Cobra Jet
Well-Known Member
For those posting that they are getting agreed value policies through "standard" insurance carriers - unfortunately as you have found out, those carriers are not offering the same policy provisions as genuine Collector Car carriers.
I also forgot to add:
READ THE FINE PRINT in any insurance policy for ANYTHING you are insuring, period. Most folks don't read ANYTHING, they just shop for lowest/best price, sign and pay their premiums/renewals.... until they need to really use their insurance for a claim - then it's too late to finding out, whoops you're really NOT covered for X-claim based on that fine print you neglected to read.
Collector Car Insurance is for those looking to protect a vehicle that is either one that will increase in value over time, one that may not have any exhorbitant monetary value but strong sentimental value and for those who don't really drive the vehicle all that much in a given year.
Outside of getting Collector Car Insurance, a few things to check with your State:
1) What does your State consider a collector vehicle (age)?
2) Does your State require special registration in order to qualify for Collector Car insurance?
3) If insured as a CC, does the State require annual registration renewal, or does the car become exempt?
4) Does the CC have to go through any annual or bi-annual inspection process?
5) Are special tags required?
6) Does the State have an annual mileage cap for vehicles insured/registered/tagged as such? Believe it or not, a CC policy may allow say 10,000 miles per year, but a State may only allow 3,500. Such a limitation at the State level has to be followed, because if a car is inspected the following year and it has surpassed the State allowed mile limitations, they could deny or revoke renewal.
Every State is different, EACH vehicle is different, driver experience & background is different, etc. So someone can ask me what I pay per year, but no matter what I pay, it's not going to be the same as the next, or the what the person asking may pay.
Some of the current Collector Car Carriers do have very strict guidelines and a lot of fine print in their policies. It's important to read and understand what you CAN do when insured by such a carrier, not so much as what you can't do.
For those shopping, just an FYI - some Collector Car Carriers will not insure a new customer vehicle if:
1) The owner has had moving violations within X-amount of years (and in some instances IF another driver in the household has had any violations).
2) The owner has had any at fault accidents within the last 3-5 years (not with the collector car, but with any of their insured vehicles).
3) The owner does not have another auto policy to insure their daily driver or other vehicles in the household.
4) The vehicle is not stored in a locked facility (home garage or other).
5) The vehicle is strictly a project/non-driving, unregisterable vehicle (some will)
6) The vehicle is not old enough
7) The vehicle does not fall into a collector car category, tier, or type (antique, classic, limited edition, limited production, etc).
If your vehicle is a true investment, be sure to look for Collector Car Carriers that will offer (and it's specifically stated in their Policy) that your vehicle will appreciate in value by X% per quarter. For instance, with American Collector Insurance, my vehicle value appreciates 2% every quarter - so 8% increase annually in the Agreed Value. It's clearly stated in their policy provisions, its clearly in print on my policy docs and I see the increase in value at each renewal. Some may be saying, well so what, it's not like you are getting paid that amount... Well, yes and no. In the event my Cobra ever gets totalled for x-event (accident, fire, flood, etc), yes I'll get paid that Agreed Value. In the event I ever sell the Cobra, the Agreed Value is also documentation that the car IS and can be insured at X-value as documented which could be a selling point.
Just some things to think about when shopping around.
Hopefully some of the above is helpful.
I also forgot to add:
READ THE FINE PRINT in any insurance policy for ANYTHING you are insuring, period. Most folks don't read ANYTHING, they just shop for lowest/best price, sign and pay their premiums/renewals.... until they need to really use their insurance for a claim - then it's too late to finding out, whoops you're really NOT covered for X-claim based on that fine print you neglected to read.
Collector Car Insurance is for those looking to protect a vehicle that is either one that will increase in value over time, one that may not have any exhorbitant monetary value but strong sentimental value and for those who don't really drive the vehicle all that much in a given year.
Outside of getting Collector Car Insurance, a few things to check with your State:
1) What does your State consider a collector vehicle (age)?
2) Does your State require special registration in order to qualify for Collector Car insurance?
3) If insured as a CC, does the State require annual registration renewal, or does the car become exempt?
4) Does the CC have to go through any annual or bi-annual inspection process?
5) Are special tags required?
6) Does the State have an annual mileage cap for vehicles insured/registered/tagged as such? Believe it or not, a CC policy may allow say 10,000 miles per year, but a State may only allow 3,500. Such a limitation at the State level has to be followed, because if a car is inspected the following year and it has surpassed the State allowed mile limitations, they could deny or revoke renewal.
Every State is different, EACH vehicle is different, driver experience & background is different, etc. So someone can ask me what I pay per year, but no matter what I pay, it's not going to be the same as the next, or the what the person asking may pay.
Some of the current Collector Car Carriers do have very strict guidelines and a lot of fine print in their policies. It's important to read and understand what you CAN do when insured by such a carrier, not so much as what you can't do.
For those shopping, just an FYI - some Collector Car Carriers will not insure a new customer vehicle if:
1) The owner has had moving violations within X-amount of years (and in some instances IF another driver in the household has had any violations).
2) The owner has had any at fault accidents within the last 3-5 years (not with the collector car, but with any of their insured vehicles).
3) The owner does not have another auto policy to insure their daily driver or other vehicles in the household.
4) The vehicle is not stored in a locked facility (home garage or other).
5) The vehicle is strictly a project/non-driving, unregisterable vehicle (some will)
6) The vehicle is not old enough
7) The vehicle does not fall into a collector car category, tier, or type (antique, classic, limited edition, limited production, etc).
If your vehicle is a true investment, be sure to look for Collector Car Carriers that will offer (and it's specifically stated in their Policy) that your vehicle will appreciate in value by X% per quarter. For instance, with American Collector Insurance, my vehicle value appreciates 2% every quarter - so 8% increase annually in the Agreed Value. It's clearly stated in their policy provisions, its clearly in print on my policy docs and I see the increase in value at each renewal. Some may be saying, well so what, it's not like you are getting paid that amount... Well, yes and no. In the event my Cobra ever gets totalled for x-event (accident, fire, flood, etc), yes I'll get paid that Agreed Value. In the event I ever sell the Cobra, the Agreed Value is also documentation that the car IS and can be insured at X-value as documented which could be a selling point.
Just some things to think about when shopping around.
Hopefully some of the above is helpful.
Sponsored
Last edited:
