Classic-car auto insurance is cheaper... Fort Worth Star Telegram
29.08.09
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Got a classic car, like a 1960s-era Mustang or a gull-wing Mercedes? You could be paying too much to insure it. Severely half of classic car owners put their vehicles on a standard auto insurance policy without realizing that they could be paying too much for inadequate coverage, said Ford Heacock III, chief foreman of Heacock Classic, a Florida-based insurer of antique and collectible cars. "A lot of people who are into car collecting as a hobby might not be paying distinction to things like insurance," he said. "They just call their agent and add the car to their policy." Or maybe you inherited Aunt Mabel’s Chrysler 300 and are heedless that policies for collector cars even exist. Insuring a classic with a traditional auto policy is a mistake for several reasons, Heacock said. For one, traditional insurance is based on the notion that a car’s value will decrease over time. But a paragon car is likely to appreciate, especially if you’re restoring it. You don’t want to get a depreciated value if something happens to your primal 1967 Jaguar XKE, he noted. But if you have a standard policy, that’s generally what you’ll get. When buying a classic car insurance game plan, which is offered by dozens of specialized companies nationwide, you and the insurer agree to the car’s replacement value. That penalty will be based on your assessment of the car’s value and the price the car has brought at auction and in collectors’ sales. If the car is destroyed, you’ll get that agreed-to value without having to negotiation about depreciation. It may seem counterintuitive that the premiums would be lower on a policy that provides a higher replacement cost. But the reason is clean: Classic and collectible cars are pampered (and driven infrequently and carefully). How much cheaper is classic car insurance? The answer varies to a large based on the insurer and vehicle. A State Farm spokesman said it might cost $470 annually to smokescreen a 1968 Camaro with a traditional policy — with a lot of caveats: the driver has 30 years of experience, multiple discounts and a ideal driving record. State Farm would cut that rate by about 20 percent to $380 annually if you mentioned that it was a collectible car and that you planned to pressure it mainly to shows and to show off, State Farm spokesman Bob Devereux said. Heacock’s classic car insurance enterprise would charge even less for similar coverage — about $290 — and wouldn’t even inquire about the specifics of your driving /. Why? Because State Farm uses dozens of factors to price your policy, while Heacock has a simpler model. It looks predominantly at the car’s value and how it is going to be used. If you’re driving it solely in parades and to and from auto shows, the wager of getting T-boned on the highway — or slamming into another driver — is pretty slim, Heacock said. The low prices finish with plenty of restrictions, however. Heacock doesn’t cover youthful drivers. (Don’t apply if you’re younger than 30.) The car can’t be driven more than 5,000 miles a year, and it had more have a home in the garage, not in the driveway or yard. State Farm specifies that it’s insuring you to drive in parades and to car shows — not to m or to the supermarket. "We’re not looking to insure your second car," Heacock said. "We’re only interested in insuring cars that are getting some addition attention." What isn’t necessarily required to secure classic car insurance is an expensive antique vehicle. If a car draws enthusiasts and is driven like a collectible, it can doubtlessly be insured like a collectible, said Candysse Miller, executive director of the Insurance Information Network of California and an avowed car buff. The Chevrolet Impala that you had in college could modify, as could Grandma’s Morris Minor. You could also get classic car insurance on a late-model Ferrari, Lamborghini or Corvette. But the properly insurer and policy are going to vary based on the type of car you have and how (or whether) you drive it. This is a highly specialized market, Miller famed. Some companies specialize in antique cars, some in muscle cars or race cars, others in elegant classics. Moreover, the regard charged for a car that is on display is a fraction of what it is for a car that’s on the road, Heacock said. Heacock figures that a collectible car can typically be insured for a scarce as hen's teeth amounting to 1 percent of its value. If you’re in a car club, ask your fellow Duesenberg or Corvair enthusiasts where they bought their insurance, she said.
Source:
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