Hello All,
Apologies if this has been discussed before. Been reading all the comments about Hagerty Insurance recently and this thought came to mind. Wondering what insurance companies you all use for your vehicles. Regular companies like Allstate, Statefarm etc. or more that deal specifically with collector cars like Hagerty & Grundy. Also would like to know what your own individual opinions are.
Thanks
I have both our Cougars insured through American Collectors. I’ve been pretty happy in my dealings with them, although I’ve never yet had to file a claim. Both cars are insured for a stated value.
Mainstream insurers like Allstate, Liberty Mutual, and others sometimes ignore appraisals and use Actual Cash Value (which they determine) as the payout for a total loss. Make sure you know how the insurer will value your car in the event of a total loss.
I use Hagerty for the classics & my enclosed trailer.
I have Hagerty for mine, but have never had to file a claim. I like the option for a few extra bucks they guarantee a flatbed if you need a tow 
I have Pole Cat insured for an agreed value through our normal insurance (Auto Owners) with our other cars. Same coverage as Haggerty quoted but with the multi vehicle discount I save about $150.00 per year.
I have mine insured through Allstate. When I asked about setting a stated value I was told that since I intend to do work on the vehicle that stated value may not be the best way to go since the value may change as I put more time / money into the car. I also asked about how I make sure I get paid what it is worth is something happens, and they said that’s the claim adjuster’s job - to fairly determine value, etc. So I figure if something major happens to it I will possibly have to prove my case, but I think that would probably happen no matter who the insurer is.
My .02 Mike: hopefully you are paying a very low premium for that insurance, since essentially you are assuming the risk of “proving your case” with an adjuster at some point down the road. Clearly you are the right guy to balance that risk, as you routinely collect reams of data about Eliminator sale transactions.
An agreed/stated value policy removes that risk, but probably carries a higher premium. As you make improvements that positively affect your car’s value, you’d have the ability to increase the amount of the agreed value insurance (and your premium would go up). Many of the classic car insurers have programs for project cars.
With certain cars, at some point you have to decide if every last $ of insurance coverage is worth a truly exorbitant policy premium. Generally, it is around that point that you become less inclined to use them the way Henry Ford intended. There’s a Catch 22 in there somewhere…
I"ve been with Hagerty for the past 4 years, had a claim last year for a broken window with paint damage, I e- mailed them the estimate from the shop that origianally painted the car and the invoice from WCCC for the glass ( I installed the glass) and had a check within a week.
When I renewed this year there was not an increase in the premium because of the claim.
One last thing, the cost per year is very reasonable for the dollar amount I have the car insured for.
Thanks for all the responses folks. Has anybody had an issue stating the value of their car(s) with Hagerty? I know what value I would place on my car, but the insurance company (who ever that might be) may not agree with me. I just know what it would cost me to replace her in the event of a total loss.
I have Hagery for the classics, State Farm for the dailys, and National Corvette Museum for the late model “classics.” I tried to increase the Hagerty coverage for my Cougar… It came as a dead roller–once I got it running and driving, I tried to increase the value to what I think it would be worth to try and replace it and they would not increase the value; so it’s worth the same dead or alive?–I think not. But short of switching all the coverage to someone else, what are you supposed to do? So my Cougar is currently under-insured, IMO.
As long as your value is reasonable you’ll have no problem getting Hagerty to underwrite a stated value policy for that amount. Works out well for them as premiums are based on stated value and totaling a classic car is pretty rare. They are mostly concerned that you have a daily driver, the classic is garaged and that your annual mileage is in line with a collector car. Used them for years. Only had one claim but were very good to work with.
As far as what they think is reasonable. Check out their valuation tool https://www.hagerty.com/valuationtools/HVT/VehicleSearch/Report?vbe=44857
For my daily driver i use USAA. If you can qualify via military service it really can’t be beat.
I’ve used Hagerty for 15 years and have had no problems with valuing my classics at replacement value. They are all insured for more than I could likely sell them for but I could replace/rebuild without throwing additional cash at them in the event of a total loss.
I’ve regularly increased the value as I’ve done work and never had any issue in doing so. I’ve also had a claim for total loss and it was immediately resolved with no hassle.
I agree with the 2 posts above , I increased the value of my policy several times during the restoration process, all it took was a phone call and some photos to document the process.
My car is currently insured for a dollar value well above what their Valuation tool indicates it would be worth, I was able to obtain this coverage without any pushback or argument.
I have Hagerty (over 12 years) for my fleet. I have not had any issues with valuation.
I have not had any damage claims, but I have had two breakdowns. The first time was when the fuel pump went on the Boss 429 on the way to a local cruise in. They sent a flat bed in a reasonable period of time and brought the car back home.
The second time I was on my way to the Hemmings Concours with my Boss 351. It was in my trailer when the high pressure oil pump on the truck failed (no start). Other than the issues with the phone operator who was I think confused with the truck/trailer combination, the tow was completed (95 miles) without any charges. I received a survey where I expressed my concerns with the issue with the phone operator and received a follow up phone call from Hagerty where the supervisor had reviewed my recorded breakdown call and said that they would review training with the operators. I guess they do not get many truck/trailer calls that are covered because an insured car is in the trailer.
To give you a specific example, I originally insured B3Cat with American Collectors for $9500 as an unrestored, but driveable, project car. A week ago, as the car completed restoration, I only needed to make one 5-minute phone call to increase the value from $9500 to $36,500. From this point on, American Collectors will automatically increase the insured value $500 per year. They didn’t ask for any proof, such as an appraisal, or any pictures. There is, of course, an increase in the premium but the premium is well worth the level of protection and well under what I pay for my daily drivers.
I have 8 collector cars insured with JC Taylor. Awesome customer service, they have paid several claims with zero problems.
I tried to use Grundy once just to compare the difference. They refused to insure my blue GT-E saying that they don’t insure “project cars”. JC Taylor had no trouble issuing a $40,000 agreed value policy on the same car with the same pictures.
State Farm with an agreed value. Being that my truck and house are also with them it saves me quite a bit of $. My agent has a '69 mustang 390 car, so he was a pleasure working with putting the policy together.
I had been with State Farm for 43 years and they canceled my insurance because I (unintentionally) have two houses. It turned out to be a blessing because they were absolutely raping me. I switched to Allstate which was still higher than most and saved a ton of money. If you have been with them a long time you will discover they sell the same policy to new customers for about half what they charge existing customers. I have not had a claim in over 20 years. I use Heacock for the collector cars. They have treated me very well, prices are very reasonable, never had a claim though.
I just increased my agreed value on Pole Cat this year due to work I did over the winter. I increased it $5000. No problem with my company just an increase in preimum of $20-ish dollars.
I had no issues either increasing my value on the vert, one call and done. Used Hagerty’s own value estimator on their website.