I need to switch to either Grundy or Heacock, I am not comfy with Farmers. If you are with these guys, is there anything you found out about after the fact that makes you nervous? Anything to ask for or clarify up front? What's the general concensus, who is the overall best?

Farmers = bad

Dagnabit this has been asked many times before! Use the search function!
Yea, I read your other post. :)

I have had Grundy almost 10 years but have not had to use them as of yet. Their policy is pretty straight forward and they bill me promptly every year. They were good to deal with on the phone and answered every question including where to find something in my policy that I had missed.

I'll tell ya what I think your best advice is... I would just email a few people.. a few whom you think have quaility cars, a lot of $$ in them, not Drivers... and ask them who they use... People with high end/top shelf cars usually in my experience have done their due dilligence and have good coverage.. so it's not so much which of these TWO are better but who is the best of all of them... I have found most with Drivers ( not all ) are just looking for the BEST Rate.. and Best Rate does not = Best Coverage.. when you need it... ie., accident or vandalism or roof cave in... Too many people here worrying about whether they can DRIVE their car any time they want or Race it.. looking for the carrier who would let them slide on some things.. but what everyone should be doing is asking who has USED their Classic Car Insurance carrier and what was their experience with response time, paid for stuff, all of the important things about insurance.. not whether you pay $300 a year or $600 a year.

just my 3 cents

I used and have USED American Collectors for over 18 years! :thumbsup:

Farmers is lots cheaper, but leaves me very uncomfortable. Heacock is $20 more than Grundy, but that's not even in the equation.

Gauranteed value is in the equation. My car isn't a numbers car, but everything is a perfect as reasonable possible. How do you determine a value for that? I told them I want the value at $40K. They said OK. So, if a meteor hits my garage, and the car is a total loss, would they come back and say, "looking at comparables, we only think it's worth $xxK"?

They also say it's for show use and occasional driving. The car got about 75 miles a year in 06 and 07, this is a banner year with 500 miles cuz I put in a TKO and it's more fun to drive. So what if I drove it to the store to pick up some nuts and bolts, and something happened. Would they try to say my use that day wasn't covered? Do they do crap like that like other insurance companies try to do?

I remember a house fire caused by a natural gas issue, and when they sorted through the ashes, they found some wiring not to code in a different part of the house, unrealated, and wouldn't pay out because the house didn't meet code. I don't want to deal with any of that.

You need to examine the policy very very carefully. If the words "actual cash value" appear ANYWHERE in the policy, it is junk. Major insurers like to pass off policies as "collector" insurance, when in effect what you are doing is paying them extra for the privledge of limiting the liability of the insurance company. Borderline fraud, IMO, and they should be investigated by the Justice Department.

Three policy types:

Regular, stated amount, and agreed value.

A regular policy pays the cost to repair or the ACV, whichever is less.

An agreed value policy (true collector) pays you the cost to repair or the agreed value, whichever is less.

A stated amount policy (typical major insurer collector BS) pays you the cost to repair, the ACV, or the stated amount, whichever is less. You will never get more than the stated amount, because the stated amount represents the MAXIMUM amount your company will pay. THis policy typically costs 30% more than a standard policy, ime.

Suppose you crash your car. The value is 10,000, the estimate to repair is $$14,000.

Under a regular policy, the adjuster looks at the car and determines the ACV. It may be $12,000, it may be $1000, it just depends on the knowledge of the adjuster and whether or not he wants to lowball you. They will offer you the ACV. If it's $12,000 you jump for joy and go car shopping with your $12,000 check. If it's $1000, and if you don't think it's high enough, it's up to you to dispute and prove your case. Hope you have good documentation.

Under an agreed value policy, you get a check for $10,000.

Under a stated amount policy, an adjuster looks at the car and determines the actual cash value. It may be $12,000, it may be $1000, it just depends on the knowledge of the adjuster and whether or not he wants to lowball you. If it's $1000, and if you don't think it's high enough, it's up to you to dispute and prove your case. Hope you have good documentation. If it's $12,000, you will have a nasty surprise when the insurance company hands you a check for only $10,000.

And for this, they charge you a premium. That's ittle more than fraud.

The bottom line is, it's not the job of the insurance adjuster to make you happy, it's the job of the adjuster to pay the claim for as little as possible.

I had a pleasant experience with Farmers. My attorney was on the way to federal court to file a lawsuit when they decided they needed to cough up the cash.

Add American Collectors to the list, I just got off the phone with them. Nice folks, right answers. But verbal answers. I hate to be cynical, but when they say that I can drive my car to work occasional for fun, what happens if there is a problem on that day? Would they have amnesia? I am waiting for their quote to be emailed. If the stuff we talked about isn't in there, like it isn't in Grundy or Heacock, I doubt they would accept a "red-lined" copy for counter signature as the contractual document.

if it's not in writing, it doesn't exist

Now you see, Gibbons, look at all the information you just received by NOT just doing a "SEARCH" , Hummmm, looks like the request to "JUST USE THE SEARCH BUTTON" did not pan out this time. The information "MAY" have been in the search somewhere, but hey, some people need the information a little quicker than others. I am one of those peoples.


Ok, I feel better now, I will shut up.

I just talked to American again, and got different answers. The first person said it would be OK to drive to the store for some nuts and bolts. The second person said no, the car would be unattended and that would violate the policy. Apparently, you can't get out of your car for that 2500 miles you are allowed. And if it's not going to a car show, it has to be "non-destination" driving. Who in the heck drives aimlessly for 2500 miles a year, just jumping in the car making random routes, returning to the home base garage without getting out?

I have learned that a lot of people have Amercan Collectors, how do you feel about their double talk? The others double talk too....

My Car's are not daily drivers.. I would never consider taking one to a store for nuts and bolts.. just inviting trouble IMO by doing that.

I've never gotten any double Talk from AC... sorry...

Just call this place and be done with it: http://www.larueclassics.com/ (http://www.larueclassics.com/):yes:

I used LaRue Insurance, Inc. (800) 303-3518 as a broker for insurance. Alex at LaRue gave me option for different policies and companies. I went with American Home Modern Insurance with $250 deductibles and 6,000 annual miles. I had an accident with the car. The car was totaled. My insurance company paid the agreed value of the policy with no problem. All my cars are insured with the same company. My insurance is reasonable priced for example my chevelle is insured for $15,000 and the policy cost $178 a year with the max liability for the state of PA.

http://s277.photobucket.com/albums/kk50/Tortoise702001/

My Car's are not daily drivers.. I would never consider taking one to a store for nuts and bolts.. just inviting trouble IMO by doing that.

I've never gotten any double Talk from AC... sorry...

Mine isn't a daily either, as I said, this year is a banner year at 500 miles. We have 4 station wagons and a truck, something for every driver with the Chevelle still in its own garage. When I said run for nuts and bolts, I didn't mean to Home Depot, I meant to the little store where I can park curbside, not in a stall. My wife finally understands that it will never be driven to dinner.

I called Alex LaRue. Nice guy. Knowledgeable, too. He quoted me the same American Modern coverage as Heacock for a bunch less. He is going to forward me a policy so I can read it. If I can't live by the exact criteria in the policy, I will keep looking rather than try to take a broad interpretation.

Mine isn't a daily either, as I said, this year is a banner year at 500 miles. We have 4 station wagons and a truck, something for every driver with the Chevelle still in its own garage. When I said run for nuts and bolts, I didn't mean to Home Depot, I meant to the little store where I can park curbside, not in a stall. My wife finally understands that it will never be driven to dinner.

I called Alex LaRue. Nice guy. Knowledgeable, too. He quoted me the same American Modern coverage as Heacock for a bunch less. He is going to forward me a policy so I can read it. If I can't live by the exact criteria in the policy, I will keep looking rather than try to take a broad interpretation.

From what I've gathered from people on this site (in previous posts on the current subject), is no collector car insurance policy will specifically state you are covered if you are out doing errands in your collector car. If you want that type of coverage, carry an Actual Cash Value policy with any typical insurance company (Allstate, AAA, Farmers, State Farm, Progressive, GEICO, etc.). You won't be covered for what your car is worth. Otherwise, you're always going to be restricted in some form or another with a collector car policy. Trick is you always have to be "going to or from a car show or event" hint, hint. "On my way to a cruiz-in, I stopped into the hardware store as the front license plate was rattling and I needed to get a bolt to secure it correctly. That's when some idiot scraped my rear fender while backing out of their parking stall." If you're too afraid to drive the car, I'll take it and drive it like these cars were meant to be driven - hard and violent! :D

What about Hagerty?

Insurance deal is done. I went with Alex LaRue, and was recommended above. Selection points:

1. I talked directly with Alex. He's smart, knows all the angles, and knows cars. It was much better than talking to the hired hands at the other places, where I got different answers from different people at the same agency.

2. He talked to me on the phone a couple of times, and sent me personalized emails to answer dumb questions. That's service! He remained friendly through all of this.

3. He had two companies to choose from, American Home and Infinity. Both good apparently, he thought American Home fit my needs better. By that time, I trusted him, and just went with his recommendation without further adieu. BTW, Heacock's offer was for American Home also.

4. Not that price is the main factor, but he was the lowest. And he has Team Chevelle member discounts.

I wish the insurance guy for my daily drivers was a good as Alex LaRue. Heck, buying insurance is almost fun with him.

GIBBONS, trying to PM you but your PM Box is maxed out, have some questions on your new Insurance policy......

As I've said before, everyone should compare the LIABILITY coverages too. You might be surprised to see how little some agreed value policies provide. Agreed value collision and comprehensive is a given but I strongly urge people to compare the liability coverage with that of their daily driver. Yes you COULD have an accident that's your fault. With the cost of some vehicles today, astronomical medical costs, and lawsuit-happy populace, you should make sure you have adequate liability coverage.