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go-fish
01-06-2009, 04:10 AM
I am pretty close to deciding which company to go with. The local Geico office has really good service but are $40 more than Haggerty. They broker it out to a third party.
Some friends of mine had this company and had claims from Katrina on a 69 Hemi Road Runner, 67 440 Belvedere, 70 Super Bee, 67 Dart GT conv., and a Corvette. This guy had a long garage (like a storage unit) with each car having it's individual 1 car garage door. They got a tornado that ripped the doors off so they all got hood fender, grille, glass, and some other damage. They were quick and they actually handled it with no hassle. Also, no restrictions on mileage, they drive them how they want.


My question is this, my car has a Pro-Charged small block and 5 speed. Originally tis was a 383 4 speed car. I think it would be worth more if it were original due to the numbers crowd running the hobby.
Can I insure it as a big block/ 4 spd? The numbers say the car is a big block car. It is a big block car but with a small block. I have a date correct 383 engine I got in case I (don't know why I would) wanted to put it back original.
How does this work? Is the only way to go "moified"?

funbnme
01-06-2009, 05:29 AM
The only time you need insurance is when you get pulled over or if you have damage to the car.

The police won't care if you have it insured correctly, but if you run into a problem where you need to file a claim and they find that you incorrectly insured it to get a lower premium (or to inflate the value), they could use that as a reason to hassle you or worst case, deny a claim.

I think it would be safer to insure it properly. Then if you do go back to stock, you can change the policy then.

Taylor1969
01-09-2009, 05:41 AM
I am not a lawyer, but it sounds like fraud to me if you misrepresent your car and the value of it.

wmhjr
01-09-2009, 10:24 AM
Having personally worked with GEICO before, my recommendation is that you carefully determine the value of your vehicle to start with. Then talk to the companies and ask specific questions - starting with reimbursement after theft. GEICO turned out to be VERY significantly underinsuring one of my vehicles, and in the event that the vehicle was stolen, I'd have lost thousands of dollars compared to some other companies. If you ask specifically about theft then they have to fess up to their process assuming the vehicle could not be appraised after the claim. For "specialty" vehicles, stated value or agreed value policies can be very helpful.

vintageracer
01-09-2009, 01:54 PM
Where did you buy a $40 Camaro? If that's all you Camaro is worth to you? Sell it to me! You are worried about $40.00 to properly insure a 69 Camaro? Say it ain't so?

Ask your Geico agent only 1 question that is this:

Is the policy you are selling me an "agreed value" policy or a "stated value" policy?

If the Geico agent says the policy is an "agreed value" policy, make him/her show you specifically in writing that term in the policy. I hope it is there but I'll take the bet that it is not!

Agreed value insurance policies are the only type of policies Hagarty and all the other dedicated collector car insurors sell. This is the only policy to have for a collector type car. I suggest that others on this site who have their collector cars insured with a main line carrier like Geico or State Farm read their policy. Chances are REAL GOOD you will find you have a stated value policy and not an agreed value policy. Read your policy. Don't take you agents word for it.

Concerning insuring your car as something it is not now, ie a big block car. Purchasing the wrong insurance or purchasing insurance based upon misreprestation is as good as having no insurance. If you are going to misrepresent your car, why buy insurance at all? Have a claim and it can be denied since you did not properly insure your car based upon misreprentation (fraud).

TheRealDSTRYR
01-14-2009, 01:09 PM
The VIN on a 70 'cuda will tell that it is a 'true' big block car. That is not fraudulent because that is what it is. Numbers matching adds value. Stating it is numbers matching is fraudulent if they agree to a greater value based on that statement from you. I have had Hagerty for years and they also are underwritten by 3rd parties. They can provide cheaper rates because generally the cars they insure are 1) driven less, 2) more safely, and 3) on nice days which contributes to a lower accident rate than daily drivers. That is a major reason you must provide proof that you have a daily driver other than your pro-touring/muscle car with Hagerty. I agree with the previous post, make absolutely sure you will get paid if you have a loss.

One other thing, Hagerty's liability coverage isn't 'standard' 100/300/100 like Geico or other 'general coverage' policies:


Liability Coverage Part - Limit Vehicle 1
A: Bodily Injury: $25,000 Per Person / $50,000 Per Accident
A: Property Damage: $25,000 Per Accident
B: Medical Payments: $1,000 Per Person/Per Accident
C: Uninsured Motorists Coverage: $25,000 Per Person / $50,000 Per Accident

vintageracer
01-14-2009, 01:46 PM
One other thing, Hagerty's liability coverage isn't 'standard' 100/300/100 like Geico or other 'general coverage' policies:


Liability Coverage Part - Limit Vehicle 1
A: Bodily Injury: $25,000 Per Person / $50,000 Per Accident
A: Property Damage: $25,000 Per Accident
B: Medical Payments: $1,000 Per Person/Per Accident
C: Uninsured Motorists Coverage: $25,000 Per Person / $50,000 Per Accident


Liability is an issue to which you should pay particular attention. As noted above, the standard limits from Hagarity are pitiful and useless at best. These limits are generally the minimum liability rates required by most states in the USA, nothing more.

If you have a liability umbrella policy for $1MM or more you should discuss your decision to insure your collector car with a collector car insurance carrier with the agent who is holding your umbrella liability policy and make sure that your umbrella liability policy will extend coverage to your collector cars insured with another carrier which in this case is a collector car carrier. More cars on the umbrella policy means "Mo Money" for the umbrella policy no matter who insures the cars. You "may" find that higher liability limits on the collector cars may be cheaper to purchase through the collector car insurance policy carrier than it is to add the additional collector cars to your umbrella policy since you generally pay only 1 (one) libility insurance charge no matter how many collector cars you have insured with that collector car carrier. The ultimate goal is to make sure that your collector cars have the same limits of liability coverage that you purchase for your home, regular auto's and your business.

Why is this important? You can kill and mame people just as well and as easily in a collector car as you can in daily driver car. Since reducing cost and trying to guarantee the value of your collector car is the goal, don't minimize the fact that you also need to be properly covered as far as liability to match your needs based upon your success in life.

If you do not own anything you do not need to buy insurance. Insurance is for people who own something and have acquired some amount of success in life. No success in life, no need for insurance. No success in life also probably means you have NO concern about your responsibilities in our society and could care less about anyone you hurt in an accident.

Buying the correct and proper insurance for your needs is different for everyone. Buy the right insurance or don't buy any all!

TheRealDSTRYR
01-14-2009, 02:07 PM
Good post. That digs way deeper into it than just looking at the numbers.

MJRIBEIRO
01-15-2009, 06:29 PM
I work for an insurance company thats been doing specialty cars for 40 years. I'm not a sales guy, so no pitch here. With our cars you want to make sure you have an Agreed Value policy. Simply stated, you set the price you want to get in a total loss. You can get a policy like this for a 40 year old car or a 4 year old car. I see them every day. Prices are state specific - so any price you see here online, take that into account. I have a 25k AGV policy on my car (I should bump that a bit) and it's $200 (NJ). Don't walk away from a company over $40 - you wouldn't do that over a $200 performance part - don't do it on good insurance either.