There are actually three different types of car insurance coverage. Most of your everyday used cars are covered under the ACV (actual cash value) plan. There are a lot of collector car owners who insure their collector cars with this plan due to lack of knowledge of specialty programs that are designed for collectors. When you have an ACV plan the actual value of your car depreciates each year that your car gets older.



One of the specialty programs that you can choose is the Stated Value program. Not all insurance companies offer this program, but for those that do, this allows you to state the value of your collector car above depreciated book value. Even with Stated Value coverage, your car can still depreciate and claims will only cover up to the stated value of your car.

The other specialty program is Agreed Value. With Agreed Value coverage there is no car depreciation. In the event of an accident that results in a total loss of your car then the Agreed Value coverage guarantees that you will receive full value of your collector car.

Policy restrictions vary from state to state and agency to agency. There are also different restrictions with the different specialty programs. Some specialty programs only allow you to drive your collector car for a certain amount of miles per year, while others only allow you to drive your collector car in parades or car shows. Most specialty programs prohibit your collector car for commercial use. This includes public transportation, delivery, racing, and daily use.

Most specialty programs have an age limit for the driver that the program covers. A person who is 30 years old or older is the average age that is required for most programs, while some programs allow anyone over 21 years old.

Other things to consider with collector car insurance is that the specialty programs offer cheaper insurance rates than the normal insurance policies. Plus many insurance companies only require a one time liability fee even for multiple cars.

Some insurance companies offer an insurance plan for collector cars that are not driven but are being stored. This is much cheaper insurance because the car is never on the road. Keep in mind that with this type of coverage, you cannot take your car on the road, and if you do decide to take it for a drive, you will want to make sure that you change the type of coverage you have on it, even if it is only temporary.

The big thing to remember when you are shopping for collector car insurance is that you do want to have coverage for your collector car. You have spent time and money on your collector car and you take pride in it, so obviously you want to make sure it is covered in case of an accident. Also remember that no matter how safe of a driver you may be, an accident can still happen due to the fault of someone else.