Auto Insurance for Classic Cars

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a typical gearhead who’s been in love with engines your whole life, whether you’re one of those who has a soft spot for nostalgia, or whether you’re simply filthy rich and want an exotic yet conventionally classy way to show off your wealth.

If you decide to invest in a classic car, you’re going to need a completely different type of insurance for that vehicle, your usual methods for finding cheap car insurance rates might not be sufficient. And we are here to help you find it.

There are specific financial needs that most conventional car insurance companies are either unable or unwilling to meet when it comes to insuring a classic car. This makes auto insurance for classic cars harder to find and more expensive. So if you really want to protect your investment, you need to make sure it’s protected by the right kind of insurance and the right kind of insurance company.

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The Nature of Classic Car Insurance

To start, we want to explain one very important point that differentiates classic car insurance from regular car insurance. You see, with an everyday vehicle that you drive to work, school, the grocery store, or downtown for a fun night out, that vehicle will suffer wear and tear. It will depreciate in value. It will eventually get to the point where it is so old and broken down that it is no longer drivable. Classic cars, on the other hand, don’t get around that much. their purpose is to sit around and be appreciated, not used for everyday transportation needs. For this reason, especially if they’re well maintained, classic cars usually appreciate in value. It’s one thing to carry an insurance policy on a vehicle that will become less and less valuable (and, therefore, less and less costly to repair or replace) over time; it’s an entirely different financial risk to insure a vehicle that will only become more expensive to repair or replace as the years go by.

So how does a vehicle go from “conventional”  to “classic”? well, if it meets the following criteria, it could easily qualify for classic car insurance:

• The insured vehicle is not your primary driving vehicle
• If you drive the vehicle, you cannot drive it in excess of 7500 miles per year

On top of those criteria, classic car insurance companies may be reluctant to offer you an insurance policy on your vehicle if Any of the following circumstances apply to you:

• If you’re under the age of 25
• If you have less than 10 years of driving experience
• If you have a poor driving record
• If you do not safeguard the vehicle by protecting it from the elements in an enclosed structure
• If you do not own another vehicle which you use as your primary method of transportation
• If you don’t live in a state where classic car insurance companies do business
• If you plan on using your classic car for racing
• If your classic car is in disrepair

In the event that one or more of the items on the checklist above happened to apply to you or your vehicle, there’s a very real chance you may be denied classic car insurance by your chosen provider.

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Types of Classic Car Insurance

To offset the fact that the financial risk increases with your vehicle’s age, classic car insurance companies have created unique policies that cater to the special needs of classical cars, as well as their owners. On the surface, these policies seem very similar to conventional car insurance policies. They cover things like collision, medical payments, comprehensive, uninsured/underinsured motorists, and whatever the mandated liability limits are in your state. But they also offer unique types of coverage which regular motorists don’t have access to. Some of those options include:

• Coverage for spare parts – Obviously, parts for classic cars are hard to come by and notoriously expensive. Some of them may also be fragile I need to be handled with care. Whether it’s a greedy thief who wants to sell your spare parts on the black market, or whether it’s an accident that results in the destruction of that part, spare parts coverage well financially reimburse you if anything happens to those components.
• Auto Show medical reimbursement – Although it sounds like something that would only happen in a slapstick comedy, there is a small chance that someone may become injured while viewing or interacting with your classic vehicle at an auto show. In the case of such an unfortunate event, you can rest assured that your medical reimbursement coverage will help cover that person’s medical costs.
• Attendance coverage – Speaking of car shows, think of this type of coverage as a “classic car babysitter”. This coverage will protect you and your vehicle, financially speaking, even when you are away from it. Whether it is transported to a faraway car show, left on display at a dealership, or put anywhere where you do not have direct control over it and are not physically present, any damages that happen in your absence will be covered by your no attendance required coverage.
• Traveling coverage – If you happen to be traveling with your vehicle and you suffer an unfortunate mechanical breakdown, you may be eligible for reimbursement if you have any unplanned expenses such as food, lodging, or rental car, or damage to personal items.
• Roadside assistance – similar to the type of roadside assistance coverage you would expect from a conventional auto insurance policy, and then some. Roadside assistance for classic car insurance also includes flatbed truck towing to reduce the amount of damage your vehicle may sustain in transport.

How much does classic car insurance cost?

People may be surprised to learn that collector car insurance is actually relatively affordable compared to an automotive policy on your primary vehicle. Most of the savings come from the fact that the classic car is driven very few miles each year (if any) and that it is protected from external wear and tear by being kept indoors and out of sunlight. On top of that, many classic car insurance providers offer identical or similar discounts to those that you may already have on your primary vehicle’s policy. Some experts estimate that classic car insurance can be up to one-third less expensive than the premiums you’re paying right now for your everyday vehicle. The graph below illustrates a visual estimate of how much you can expect to pay for your classic car insurance depending on which state you live in:

Oregon
Rhode Island
Utah
Missouri
South Carolina
Texas
New York


20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200




$75
$114


$93
$141


$91
$138


$102
$155


$85
$129


$133
$202


$145
$219

Shopping around for classic car insurance also has many things in common with the regular auto insurance purchase process. Several major providers of regular car insurance also provide classic car insurance, and we’ll be happy to give you a quote. Furthermore, there are specific car insurance companies that exist to fill the niche market of financially protecting antique vehicles. Unfortunately, though, the onus is on you to contact these companies directly and get quotes from them; no matter how much they want your business, they’re not going to approach you first.

When you find a company like and you want to sit down to crack your policy, you’ll have to be concerned with the same things you would normally with any other insurance company. You want to pay attention to the fine print, review your coverage at least once a year, and choose a carrier that has strong experience financially protecting vehicles like yours.

If you’re ready to start shopping around for a classic car insurance carrier, we can help you out. Just use our FREE insurance comparison tool and we’ll have quotes ready for you in a few minutes.

 

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