can depreciate the value of the car due to the reason that these policies generally require the insurance firm only to pay up the “stated” amount. The Agreed Value is the only type of insurance that will guarantee that you will get the entire amount of money if the car is totaled.
Due to the fact that are many levels of rates, services and types of coverage, the owner of a classic car has to dig deep and do some thorough research and analyze all of the possible options, prior to make a final decision that will have a significant impact in your life. When you purchase insurance it means that you are getting a service which is why you should search for quality customer service, great claims handling as well as a knowledgeable staff that has all the necessary information about collector cars. Regardless of your classic car, do some shopping around before making a final decision.
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