What is a good classic insurance company?

[mdsbch]

I am looking at getting insurance for my 85 coupe. What I am looking for is a reputable company that has the Agreed on Value type insurance policy and unlimited mileage without all the restrictions of having to be driven only for car events and allways be garaged and attended to. Here's why, I like driving my 85 coupe to work, out to dinner, trips to relatives (where it would be out all night at their house or a hotel (I just like driving it). Now when it is at home it is definitely kept in the garage.

Has anyone had insurance from either of these two companies and any claims? I'm looking for generalities on how the claims were handled, because I know from experience that once they have your money things tend to change from what they promise. :confused

http://www.aoncollectorcar.com/index.jsp?link=utilitynav
http://www.sneedinsurance.com/sneed_collect_specialty.htm

They both have unlimited miles and very little restrictions, unlike the two highly advertised ones (Hagerty and Grundy).

Thanks for any and all comments in advance.

Mike

 

[lbitp37]

Go to Leland-West, they are in ca.

 

[Cool Driver]

Mike, I've had my '65 insured through Rally Insurance (actual carrier is American Modern) for several years. I had a choice of 1K or 3K miles per year and I typically drive it about 2K, so I went with the 3K option. It runs me about $220/year. Depending on how you drive your car, you might want to check with them: http://www.rallyinsurance.com/Rally.html

Hagerty was much more expensive when I got a quote. I'm not familiar with the other companies you referenced. Since my '96 is my second daily driver, I have it insured on the same policy as my Explorer.

Good luck!

Barbie

 

[Lucy64]

I am with JC Taylor and they seem very fair pricewise. A friend did make a claim with them and it was handled very quickly. The only problem I see with what you want is that most will have the requirement of keeping it in a locked garage and most, but not all, have the miles limit. I have not heard of any that don't have some sort of requirement like this for agreed value. I would be very interested to see what the other folks have to say on this subject.

 

[FFAST87]

My first year I went with www.sneed.com They were the only insurance company offereing discounted insurance for my 87 without a mileage restriction. Cost $389 yr in Jersey.
Because I don;t put a tremendous amount of mileage on my Vette...I went with www.americancollectors.com insurance this years renewal. With a 5,000 mi limitation...yrly insurance cost me $234. with them

 

[JOE BYRNE]

Same here

Also with American Collectors Insurance. $176.00 per year and just raised the value to $23,000

 

[JJS]

It' Hagerty's for me. $275 for the year, but thankfully I'v nerver had to file a claim. -John

 

[corvted]

I had American Collector which was $240 a year. Switch over to Aon which is now $114 a year and $15,000 for agreed value.

 

[speedmaster4]

jd taylor...$172 per year, 10k agreed value(its priceless to me but that would soften the blow a bit if the worst happened and all of life is a gamble--i've come to realize that)...the garage, use, and mileage restrictions are no problem since i use it that way anyhow (its a piece of art--high performance art that i can ride in--i've got more bucks in some other stuff that all you can do is look but don't touch)--i don't think the restrictions are unfair;if you want lower premium rates you should reduce exposure to loss--only fair.

your agent is more important than your company--its the agent that has the influence with the company

 

[mdsbch]

Thanks for all the good info.

I guess, I wasn't real clear with my original question. I'm not looking specifically for cheap insurance (of course I'm not looking for the most expensive niether). What I'm looking for is a company that has the Agreed on Value without all the restrictions that gives them an out if something happens. I don't drive it on a daily basis, but last summer because of a few trips out of town, I put 5500 miles on my 85 coupe and it had to stay out over night at a few places. I know how insurance companies can be, if something were to happen and they find out that it was left unattended or out over night because you were at a hotel or a relatives where there was no garage available, you find yourself in a situation where their restrictions relieve them of any setlement.

My current insurance company doesn't offer the Agreed Value policy and they told me that if it was totalled, I would get what they determined to be a fair price, dependant on the age of the vehicle, its blue book value, what other cars that age are going for in the are that I live. Somehow I think what they mean by this is that they will give me as little as they possibly can get away with.

Thanks again for all the good info.

Mike

 

[mdsbch]

I just got a reply back from Sneed Insurance, which isn't the cheapest, but they say in there add there are no restrictions. Well I guess there add is quite deceiving, since there are restrictions about leaving the car outside for extended periods of time. How does a person participate in an event that is more than a days drive from home without voiding their policy by staying at a hotel?

Mike

 

[JJS]

I just got a reply back from Sneed Insurance, which isn't the cheapest, but they say in there add there are no restrictions. Well I guess there add is quite deceiving, since there are restrictions about leaving the car outside for extended periods of time. How does a person participate in an event that is more than a days drive from home without voiding their policy by staying at a hotel?

Mike

I think you're going to find restrictions such as "mileage" on every classic car policy. Let's face it, the more often it's on the road, the greater the possibility that something might happen. They also want to make sure you're not using the car as your primary source of transportation.

I like Hagerty's, and the guy that takes care of my car
(www.RonsAutoRestoration.com) told me that he's never had customer who's had a problem settling claims with them. That's good enough for me.

-John

 

[IH2LOSE]

I like driving my 85 coupe to work, out to dinner, trips to relatives

I think the above sentance is why your going to have a problem, It sounds as though you have a collector car you want to use as what the insurance companies call a Sunday car, pleasure car,third car in a family.


Most of the companies that offer Agreed Value Insurance are able to offer the added benifit of Agreed value because they know there risk is minamized by the type of use a collector has.

I use my cars as collector cars, I dont take them out to dinner,I dont take them to work or shopping. I will get in it and take a 2 hr pleasure ride, Condon skelly does allow the car to be out of site.So if I took it to a car show or car cruise a couple of states away it can sit out over night and be covered

Good Luck

 

[mdsbch]

Thanks everyone, for all the great info.

IH2LOSE, I have talked to a couple of insurance companies and, you right, they don't like you to use it for driving to work, dinner, or trips to relatives. However; Sneed Insurance was Ok with all of this as long as it didn't sit outside more than a few days.

I'm looking towards changing over to them since I would get the Agreed Value policy at about half the price of my regular car insurance.

I would like to hear from anyone that has had Sneed Insurance (good or bad), before I make any decisions. Thanks.

Mike

 

[rch105]

Hagerty

I was faced with a dilemma after purchasing my '87. Initially I put it on my regular policy (Erie) to get started, but as I also have a Hagerty policy for a '72 Mopar. My agent told me Hagerty wouldn't insure the '87 b/c it was too new. Imagine my surprise when I phoned Hagerty and told them I was cancelling my policy b/c they wouldn't insure another car...changed their minds very quickly. Living here in the NE portion of PA, there are cruises, shows, runs, almost every day of the week. They waived the mileage and I have everything I want. Bottom line...see if they'll bargain!
Good Luck!
Rick

 

[cjs2]

similiar question

I would just like to get some opinions on this issue as well. What would a fair "agreed value" be for an 86 coupe totally original, in excellent condition with 11,000 miles on it? Just want to see if i am in the right neighborhood....

Thanks

 

[Red VelVette]

They will in general let you go on the high side. I would say they easily do $15K +/-.

BTW-I had AON on my 78 and they were great to work with and the only real limitation was not using for daily transportation. They were OK with an occaisional drive to the office to "show it off" and more importantly were fine with taking it on a date with my wife w/o having to keep it in sight meaning we were still covered if we went to dinner and a movie.

 

[corvted]

I would just like to get some opinions on this issue as well. What would a fair "agreed value" be for an 86 coupe totally original, in excellent condition with 11,000 miles on it? Just want to see if i am in the right neighborhood....

Thanks

I looked at internet prices when I found an agreed value to live with. After looking at vettes that had the same mileage and condition I found that $15000 would be about right. But that was when I had 38,000 miles. You have very low miles. Search around you might be surprize at what you car is worth. Good luck

 

[cjs2]

thanks for the help guys!