I’ve been talking to classic car insurance companies the last two weeks because my present insurance company, Erie, will not honor my most recent appraisal. This puts me at an approximate $8,000.00 disadvantage if I have a total loss. The up side is I can drive my car any where, any time. It also allows my daughters to drive the Chevelle. Their 17 and 21. Both very responsible young ladies who love the car.

After speaking with several classic insurance companies I’m being told I can’t use my car to run errands which would include driving to the grocery store to pick up hamburger and beer for a Sunday picnic. I can’t drive my car to go to dinner on Friday or Saturday evening. I can’t take my car to attend a wedding. I had one customer service person tell me I couldn’t take my car out for a Sunday drive unless it involved a car related function like a car show, car club meeting or repairs. Also no drivers under the age of 25 years old and / or 10 years of driving experience. I understand that they don’t want the cars to be used as daily drivers but these restrictions seem a bit over the top to me. I read a post earlier that someone had their car stolen while eating dinner at a restaurant and the insurance company refused to pay their claim. Not sure if the story is true but it seems to be one of the restrictions.

I love to drive my car and it gives me a rash that I’m willing to pay for insurance but I’m being told when and how I can use MY CAR.

Have any of you found an insurance company that is more flexible? How do you deal with these restrictions?

I’ve contacted Hagerty, Grundy, American Collectors and Rally.

I am going with Grundy. They seem the best so far.

I read a post earlier that someone had their car stolen while eating dinner at a restaurant and the insurance company refused to pay their claim. Not sure if the story is true but it seems to be one of the restrictions.

I recall that post said that the poster was going with Hagerty because His friends Mustang was stolen while he was in a resturant eating and Hagerty paid with NO HASSLE and thats why he now had Hagerty .

Haggerty is the best,..no hassles. AAA in Southern California is now selling "agreed upon value" policies with no mileage restrictions. They seem to understand, like Haggerty, that hobbyists with expensive cars, with a high emotional investment, are not going to spin donuts in the dangerous part of town at midnight!

I switched over to AON collector car insurance from my regular insurance company (State Farm) after reading other posts about this last week. NO mileage limitation and NO usage restriction (except business, racing or daily use) and they insure the car for an Agreed Value with no appraisal required. You set the value and they agree to it and that's the amount you are reimbursed in the event of a total loss. They just require that own one vehicle less than 20 years old to ensure your classic isn't being used as a primary vehicle for daily use.

You can get an instant online quote and apply online, it's quick and you just need to email or mail them some pics of your car. I got my policy approved the next day. www.aoncollectorcar.com

Whoever you go with just make sure you get an "agreed value" policy, not "stated value." They are not the same thing, there is a big difference.

Bubba;
Have you tried J.C.Taylor...... I have them on all three of my cars with NO Restrictions.

Jim,
I did call JC Taylor. Their restrictions are similar to Hagerty and Grundy.

Jay,
I called AON and spoke with them for a while. They seem to be the most lenient with their restrictions. Their driver age restriction is five years driving, not ten years or 25 and older. They do have a restriction on shopping malls but running errands and going to dinner is fine with them. I didn’t ask about towing.

Thanks for the replies.

I got something called the Chrome program through my insurance and they just asked me a serries of questions.We agreed on a price the rounded it up I like it so far =) Ask if our insurance has the "chrome" policy

I just went with aon too. They let you take it to work a couple times run errands and drive it for a cruise through town when you like. They told me no problem going to the grocery store or running to walmart quick as long as i'm not doing it everyday. They were the most lenient classic ins co. They have $100 towing max they're pay.

I just went with aon too. They let you take it to work a couple times run errands and drive it for a cruise through town when you like. They told me no problem going to the grocery store or running to walmart quick as long as i'm not doing it everyday. They were the most lenient classic ins co. They have $100 towing max they're pay.

Are their rates reasonable ?

They quoted me $150 annual for $25,000.00 agreed value.

Sorry, $159.00 per year........

I have Hagerty and I didn't get any crap like that. The sales rep told me I could occasionally drive it to work or the mall. I don't because I don't want the dings, but I take it out for a Sunday ride when ever the weather permits. The big thing they seemed interested in was it being in a locked garage when not in use, which it would be anyway.

Sorry, $159.00 per year........

That's a really good deal.

Ocean1,
I went as far up as the president’s office at Erie Insurance. I’ve been with them for over twenty-two years. I’ve had one 1 point ticket and one minor accident ($2,200.00 pay out) in that time. I was told by Erie that they were not in the business of insuring classic cars and the only reason they agreed to insure mine was because we had been with them for so long.

Rick,
When I spoke with the sales rep at Hagerty via their 800 phone number posted on their website I was clearly told “no malls, can not leave the car unattended at a restaurant and I could not drive the car to work”. It’s possible to get different stories from different sales people. I’d check the small print. Their more likely to stick to the rules when it comes time to pay out $20,000.00 +/-.

Charlie
I know that mom and dad have Hagerty and that the club just switched its insurance to Hagerty. I've read through their policy and I think you might want to talk with another rep. I plan on using Hagerty once I get mine done. Although I need to find out more about the storage situation cause mine is locked up at mom and dads right now.

JJ

Jim,
I did call JC Taylor. Their restrictions are similar to Hagerty and Grundy.

Jay,
I called AON and spoke with them for a while. They seem to be the most lenient with their restrictions. Their driver age restriction is five years driving, not ten years or 25 and older. They do have a restriction on shopping malls but running errands and going to dinner is fine with them. I didn’t ask about towing.

Thanks for the replies.

Avoid the shopping malls, gyms and most parking lots in general. That's just asking for trouble. Don't even like to take my VW there. Had a 16-year old girl back into my VW at the gym in her dad's F350 work truck. Hitch ball did about $1200 damage to my car. AON and the others are good if you want to be able to drive your Chevelle occassionally, but don't get carried away with it.

Alright, just called Hagerty to bump my value up. The guy said even if you are driving your car to work and make 3 claims from accidents at 8:30 in the a.m. the worst they will do is non-renew you. They will still pay out even if you admit you are taking the car to work. He said a stop at the store is fine, letting anyone in your household drive the car is fine also. I am sticking with Hagerty! BTW, $35,000 value is $300/yr.

-Joe

Hmmm... I see lots of people going "Well, Hagerty told me this" or "Hagerty SAID that they would cover it" and even some "Hagerty covered this situation for me."

That all sounds nice -- but if the written policy doesn't have it, then you shouldn't be betting on it.

I'd personally want a policy where the written contract is clear what would be covered. Some phone rep telling me "oh yeah, we'd cover that" doesn't really mean anything to me -- and shouldn't mean that much to any of you -- if your written policy isn't clear that it would be covered.

So, all I'm saying is -- please carefully review your WRITTEN policy before doing anything. Word of mouth isn't going to mean much if they decide that you're the case where they aren't going to cover and don't have to because the written policy says so...

- John...

on the other hand, if a particular type of driving or activity isn't expressly restricted the company is going to have a hard time denying a claim for that activity. I glanced through my policy and it restricts use as a daily driver and lists covered activities, cruises, cars shows etc. It does not list, mall parking lots, restaurants, Sunday drives, driving it to work occationally as restricted outright.... at best it is implied. Obviously you don't like Hagerty, was it an unfriendly sales rep? In the first post, I could see where red flags might have gone up when you asked the insurance sales person if it was alright to stop at the local supermarket for beer while driving your classic.

on the other hand, if a particular type of driving or activity isn't expressly restricted the company is going to have a hard time denying a claim for that activity.

Possibly. I'm not sure I want to hire a lawyer to argue what a "daily driver" consists of. If that isn't explicitly defined -- but they say that you can't use it as a "daily driver," then not expressly listing something might not save you...

Obviously you don't like Hagerty, was it an unfriendly sales rep? In the first post, I could see where red flags might have gone up when you asked the insurance sales person if it was alright to stop at the local supermarket for beer while driving your classic.

Are you talking to me on that or just the first poster? If you are referring to me (since your first part seemed to be in response to me) as far as liking Hagerty, I have no problem with them. I've just been in a lot of discussions here in the past about people getting cheaper insurance through a classic company -- and when I question them about certain things, they say that the "rep told them it would be covered" -- even though their policy actually doesn't. They MIGHT do it -- but the point of insurance is NOT having to gamble with whether or not you'd be covered.

The one that, so far, all of the "classic" companies that I checked with seem to have problems with is this: "What if I drive my classic to work a few times a year to show to co-workers and it gets hit while in the parking lot?" I've had some reps tell me it would be covered -- and I've had some tell me that it wouldn't. Looking at the actual policies (from those that will actually SHOW them to you BEFORE you buy it), they could easily argue that that is NOT covered.

Note that this AON place is new to me -- it seems decent so far. I plan to look into them more.

That being said, I still have my local AAA covering my wife's 70 SS. Because we like to drive it whenever and wherever we want. Unfortunately, they don't offer "agreed value" coverage here. So, if it was actually totaled, I'd have to deal with them trying to determine replacement value. :(

- John...

Just beware, AON highest limits are 100/300/100. In WI, that doesn't cover it. The judgement for wrongful death invloving a motor vehicle in WI is $500,000 max, so I have 250/500/100.

Just beware, AON highest limits are 100/300/100. In WI, that doesn't cover it. The judgement for wrongful death invloving a motor vehicle in WI is $500,000 max, so I have 250/500/100.

Where did you find that info regarding wrongful death? I did a quick search on the internet but couldn't find it for Ohio.

That is a law specific to WI. Other states may have it. I know because I used to be in the ins. business.

Just beware, AON highest limits are 100/300/100. In WI, that doesn't cover it. The judgement for wrongful death invloving a motor vehicle in WI is $500,000 max, so I have 250/500/100.
No there not i just got them and mine are 250/500/250. The 100/300/100 is just what they have on the internet, if you call them you can get higher coverage. I just recieved my paperwork and it was like $8 more for the extra coverage. I have mine for $14000 and no deductables and its $245 a yr.

I've had a bad experience involving Erie and a classic car and I would never, ever, insure another car through them. I'm using Hagerty now, I hope to never find out personally what their claims process is like.

I recently went through the process of compairing 6 different speciality insurance companies. It was quite mind boggleing. They all use a different format to state their policies. A big thing in my mind was the liability limits. If you run your car into a new Lexus and push it into a newer BMW, how much coverage do you think you'll need ? The different restrictions had me scratching my head too. Check out a bunch of these companies on the web. Most have on line qoutes. Ask questions. It took a couple of companies about 3 or 4 days to respond to my questions. That pretty much turned me off right there. Some where very hung up on "stock" versus "modified", with the modified classification costing twice as much. How many of us are driving a completely stock car ? Good luck ! I hope you never have to use your insurance. If you do I hope you've made the right choice.

Rick,
I have nothing against Hagerty based on their sales person. It seems like most of the people in the in the Chevelle club are using Hagerty. I will read their policy along with the other policies before I buy the coverage. I write contracts at work and have to enforce them at least once a week with our sub-contractors. I have learned to believe in the power of the written word. I believe if the insurance company wrote the restrictions it's in their favor. It’s not always what is written but sometimes what the intent is weather you understand it or not. Besides, Hagerty has plenty of clients. The little guys need a few bucks too. I'll go with the company who comes closest to letting me use my car the way I want to based on their policy and restrictions.

I also think that it’s perfectly fine to stop and buy hamburger and beer while driving my Chevelle. I tried it on my bicycle but I kept falling over and breaking the beer bottles :-)

Try SNEED no mileage limits, no usage restrictions.

Check with Alex LaRue. http://www.larueinsurance.net/ He is a chevelle owner and ACES member. And while you can get a Rate online, call him. He is great to talk with.

but the point of insurance is NOT having to gamble with whether or not you'd be covered.

Not to be a PIA but....
You're correct, but only from a buyers perspective. the real purpose of insurance is to make the insurance company as much money as possible while paying out a little as possible, period. They really don't care about you or your car. It's strictly business, a gamble that you will pay them and not hurt your car. You're betting that you'll pay them and if you do hurt your car, they will pay you for the damage. Any way that they can improve the odds in their favor with restrictions, etc. (and still sell policies) they will.

Rick is right, read the policies closely. Doesn't matter what they "said" when the were trying to get you to buy. It's what they have to honor in the policy when it comes time to pay out that matters. "THEY" won't be around then, only their calims dept and lawyers.

In VA, all insurance policies are regulated by the state and all of the same type are an identical state mandated policy. Only the 'extra services" and deductibles (and price) are different. Most people even in VA don't reallize this.

Not to be a PIA but....
You're correct, but only from a buyers perspective. the real purpose of insurance is to make the insurance company as much money as possible while paying out a little as possible, period. They really don't care about you or your car.

Of course. Exactly why I said that I'm concerned about these people going by what some rep told them on the phone that would be covered. In the end, that will mean nothing if it isn't in the contract.

That's all I've been saying: make sure you have it in writing or you are taking a gamble on whether or not they will cover you -- regardless of what some guy on the phone may have said to sell you the policy.

Rick is right, read the policies closely. Doesn't matter what they "said" when the were trying to get you to buy. It's what they have to honor in the policy when it comes time to pay out that matters. "THEY" won't be around then, only their calims dept and lawyers.

Exactly what I said when I started discussing this... :)

- John...

Has anyone submitted a claim? And if so how was it handled? What insurance company?

Can anyone explain this response?

Mr. Magers:

Thank you for your interest in Grundy Worldwide. Unfortunately we cannot supply a policy to you until you obtain coverage with you, but if you would like to find out detailed information, please call me at 800-338-4005 ext 152 between 8:30 and 4:45 eastern standard time.

Respectfully,

Donna Tosti

Why would anyone enter into an agreement with this company without having the opportunity to read their policy?

Exactly what I was talking about before. Reps were happy to tell me whatever I wanted to hear on the phone -- but when I wanted to verify it in writing, my only option was to BUY the policy, THEN they'd send it to me, and, if I didn't like it, I could cancel within a certain period and get a refund.

This makes it very difficult to compare policies with different companies, of course. I'm not going to buy insurance from someone that can't give me the details of the policy until AFTER I commit to buy it...

- John...

I know that Grundy has a great reputation and a lot of people have coverage with them but this is no way to do business. I did reply to them this morning and they agreed to fax a copy of their policy to me to review. It shouldn’t be this hard to get information for a service your willing to pay for.

Bubba

In VA, all insurance policies are regulated by the state and all of the same type are an identical state mandated policy. Only the 'extra services" and deductibles (and price) are different. Most people even in VA don't reallize this.

It's that way in all states and the state governments regulate the rates. Auto insurance is a regulated industry and it is all about risk management. The actuaries and underwriters work very hard to come up with fair rules, rates and profit so that everyone is happy. Yes, it is a business but so is a body shop, car dealership, hair salon, etc. An insurance company is in business to make a profit for it's owners and or shareholders....and provide a service to it's customers.

I highly suggest you all read your policies VERY closely, possibly with a lawyer friend, before you go driving your car to the 7-11 and expecting your insurance company to pay out in the extremely unlikely event it is damaged or stolen during your "errand running". I'll bet it's in the fine print. No matter what the person that sold the policy told you when it comes to legal matters it's ALL in the wording of the contract you agreed to when you signed your policy papers.

BTW, I work for the 4th largest auto insurer in the US.

BTW, I work for the 4th largest auto insurer in the US.

I wish you would have said this sooner. Someone IN the industry who owns several cool classic cars.

So who insures YOUR classic cars, and what kind of policies do you have on them?

Are they restricted to parade and car show use only and less than 2500 miles a year? (majority of classic car insurance polcies available) Or are they under one with flexable usage? Please be specific as you are now the expert on this board per your mention of working in the industry.

I agree with just about everything you have said about not trusting what the agent says vs what is in writing in the policy, so that is why I'm curious as to what kind of policies you have, as I'm sure you did read through all the fine print.

So who insures YOUR classic cars, and what kind of policies do you have on them?

Hi Ben:

I'm a corporate pilot for GEICO. I don't profess to be an insurance expert in any way but after working there for over 10 years and having many in depth conversations with all of our execs from the CEO to the VP of claims and underwriting I've asked all the questions and gotten straightforward answers. It's that info that I'm passing along. They'd love to have my business for all my cars but they made it very clear I'd not be covered for the full value of the classic cars.

My Camaro's are insured by American Classic. I have a couple other friends in the insurance industry that also have classic cars and they use them also. American Classic has the same mileage, storage and usage limitations as all of the other vendors (Haggerty, Grundy, J.C Whitney, etc) but they have found this company to be very fair and easy to deal with. Remember, it's all about exposure, risk management and the level of risk the underwriters want to accept for a given amount of premium dollar. Their policies, like some of the vendors above, are true "agreed value" policies. There is NO traditional auto insurer that offers a true agreed value policy when you read the full policy and dissect the lawyer written legal language.

My Elky is on my regular GEICO policy because I use it as my daily driver. I have full coverage on it and in the unlikely event it's stolen or totalled in an accident that is my fault I may take a loss because it's covered for the "book value", not an agreed value.

Back to the restrictions and risk management. The underwriters look at each states insurance regulations and come up with restrictions for us that they feel will allow the end user (us) to be happy and limited the amount of exposure to loss for them so they can make some profit. If they allow you to drive 10,000 miles per year you are about 4 times more likely to be in an accident than if they limit you to 2,500 miles. Same thing with using it as a daily driver. IF you drive daily you are more of a risk to accident or theft and thats more risk than they want to accept for our high value cars.

Remember, ALL companies are in business to make money for the shareholders whether they be privately held like GEICO, or publically held like any other but they are limited as to how much money they can make on premiums. The state governments regulate our rates and if we lose money we need to ask if we can raise our rates. Along the same line we must lower our rates if we make too much money in a particular state. Ask any insurance person why they won't write policies in NJ or MA and you'll get a better understanding of how regulated the industry is.

I hope that answered some of the questions you had! :D

Unfortunately, I have first hand experience with both accident and theft claim settlements involving classic cars, specifically '66 Chevelles. Although the name of the carrier has changed over the years, the policy has remained the same.

---WARNING----this is going to be long, possibly boring (remember the topic)

I bought my '66 in 1978, a Fremont, Ca built Malibu/327/2 spd/bucket/A.C for $1250.....Big Block/th400/4.10 12 bolt since '81.....In May 1990, I was rearended while waiting to turn left. From a dead stop, I was knocked 3 house up the street. The provider for the responsible party initially offered me $1600. The subsequent tantrum led my attorney, as well as, their attorney to lock themselves in mines office until I had left the building over an hour later. Besides damaging some furniture, a couple of plants and my chances of dating the receptionist, I managed to compose quite the compelling testimonial of my personal emotional attachment to my Chevelle and negligient and violent nature as to which their policy holder had taken it from me. A day later I settled for $5900 with a $200 vehicle buy back.

About a month later, through a twist of fate, I located another '66 Malibu in Phelan, California. Although not advertised, it was available for $3300, I bought this rust free virgin car for $2900. Built in Kansas, it was also a 327(350 swap)/2 spd (th350 swap)/bucket/Non A.C./Highly factory optioned (Guages,Knee knocker Tach,Tinted Glass,Rear Ant,Rear Speaker,Etc). I replaced the entire drivetrain with that from my previous Chevell (427+.060/th400/12 bolt posi) and happily drove it nearly everyday until Oct. 22, 2002. While driving my daughter to soccer practice (5:30 pm traffic), some moron that had been sitting at a side street stop sign, decided that the 30' or so between me and the van in front of me was perfect for him to cross 3 lanes of heavy traffic, then turn left into 3 more lanes of traffic. His estimations were grossly inadequate, in fact, he never made it more than a foot into traffic before being sent for a 360* tilt-o-whirl. I was going 35-40 mph, never had a chance to hit the brakes, and made full contact where my right hand framerail meets the bumper. Myself, my then 10 yr old daughter and then 3 yr old son were all privy to a ride in an ambulance. The boy was, for the most part, uninjured, but you can't very well leave him there. Injuries aside, I met with their claims adjuster and specifically enlightened my unwavering demand that I would except nothing less than comparible replacement, regardless of dollar figure. I would not be interested in purchasing any car other than another '66 Chevelle. Their bottomline offer was $7700, which I refused. Attention was turned to my full coverage insurance. After a month of exchanging information, including various similar 66's available throughout the country (thankfully my first exposure to T.C.), i was told some where in the neighborhood of $10,000. In actuality, I received a check for $8900 and had to pay $876 to buy my wrecked car back. At the time I had bigger issues to deal with, also related to the accident. I had my lap belt on, however, my seat was all the way forward because my daughters soccer bag was behind it. Besides several face and head lacerations, I had completely folded my Grant steering wheel and bent the column. I had been treated for "abdominal blunt force trauma", but a key injury had been undetected. Turns out thet my pancreas had been damaged. After losing nearly a third of my body weight (200lbs to 145lbs) over a 3 month period, I was diagnosed with Type ! Diabetes. I can honestly say though, having to take insulin inections multiple times a day for over 3 years, I am still madder about the car.

Nearly 8 months after the accident, I bought another '66 Malibu. This was an exausting search to find a suitable candidate; 2 trips to Southern California, 1 to Arizona and finally to Ogden, Utah, all ending in failure. The latter was a predominately stripped SS that I had twice won the bidding on eBay, but had not met reserve. Following negotiations, me and the owner came to terms. I pulled a trailer behind my motorhome with my wife and a friend for 500+ miles, only to find a car that offered incredible views of the countryside, unfortunately not just from the windows. I passed on the rust bucket, deciding to check out the nearby Salt Lake City local classifieds. The particular car that I purchased was the only '66 being advertised. It looked good, had a decent small block and was originally an A.C. car, again from Fremont, Ca., but now was pretty well gutted, sporting a pair of Toyota bucket seats and a Hurst Quarter stick, and nothing else. In addition it was over priced (personal opinion) at twice my immediate available finances. We slept in a truck stop parking lot, by morning my wife and friend had pursuaded me to at least explore my options. I had a friend back in Vegas deposit $4000 in my account, then approached the owner with a $1000 less than it was advertised for. I eventually had to toss in my Ruger P90 45ACP pistol, but I had finally acquired another '66.

I immediately installed my bucket interior and drove the car "as is" for a couple of months before the tranny went south. I eventually swapped in my 427+.060/th400/12 bolt, and had proceeded to really dump some dollars into it; Discs, Aluminum Radiator, Air Gap/Mighty Demon, full length 3" exh. The car was pretty awsome, had been used in a couple music videos, commercials and fashion shoots, really hitting it's stride......when it was stolen July 30, 2005. Recovered a day later, stripped and destroyed. The theives had literaly cut the body in half, presumedly to sell as scrap. My insurance adjuster seemed cooperative and reasonably receptive to my value estimates. The whole ordeal took a little over a month to settle. About half way through it I was presented an offer of $14,600, and nearly took it, considering the same policy rendered only $8900 just 2 1/2 years ealier for practically the same car. Upon reviewing the incidentals of the settlement, notably the source used for comparison values, I noticed that both vehicles documented were 4 door models, one was even a 6 cyl. An adjusted value of $2500 was indicated as compensation towards mine being a 2 door coupe. After pointing this out, my adjuster relayed the dilemma to her superior, who agreed to resubmit the claim (an outside source provided all of their classic car estimates). I expected, maybe, $17K. I was pleasantly surprised with a revised settlement of $23,100, however, my vehicle buy back was $3200.

The point, all of these circumstances involved the same policy. Originally issued and at the time of the first accident, through Colonial Penn. In 2002 my premiums were still paid to Colonial Penn, but the letterhead on the claim paperwork indicated G.E. Capital. Finally, when my car was stolen, G.E. Capital was the provider listed on the insurance card in my glovebox, but it was apparent from the day that it disappeared, AIG was who I'd be dealing with.

I transfered my coverage to my current '66 V.I.N.. A few months ago, I received a phone call requesting that I provide an appraisal, as to adjust my coverage accordingly. That's all that was said. Is it possible that it is simple? It certainly should be. There are an awful lot of cars on the road that would exceed $20,000 to replace. There is no reason Joe Blow in a Tahoe should be inclined to expect more favorable compensation than classics that warrant similar price tags. Especially if the same premiums are being demanded. I do know exactly what I have invested now, where as in the past, it was very much a product of evolution. My advice upon submitting a claim "OVERWHELM" with documentation. I submitted $22,000 in receipts, some were dated 1981. Hey, the tranny was still in the car when it was taken.

Rowdy,

Great Story and right on point. Your history is exactly why we need the agreed value policy.

Here's my experience with Hagerty.

I've used Hagerty for 17 months now and they insure several cars for me with no restrictions on where I go or how far I drive specifically. I've had this conversation with them 3 seperate times about mileage limits. It boils down to this for them, they want to make sure your not using your collector car as a second vehicle creating lots of exposure for them. The premium they charge for the risk ($200 or so a year for 30K) they assume is very different than your conventional auto policy. They want to keep it affordable for everyone. My daily driver auto policy cost about $700 a year for 35K of coverage before depreciation. All in all, agreed value collector car insurance is a great value.

My claims experience has been excellent and unfortunately it's been tested. Anyone one I allow to drive my car is insured on my policy at the agreed value. This is not the way it would be on conventional auto unless the driver did not have insurance. If I borrowed my neighbors truck and hit another car my car insurance would be first in line to pay for the other vehicle and my neighbors truck.

My 16 year old son's 1968 Camaro (insured on my regular auto policy) was in the shop and he needed a car to drive to school and practice. I let him drive my 38 Chevy Street Rod to school for 2 days. On the second day he had an accident in it and hit a 2000 Isuzu Rodeo. Long story short, both cars were totaled and some minor injuries were all paid by Hagerty with no problem. I had only been a client for year at that point. My policy has since come up for renewal with no rate increase. Their payout in claims far exceeds what they collected in premiums and I could quit them tomorrow. Bottom line is this, everyone gets along and is happy as long as the wheels are getting greased. It's only when you have a problem with your insurance company, transport company, restorer, etc. that you find out if you made a wise choice. I was lucky that I had chosen Hagerty and they have earned my business.

I'll get off my soap box. Just one man's opinion!

Howard

Here's my experience with Hagerty.

I've used Hagerty for 17 months now and they insure several cars for me with no restrictions on where I go or how far I drive specifically. I've had this conversation with them 3 seperate times about mileage limits.

Just to be clear, does your WRITTEN POLICY say that there are no restrictions on where you go or how far you drive? Or is that simply what was said in those conversations with them?

I was under the impression that Hagerty's written policy would NOT state that you could drive it wherever you want for any distance.

- John...

I have had Grundy worldwide insurance coverage on my 69 Chevelle since 1998 and have had no problems. I had to file a claim when a woman pulled out and took out my grille, fender, door and dented the quarter. The car was fully restored before it was hit and I dropped the car off at the restoration shop of my choice and Grundy handled everything and I picked the car up completed a few weeks later. The only conversation I had with Grundy was a 10 minute telephone interview to give my statement on what happened and to tell them that a police report had been filled out atthe scene. Then a month or so after my car was done they called to tell me that they were going after her insurance company for reinbursement of thier expenses sincee it apperared to be her fault. I had no waiting or any problems they paid the shop right away then went after thier money.