Collector Car Insurance
 

Did anybody see the guy from Grundy International on My Classic Car? He said that he Grundy could insure this classic 1963 Impala for agreed value of $25K for an annual premium of $175 with no limitations other than age. Unlimited pleasure driving is allowed!
I always worry about my insurance because I know that I'm in for a fight with Geico should my SL need to be replaced (God forbid!) and Kelly Book says it's worth only $9900, and NADA says it's worth $12,600-$15,950.

So here's the hook! I call Grundy and get a quote of $310 to insure my 1986 SL for $20K. That's only about $18/yr. less than I pay Geico. The difference is that with collector car insurance, I'd be allowed to drive the car as much as I want, as long as I never leave it ungaraged or unattended! No errands! No trips to the anyplace that will require that I leave the car parked outside of my garage! Geico referred me to Great American Insurance. Same deal! What a racket!

How are you guys insuring your older SL's. I have a Clifford alarm on mine and I've put only 3K miles on the car in 7 months because I'm very selective about where I drive her. There must be a better way to insure these cars.

I assume the conditions you're citing (never left ungaraged, etc.) refer to the Grundy coverage. When I checked on specialty insurance for my 560SL, what I found is that even the most liberal of the coverages I was able to find restrict you to pleasure driving ONLY, even if the mileage isn't limited. That immediately knocks out of consideration guys like me, who use the car as a summer driver for all purposes. I'm not even incredibly hung up on the premium, but I want to guarantee the worth of the car.

If there's anyone out there who'll write agreed-value coverage for commuting AND pleasure driving, please let us all know!

Or if someone has had a claim on a car with "Collectors" insurance while driving to work......what happened?

My insurance on the '55 Healey and the '70 280SL were always pretty steep. Then, a couple of years ago, I switched to American Family Insurance (after State Farm jacked my rates out of site for no apparent reason). They cover all my vehicles, two houses, a couple of ATVs and my personal liability insurance.

I had to have the Healey and the 280SL appraised and then they insured then each for a declared value of $25,000. My cost is between $150 and $160 per year for each and the only restriction I have is that I can't commute to work or school with them. I'm retired, so thats not a problem.

American Family is an older, reputable company, but they do not write insurance in all states.

I looked into "collector car" insurance but didn't like the rates or the mileage restrictions that they mandated.

My advice: shop around. You never know what kind of deal you might find. Keep your record clean too. That helps.

Just my $.02,

Wes

Thanks for the helpful input Wes!
I found American Family Insurance at:

https://web.amfam.com/customer/autoquote/

Unfortunately, they don't operate in Maryland, but perhaps someone else may benefit!