Antique Car and Truck Insurance

[desoto1939]

This has been posted on both forums:

Please beaware of a major issue that you all need to know. There is waht is called inthe insurance world as stated valued and cash value.

With the antique car specilatiy companys like Grundy, JC Taylor they have what is stated valued. This is the value that you and they have agreed upon when you filed you application. In this type of insuracne the car is not depreciated like in you regular car insurance as in a cash value.

If you have had an accident with your regular car the car has a blue book value and it depreciates over time and with milage and condition. This is just like when you take the car off the delaers lot and the car is not worth what you paid.

If you insurace with a cash value company then you have an old car that is used and they go by the blue book value. A 1940 Ply is used even if restored and is worth nothing.

There is a major discussion ob this every year at the AACA convention that is held in Philadelphia in Feb. The stated value is the only way to insure your car.

The cost is very cheap I have my 39 Desoto insured for 15K with full collision and comprehensive and it costs me $115 a year. The compnay that I use is Grundy. They do not have any limit on the amount of miles that I put on the car each year. JC Taylor has a 2500 mile limit.

Please, and I again please check your policys to make sure that if your car is totaled in anaccidnet that you will get the entire amount that you THINK again what you THINK it is insured for you might be in for a very big surprise and find out that the car has no value.

Call several antique car insurance companies and get a quote. I had an accident and crumpled a rear fender and Grundy paid out with out any question to the tune of 1500 and the policy was never increased.

Call me if you want to discuss.

Rich Hartung

desoto1939@aol.com

[Norm's Coupe]

Rich........everything you said about insurance is true, with one exception. I have JC Taylor Insurance for my coupe. I do not have a mileage limit stated in the policy. I've had my coupe insured with them since I bought it back in 1995. Prior to that I had my 70 Impala insured through them also. Never did have a limit on mileage. It simply says I can drive the car anywhere for pleasure, club activities and shows, but not to work on a regular basis. Sounds like the price of insurance is about the same for both companies.

That said, you can buy regular car insurance for your old cars too, and get a stated value coverage. You just have to have the car appraised prior to insuring it. Then just about any company selling car insurance will cover it at stated value. However, usually those companies will have a much higher premium than those like Grundy or JC Taylor.

Edited October 15, 2009 by Norm's Coupe

[desoto1939]

Norm:

The reason why I piriganly posted the information about the speciality company is because of a gentleman asking which insuracne to use for his antique truck.

An d from my attendance at the AACA conventions I thought it was important to let the members know the difference between stated value and cash value. Just trying to save someone from thinking that they have coverage and then later on find out that they do not have coverage.

JC Taylor is about 20 miles from my home. When i first contacted them years ago they did have a limit on the amount of miles that you could drive your car. I also had insurance with Congdon and Skelly and they had a 2500 mile limit. One year I went over the 2500 miles and they wrote me a letter informing me that they were going to drop me because of the mileage.

Hense forth I dropped them and went with Grundy. My father in-law had JC Taylor and at one point i remember when completing my application they asked for an accounting of the odemeter reading each year. They might have changed this over the years but this is what I was presented with when I was looking at a Antique car insuracne company.

Rich Hartung.

desoto1939@aol.com

[Merle Coggins]

So they actually checked your mileage every year?

[Young Ed]

I have condon and skelly and they do state 2500 miles per year per vehicle. However for the past few years they have stopped asking for mileage on the renewal form. So I don't know how they'd know you went over. They also state if you are going on a trip and tell them ahead of time you're going over they won't care.

[desoto1939]

Merle:

Yes Congdon and Skelly did check my milage and this is why I switched companies. What happened is that my local club is 25 miles from my home and inthe one year I did a great deal of touring with the club. At the end of the year when i renewed the insuracne I had to list the mileage on the odemeter. I went over the 2500 miles. Not one trip was over the 2500 but it was the entire years woth of club events. So since i did not keep track of the mileage I got hit with this issue upon renewal.

Update I just checked JC Taylor and they do not currently have a mileage limit but they state that they use a mileage limit of 2500 for underwiting purposes. I do not know what that means. But underwirting uses certain tables to estimate costs and if the esitmate a 2500 mileage limit to determine the cost of insurace for your car then they might state that you have exceed there linmits and then try to increase your policy. I would suggest that anyone that has JC Taylor to contact them to get a better understanding and to post the restults on the forum.

Just trying to be helpful.

Edited October 15, 2009 by desoto1939
added more comments.

[Norm's Coupe]

Rich,

Maybe JC Taylor did do that years ago, but.......I have never been ask if I go over 2500 miles a year or not by JC Taylor. Have never had to submit the odometer reading on the car either. So........there is no way they would know how many miles I drive my coupe per year. So........I'm not going to call them and ask. It's best to let a sleeping dog sleep. Don't want them to add that clause to my policy, even though I drive it much less than that.

Lets face it. On these old cars it's very easy to play with the odometer reading anyway if someone wanted to.

[P-12 Tommy]

I've used American Collectors for the '66 Charger and the '41. 2500 mile tier. $90.00 a year. I never planned on driving more than 2500 miles a year anyways. The comp and collision was worth it.

Tom

[steveplym]

I agree that I would go with a classic insurance and go with a stated value policy. Actually I work for a large insurance company and if we had to total a vehicle that was not listed in Nada. That would be any vehicle older than '89. We would have to do a market search to see what that car would sell for. That would be a written quote from a reputable dealer.

Just my personal preference, but if you get hit in your classic vehicle and are insured with Grundy, Hagerty, or one of the others go through them for your damages. They know how to handle claims on these older vehicles and will be best for you to deal with in my opinion.