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Leland West Insurance: This specialty insurance company has over 25 years of experience and regarded as one of the most reliable and trustworthy insurers. Some key highlights they offer are: Phone help, choose your repair shop, Lower premiums, and agreed coverage value. These are all important aspects when choosing an antique auto insurance coverage that fits your needs.
American Hobbyist Insurance: This company is another great antique auto insurance insurer. They are available in 44 states, not including: Alaska, Hawaii, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Oklahoma or Virginia. Highlights of their insurance company for antique autos includes: flexible mileage limits, Inflation guard, spare parts coverage and Per policy – one liability charge- not per car.
Grundy Worldwide: Unlike American Hobbyist Insurance, Grundy Worldwide covers just what they say, worldwide. They are a big leader in antique automobile insurance industry. What kind of antique auto insurance coverage can you expect from Grundy worldwide? Here are some factors that make this company truly stand out:
- Agreed Value
- Model year limitation not a factor
- Higher limits on liability
- For 30 days on newly acquired cars, you receive automatic coverage.
- Unlike most insurance companies, Grudy offers unlimited mileage.
- Other features include: Spare parts, towing and labor, trip interruption, inflation guard, etc.
Being that there are so many choices outside the 3 listed above, it is important you follow a few steps to ensure complete coverage. Always go with a reputable company. If you cannot find anything on them, good or bad, they have not had much experience, or may have something to hide. Another good idea is to get a professional appraisal before committing to an antique auto insurance policy through a company. The professional appraisal allows you to understand how much your car is worth and is proof of how much your car is worth. By the books, the antique car you own may be worth 26k, but maybe you put in 80k worth of work into the car. These are very important aspects to consider. It is ok to ask questions, so do so. Make sure you understand the policies ins and outs. Do not assume something is covered, have the policy writer show you. An antique car is a prized possession and if something should happen to it, have peace of mind it will be covered. There are not many situations worse than putting a lot of money, time and effort into something and then have it gone in the blink of an eye. Also be aware of the requirements of the policy and make sure you can meet them. Do not get a policy that only allows 1k miles when you want to drive it more. You increase risk the more you drive the vehicle. If something was to happen and you were past the 1k mileage mark, your insurance would be voided. Remember these points, and you will be on your way to attaining a great antique auto policy.
A major difference in the insurances is the driving aspect. Antique vehicles are really not driven except for maintenance purposes. Regular vehicle insurance is designed for those vehicles that will be driven daily. Example: to and from work, family trips, etc. The highest mileage insurance company usually only goes to around 6 thousand mile a year. A true antique car will see somewhere between 500-1500 miles a year. This is only due to maintenance and road shows. It is known antique car owners put a lot of money and care into their vehicles. It is only necessary that coverage is designed to go along with that need.
Requirements of Antique Auto Insurance
Most requirements will stay in the same range. After all, we are talking about a car that is a prized possession. Below are some typical requirements you will find while shopping for antique automobile insurance.
1. The automobile will have to be a restoration, original, or in the process of being restored when coverage is allotted.
2. Certain mileage requirement a year, typically ranging from 1 thousand to 6 thousand miles a year.
3. Must meet the requirement of 25 years or older.
4. Owner must posses a “daily” vehicle that does not include the antique vehicle.
5. The antique automobile must be under lock and key when not in use.
If you notice, antique automobile insurance does come with strict guidelines. These guidelines were put in place so there would be no such abuse for coverage. If you are an antique car owner who enjoys riding in your car daily or more than 6k miles a year, some insurance carriers allow for such use as long as the car has additional insurance coverage. For most people this would be too expensive and not plausible.
Where Can I Find it?
As with all insurance offerings, there are many places to search for when online. The best thing to do is shop around to find the best policy to fit your needs. Keep in mind, the cheapest does not always mean the worst and the most expensive does not always mean the best. It is important to choose an insurance company that will be able to handle your claim if you are involved in an accident; the car is stolen, or even vandalized. It is a shame that these things happen, however, they do, and you need to make sure your hard work and effort will not be fruitless if there were to be a problem. Insurance is designed for an owner to have a sound mind in case these incidents do happen. To cover yourself further, you may want to consider getting a professional appraisal. This in itself will save many hassles on the value of your car. The more steps you take now to protect yourself, the better it will pay off in the end if you had to make a claim.