Collector Car Insurance

[Rafe Hollister]

I originally bought insurance from American Collectors. It was full coverage, no deductible and I set the value of my car at 10,000.00. My mileage limit was 5,000 miles. It cost 158.00 per year. Last year they raised the rates, so I lowered my car value to 8,000.00 for 200.00 per year. But this year they raised it to 312.00. There has been no change on my end, they say the typical 'expenses went up'.
So I gotta call around about rates. Who do you guys use?
Frustrated,
Rafe Hollister

[Warren Webb]

Have you called them & asked if some claim has made this increase? My policy hasn't changed in 2 years.

[Rafe Hollister]

Yes I called, they said their expenses went up. What company do you use?

[StudeRich]

OH, Oh, I guess a Fraudulent Claim could do that !

[noacronym]

I use Wade S Dunbar Agency in Laurinburg NC and they set me up with Hagerty. I'm quite happy.

[Rafe Hollister]

I just did an online application for Haggerty, they are the same as what I have. Thanks.
Rafe

[Jeffry Cassel]

Got State Farm on the Avanti for less than that. Got Haggerty on the rest; they went up too but not that much. Might be time to go shopping for insurance.

[E. Davis]

I have Heacock and have had it for 12 years. I have two cars one valued at 10K and one 25K. No mileage limitations I know of except can't use them for work. They did raise the rate this year by about 75 bucks but it is 339.00 total for both cars, full coverage including uninsured driver.

[bensherb]

I changed my VW (Herbie) to State Farm classic insurance. I had their regular insurance at $28+ a month for years and it suddenly went up a bunch. I went in to complain/ask why and they offered me the classic they had recently started. It dropped down to $7 a month, they valued Herbie at $9000 which was way more than I expected.

[Rafe Hollister]

I will check State Farm Classic.
Rafe

[JLB]

Look up Grundy Insurance. They write "Agreed Value" policies, not stated value policies. My experience has been positive, and the rates were more than competitive.(Read lower)
John

[Warren Webb]

I have American Collectors too. I just added another car to my policy now totaling 4. A 68 Pontiac LeMans convertible, 64 Daytona hardtop, 62 Champ & now a 62 Stude convertible. Adding the62 y premium goes up $16.00 for $530 something to 7/31/2026. No complaints on this!

[Rafe Hollister]

Thanks so much for all the leads you guys gave me. I followed up on all of them. Some were more than mine, some same... but Grundy was half! This is what I was paying two years ago before American Col started raising prices on me. So thanks very much!
My previous dealings with Amer Col the people I talked with were very nice and somewhat personable, but not this time. Some of the other companies/people I called had never even heart of Studebaker (they had there highest rates)!
And if any of you are Hispanic, I would like to say "mucho" (I heard that means a lot to you).
Rafe Hollister

[BRUCESTUDE]

My experience with JC Taylor is somewhat of the same story, they wouldn’t insure my M16 fire truck. Usually there’s never been an issue adding a vehicle. It sounded like they have a different underwriter which has tighter restrictions? Anyway State Farm gave me a good deal, with just liability as I requested.

[noacronym]

deleted by poster

[Hallabutt]

I have over 20 cars insured with Hagerty. The total of my bill has been less then $1200/yr. That includes the Red Rooster a 100pt Pebble Beach car. Admittedly not all cars are insured for driving, but they are all "Agreed Value." That's different then the "Stated Value" which I believe that you stated that you had, in a previous thread. That would not even come close to being competitive with Hagerty. Correct me if I got any of this wrong regarding your previous posting. Regardless IMO you need to talk to Hagerty, JC Taylor and Grundy. They are all have very competitive rates.

[Rafe Hollister]

I got Grundy for the rate I was looking for, half of AC. But what is the difference between 'agreed value' and 'stated value'?
Rafe

[Dads Baby]

"Insurance is like Tequila. You can choose the cheapest one, just don’t complain about the headache later."

[JLB]

Rafe, you asked what is the difference between an "Agreed Value" and a "Stated Value" policy.
Here is my understanding of the difference. I'll start with a Stated Value policy. You tell the insurance company what value you want on your car,the insurance company calculates the premium. I'll assume your car is totaled and you make your claim to your insurance provider. For this hypothetical example, I'll put the stated value at $20,000.00.
Now to be fair, not all out comes are like what I'm going to say, but the potential for this outcome is there and happens. The insurance company does their "research" and finds that cars like yours sell for only $10,000.00 and that is the amount they pay. Somewhere in the policy, the letters "ACV" appear or the actual wording, "Actual Cash Value" usually appear. The real bummer in what I just outlined is that you have been paying your premium based on the $20,000.00 but they only give you $10,000.00 and there is no refund for the difference in premium.
Not all cars are totaled.............using the numbers previously given here, your car is damaged, but not totaled. The insurance company says cars like yours sell for $10,000.00 and they will use that $10,000.00 number in determining whether or not they'll pay to repair it or total it. You can argue that your car is worth more, but it will be an uphill battle. You'll need a lot of photos, receipts and perhaps an appraisal to backup your higher valuation. And you would need to have this documentation in advance of your claim, not after it burned up in a fire.

Now for the "Agreed Value" policy. You and the insurance company AGREE on the value of your car. Again, I'll use $20,000.00 as the Agreed Value. The insurance company calculates the premium and you pay it. Your car is totaled.......You get a check for $20,000.00. Or, it is not totaled, the insurance company will pay up to the $20,000.00 to repair it.

Others on this Forum, will correct me if I have any of this wrong. In my opinion, Agreed Value is the only way to go. A member of a local car club I belong to had a garage fire years ago and his early Mustang was badly burned. He told us he had it insured for $40,000.00, and that was the amount he would get for the Mustang................He got less than half that amount. He had a Stated Value Policy.
In my opinion, he had it over insured at $40,000.00, but the insurance company accepted the $40,000.00 valuation and charged him a premium accordingly, only to be disappointed when he made the claim.
John