Agreed value insurance limitations?

[TheBandit]

My current insurer AAA offers a collector car insurance with agreed value coverage, i.e. if the car is damaged they would pay the upfront agreed value without any need for me to provide documented value for the vehicle or negotiate the claim. This however comes with a few stipulations, specifically the car must be garage kept and be driven <2,000 miles per year. They also mentioned the car could not be driven for errands or commuting; it could only be used to drive to and from car shows. He said this is consistent with other classic car insurers like Haggerty. Huh what???

I can keep the mileage under 2,000 but I want to drive my car to work maybe one or two Fridays a month, occasional autocross (although I wouldn't necessarily expect they'd cover damage during an autocross), errands etc. The agent said "it would be fine to drive the car to work periodically" but he got squeemish when I said 80% of my current driving is not to car shows. So I posed the question: what if I decide to drive my car to work on a Friday and I get rear ended - is my car covered under the agreed value policy? He didn't give me a straight answer.

So I'm wondering - is this a real limitation of classic/collector car agreed value insurance or is this smoke? If I can't get agreed value insurance for my actual driving use, should I just go to a normal cash value policy that does not have these limitations and instead do a very meticulous job of documenting/estimating the value of my car, for example by getting appraisals?

[GonHuntin]

Check out Chubb insurance.......they saved me a lot of money with better coverage and no mileage caps.

https://collectorcar.chubb.com/us-en/

[rickpaw]

I have agreed value coverage thru Hagerty; and I have similar restriction (not on mileage though). I'm also allowed to drive it to repair shops.

With that said, in the event that an accident happen while commuting, one can say that he/she is taking the car to shops/carshows after work.

[ULTM8Z]

That's odd with AAA. With my AAA policy, it's just 2500 miles per year and it can't be the primary vehicle. I can drive anywhere I want. Maybe the new policies are different. I've had them now for about 10 years or so.

[vintageracer]

By your words in your first post I can guaranty you that YOU HAVE NEVER READ your policy/insurance contract and never looked specifically at the "Exclusions"specifically outlined in the policy. Exclusions specifically outline activities, circumstances or use that are "Excluded" from the insurance coverage of the policy. Use your vehicle for these activities outside the parameters outlined in the policy, have an accident or claim and the insurer will deny your claim due to the "Exclusions" written in the policy.

READ YOUR POLICY and if you do not understand what you have read in your insurance contract that you have already purchased you need to find someone who can explain to you exactly what you have purchased in the way of insurance coverage, the terms of the policy/contract and in this situation you have described above the policy "exclusions" concerning your actual insurance coverage as it relates to your use of your car as you have described above.

Rest assured your agent has also NOT READ YOUR POLICY either and therefore is only guessing at the answer's to your questions. I suggest you go have a face to face meeting with your agent to sit down and READ the complete policy TOGETHER to understand what coverage's you have, coverage's you do not have to determine the correct coverage that you want in an insurance contract. This may be a situation where this insurer may not be able to provide the coverage you need/want. Better to find out NOW than when you have a claim or at fault accident!

DO NOT rely on what the agent says without you and the agent BOTH Understanding, Discussing, READING and "Agreeing" that this policy provides the coverage you want as you and the insurer are BOTH bound by the terms and conditions written in the insurance contract that you "Agreed" to when you purchased said insurance contract. ALL the collector car insurers are different in the way they write their policies and the "Exclusions" that are written in those policies. It may take some shopping however there is an insurer out there somewhere that will provide to you the coverage that you want. That said you may or may not like the price!

IF after the review of your current policy with your current agent/insurer and you find that you are not covered for the activities for which you wish to use the car it's time to go SHOPPING for replacement coverage that specifically meets your wants and needs as it relates to "Agreed Value" collector car insurance. Realize that it is possible that you may or may not find "Collector Car" Agreed Value insurance coverage based upon your use of your collector vehicle. You may have to get "Stated Value" or regular vehicle insurance depending upon use and vehicle storage requirements.

Most ALL collector car insurance buyer's are concerned with only 1 thing. PRICE!

Don't be that guy!

READ YOUR INSURANCE POLICY AND UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU HAVE READ AND PURCHASED!

ALL the insurance in the world is WORTHLESS if your insurer will not pay a claim do to "Excluded Activities" by YOU the insured that places YOU in a situation where YOU have NO insurance coverage due to the "Exclusions" written in the policy to which YOU "Agreed" to with your purchase of the policy!

[BonzoHansen]

^^^^^what he said. My hagerty policy explicitly spells out exclusion for racing but covered on the way, in the paddock, return road, etc. Cannot use for work. No mileage or other restrictions.

Also remember insurance is very state specific and what my policy says and some other state may be very different.

[TheBandit]

Mike - Thank you for the kind reply. Yes it's true I have not read my current policy, but I will be reading it going forward and I would like to know what to look out for. I am not sure how exclusions appear in the policy nor how specific they might be. I want to make sure I'm asking the right questions and have a good understanding of the limitations. I want to make sure my car is covered for repair or replacement regardless of fault if there is an accident.

I will ask the agent to send me an example policy before I sign up and I will look over the final policy very carefully too. For the purpose of this thread, I would just like to understand what others have learned.

[pittpens24]

I personally went with Grundy. My policy was cheaper than Haggerty and has less stipulations. They still do not want you to drive it to work(pleasure use only), but you can take it for a "sunday drive" without having to be heading to or from a "car show" and/or to and from an "automotive shop". Plus one thing about Haggerty that struck me weird - you are covered at a car show IF you are with the car at all times. If you walk away to see the other cars or say go to the bathroom and something happens, you are not covered. WTH is that all about?

[OLDFLM]

Check out Heacock

[TheBandit]

I personally went with Grundy. My policy was cheaper than Haggerty and has less stipulations. They still do not want you to drive it to work(pleasure use only), but you can take it for a "sunday drive" without having to be heading to or from a "car show" and/or to and from an "automotive shop". Plus one thing about Haggerty that struck me weird - you are covered at a car show IF you are with the car at all times. If you walk away to see the other cars or say go to the bathroom and something happens, you are not covered. WTH is that all about?

Do they actually use those quoted words in the policy exclusions? "Sunday drive"? Seriously? Does that mean no driving on Saturday?

A likely use of my car would be to drive it to work on a Friday. To me that is a pleasure use. Substituting my normal DD for the Nova makes for a better Friday. I wouldn't be commuting every day with it, but I might drive it to work 3 or 4 times a month. I also might hop in after a long day and drive around town or run errands for pleasure!

Does anyone have an actual copy of their policy exclusions they could share? I will try to get a mockup from my AAA agent today.

[pittpens24]

Do they actually use those quoted words in the policy exclusions? "Sunday drive"? Seriously? Does that mean no driving on Saturday?

A likely use of my car would be to drive it to work on a Friday. To me that is a pleasure use. Substituting my normal DD for the Nova makes for a better Friday. I wouldn't be commuting every day with it, but I might drive it to work 3 or 4 times a month. I also might hop in after a long day and drive around town or run errands for pleasure!

Does anyone have an actual copy of their policy exclusions they could share? I will try to get a mockup from my AAA agent today.

You can drive it anyday you want - it does not call out Sunday exclusively. I was using it as a loose term as "sunday drive" mostly because I am old lol. It has to be driven for pleasure use only. If anything ever happened you could say you just took the day off and were going for a cruise and you'd be covered. If you said you were driving to work, then your policy would be void. Unless something happened in your work parking lot, you would be ok if you worded it correctly. They also do not cover trips to the grocery store, bank or anything considered as running errands. If you get hit in those parking lots - you are screwed!

[BonzoHansen]

From my current (8/17-8/18) Hagerty policy for your reading enjoyment. So there is their standard policy, the NJ racing endorsement and an 'enthusiasts' endorsement that makes some policy changes, seemingly for the better. Such as removing the vermin/animal damage exclusion. And the all important Guaranteed Value Endorsement


ClassicAutomobilePolicy.pdf
CompetitionExclusionNJ.pdf
EnthusiastEssentialsEndorsement.pdf
GuaranteedValueEndorsement.pdf

[TheBandit]

Thank you Scott. I will take a look through that.

After the inspection, AAA said I probably wouldn't qualify for their classic car policy because my paint has patina and the stitching has come apart on my headliner. I wonder if other insurers have similar requirements?

If I'm not covered for errands, that's really not going to work. For now I put a standard actual crash value policy on the car. Would an appraisal (or a couple of independent appraisals) help me in the event of a loss?

[vintageracer]

If you get hit in those parking lots - you are screwed!

Not True!

If YOU get HIT in a parking lot by another driver/vehicle that means the other driver/vehicle owner is at fault as they hit YOU and YOU would file a claim for damages to YOUR VEHICLE against their insurance policy.

To determine whether YOUR insurance policy will cover a damage claim for the damage to YOUR vehicle in a parking lot depends upon who is "At Fault" meaning are YOU the "Hittee or the Hitter"?

[vintageracer]

After the inspection, AAA said I probably wouldn't qualify for their classic car policy because my paint has patina and the stitching has come apart on my headliner. I wonder if other insurers have similar requirements?

NO not necessarily!

READ THE POLICY before you buy.

Most AGREED VALUE COLLECTOR CAR POLICIES I have read are based upon the AGREED VALUE of the vehicle whatever the condition of the vehicle as both parties have AGREED to the Dollar amount of coverage for that asset in that condition on the date the insurance contract in placed in force by your payment of the premium and the acceptance of payment by the insurer.

If I'm not covered for errands, that's really not going to work. For now I put a standard actual crash value policy on the car. Would an appraisal (or a couple of independent appraisals) help me in the event of a loss?

Yes!

With an "Actual Cash Value" ACV policy the insurer's responsibility is to pay you the "Actual Cash Value" of the asset on the date of the accident in the event of a TOTAL LOSS. A RECENT/CURRENT (6 months or less) appraisal and supporting documentation of actual RECENT REAL SALES of vehicles very similar to yours will help to determine the "Actual Cash Value" of the asset on the date of total loss.

[TheBandit]

Any recommendations on appraisers that can accurately assess a modified car? Mine is a '70 Nova with an LS swap and a few suspension upgrades. Imperfect car but a strong driver. I can find asking prices for cars in similar shape but it's hard to know what they are actually selling for.

[Smitty454]

Any recommendations on appraisers that can accurately assess a modified car? Mine is a '70 Nova with an LS swap and a few suspension upgrades. Imperfect car but a strong driver. I can find asking prices for cars in similar shape but it's hard to know what they are actually selling for.

Im in the same boat, so ive been looking at other options for insurance. I want to be able to drive my Chevelle to work 1 or two Fridays a month and also not have to worry about it if I have to stop at the store on the way home. I googled "collector car insurance drive to work" and I found a result from Grundy. If Grundy allows you to occasionally drive your car to work, then I wouldnt worry about taking it for a pleasure cruise whenever. This is quoted right from their website: Grundy wants you to enjoy your car, not keep track of mileage like some programs with limitations. Therefore, we give you unlimited miles for pleasure driving and in collector car-oriented activities. It is even OK if occasionally you drive your collector car to work to show it off to friends. However, your collector car must not be used as a daily driver. We require you and all licensed drivers in your household to have a modern car for everyday use.

When you have your car at home, it must be kept in an enclosed, secure garage when not in use. If you are away from home on extended outings your car is fully protected if you must park it outside, for example in a hotel parking lot. Grundy coverage includes Trip Interruption that reimburses you for hotel and repair costs in the event of a breakdown, and we also reimburse you for towing and labor charges up to $250. You can count on Grundy as you cruise.

Grundy is also backed by Chubb insurance which someone suggested previously. I didnt know this and Im actually an underwriter for Chubb. One thing I know about Chubb is, we pay our claims even when we could get away with not paying them. I will be switching to Grundy for sure and stop worrying about driving my car.

[oleyeller]

I second the Heacock recommendation.. https://heacockclassic.com

[Larry Callahan]

I have an agreed value policy with Heacock on both my Camaro and my Bel Air.

Due to the dollar amount of the Camaro they won't currently let me drive it to work. The Bel Air says and I quote "Occasional Commuting to Work" and "Occasional Pleasure Use"

It's in writing in my policy.

Once the Camaro is on the road again I plan to drive it a lot. My agent says that for a little more money they can add "Occasional Commuting to Work" if I drive it under 3,000 miles a year.

[BMR Sales]

I've been with Heacock for years, I know some of them personally since they are close to us and sponsor the Lake Mirror Classic car show (really nice event)