Insurance headache

[Mattt123]

Hi Gang:
I just got a rude surprise from my insurer,”Geico”
When I tried to get basic liability coverage on my 1981 124 Spider 2000. It had been Parked for about the past year because I was tinkering with it and not driving it so I took it off my coverage. I decided to put it back on the road and when I called the agent said it was now an “antique” car and the premium went up nearly “four times” the cost of what it was when I parked it. Has anyone else had this experience?
Any advice out there?
Thanks

[tima01864]

Hagerty next time I insure

[GeorgeT]

Hagerty for sure.

[johndemar]

+3 on Hagerty, value based insurance.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

... when I called the agent said it was now an “antique” car and the premium went up nearly “four times” the cost of what it was when I parked it. Has anyone else had this experience?
Any advice out there?
Thanks

I have not had this particular experience. However, a few years ago I switched the insurance on my restored '69 Fiat spider to American Modern Insurance, a company that insures specialty and collector vehicles that are not used as daily drivers. As a result, I only pay $170 per year for liability and medical and theft and collision and such, and the vehicle is valued at $15,000. I think that overall value is too high, but I didn't argue. I had to provide documentation (pictures and such) and also annually certify that the car is parked in a locked garage and the annual mileage is less than 1000 miles (there are higher mileage limits, presumably with a higher premium). For me, the car is pleasure use only, once or twice a month just trolling up and down some back country roads, which is all I do. I have no experience with Hagerty, although American Modern might be similar.

The other thing to look into is what would your insurer pay if your car were totaled (assuming you carry collision). Most of the common insurance companies might only pay scrap value, that is, a couple hundred bucks. So, just about any accident and the car is now totaled in their mind.

So, I guess my advice would be to assess some basic questions like, would you choose to repair the car if it had a major accident? How many miles do you drive per year, and in what kind of traffic? How likely is the car to be stolen? How much would your insurer pay out if you did total the car? Does your insurer consider your Fiat a specialty vehicle or could the car be a Datsun B210 for all they care? You can then base your choice of insurance carrier on the answers to those questions.

-Bryan

[racerdave]

$86.00 to add it as a part time driver with liability and comprehensive but no collision coverage on my Auto Owners policy.

[Mattt123]

Thanks for the advice guys. I’ll definitely check out Hagerty and American modern.

[kgfiske]

I'll second the nod to American Modern Insurance. I've used them for a good number of years. I shop prices on every renewal and they consistently been the least expensive.

[chrisg]

Hagerty has been great for me. I've been a customer for pushing 20 years now. You have to have another car on an insurance policy as your regular "driver" car, but in my case I've always had at least some other car. It's relatively inexpensive for zero deductible comprehensive insurance with people who "get" specialty car ownership/driving (vs. other companies for whom it is expensive/pain-in-the-ass/goofy/highly-restricted). I think I have 8 cars on my policy at the moment & an agreed max mileage, but in my case the reality is that I'd have to really really try hard to drive enough to push that mileage (and if I did, that would be okay as I understand it, I'd just change the terms of the policy). Obviously, that doesn't work if your car is going to be used for a regular work/school commute or for business purposes, but for most of us we can reasonably argue our driving is for some aspect of the enjoyment of the car hobby, not the grind to the office & back.

[bakercs]

Hagerty. My '69 is insured for $18,000 and I pay $319 year in South Florida.

[RRoller123]

Hagerty, couple hundred bucks, SE Mass, insured for 12.5 but I am going to raise that.

[DieselSpider]

It all depends on what your insuring it for. If you insuring it as a $20,000 agreed cash value collectible that you drive daily in an high accident area with full coverage then yes the costs will be a lot higher than for insuring it as a book value daily driver.

Also book value has gone up dramatically over the past few years. A 1978 considered in High Retail condition lists on NADA at $30,900 while a few years back it was listed at a fraction of that. A low retail running 124 a few years ago would be listed on Craigs Lists for about $2,000 not that long ago while today a rust bucket that does not run may be listed for double that amount.

[Gerry]

Hi Gang:
I just got a rude surprise from my insurer,”Geico”
When I tried to get basic liability coverage on my 1981 124 Spider 2000. It had been Parked for about the past year because I was tinkering with it and not driving it so I took it off my coverage. I decided to put it back on the road and when I called the agent said it was now an “antique” car and the premium went up nearly “four times” the cost of what it was when I parked it. Has anyone else had this experience?
Any advice out there?
Thanks

Hagerty all the way.
Got my 79 Spider, 74 R90/6, Harley softail and 92 500SL covered for around 850.00 a year. Full coverage no deductible and 15,000.00 on each vehicle. And they’re good!
1 claim...Submitted issue
Came out and inspected the damage and had a check all in less than two weeks

[RRoller123]

Hagerty, yep. I have mine at 12,500 and it is about $300 a year. Easy, and I still run it through my regular insurance agent.

[DieselSpider]

Hagerty, yep. I have mine at 12,500 and it is about $300 a year. Easy, and I still run it through my regular insurance agent.

Any restrictions on use or can you go to the beach, drive it to work, etc, etc.