Not a ‘Junker’ Anymore – Insuring Your Collectible Car

The other evening I was out for a drive with a buddy of mine who’d just gotten his ‘old junker’, project car back from his mechanic. I call it a junker because I was around when he first bought it and it was in rough shape back then.

It’s an old 60’s convertible.  I hadn’t seen it in a while and now it was obvious that it was no longer a project car. This car is pristine and, I think, possibly in better shape than when it was new. This last trip to the mechanic was to put the finishing touches on the rebuilt engine so the project was now complete.

We were on our way to the car show at the state fairgrounds.  If you’ve never been to a show like this, the sheer number of antique and collectible cars is really impressive. When you think about it, these cars don’t just represent value in dollar terms. They represent years of work and effort – the work that typically goes into them is substantial.

Since I’m in the business of helping people protect things, it occurred to me that I ought to put together a few notes about how a person should go about insuring collectible cars.  Here goes:

1. Get the car appraised. You attach a lot of value to it but get a professional opinion.  If you ever need to make a claim, having a professional valuation as part of the package will be important.
2. Establish a condition rating. Insurers use a rating system to ascertain the market value for a classic car. Rating systems will only consider the interior, exterior, rust and mechanics of the car. Desirability and rarity won’t be a factor in the car’s condition or affect the condition rating. Your appraiser will factor in those elements.
3. Keep current on appraisals and condition ratings. The market changes for collector cars even if the car hasn’t changed so having appraisals done routinely will be useful. Every 3-5 years is a reasonable interval.  Has the car changed, too?  Have you finished a major restoration on the body or the engine? This should be a trigger to have another appraisal.
4. Have a daily driver. Many insurance companies require that you have another car for your daily, routine transportation requirements.
5. Be aware of the insurance rules. In addition to sometimes being required to have another car, there may also be age restrictions for other people allowed to drive the car. Know the rules so you don’t do something that voids your coverage.  We can help you with this.
6. Understand the valuation methods. Know the terms and options so you can make the right choice between, for example, stated value or agreed value. We’ll help you with this, too.
7. Shop for the best coverage. This is the right approach for most purchases but it’s also why Reliable Insurance Agency is an independent agency. There isn’t a one-size-fits all policy for this.

We work with a bunch of coverage providers – large and small – and we can help you get the coverage that is best for your situation.  Let us know if you want to talk.