DENIED by American Hobbyist Insurance!

I think the HAMB community needs to be aware of the experience I've just had the joy of going through with American Hobbyist Insurance when choosing a new insurance carrier for their cars.

Currently I pay $90/month to Allstate for full coverage on my '62 Galaxie wagon and the book they use for value rates my car in the area of $1500 at best in the event of a total loss incident. Not good for the crummy premium based on my spotless record and for the low loss payoff on a car that is probably closer to $6k-$8k in value. I first contacted American Hobbyist because I saw they were a sponser here and figured they are doing good to the HAMB, I should see about giving them my business. So far I can report poor results in attempting to bring my business to them.

First, I faxed my application in, which I guess is a big NO-NO from the super bitchy and impolite 3 minute voicemail message I recieved from one of the ladies working in the office. Aparently the fax number on the application form "IS NOT THE NUMBER YOU FAX NEW APPLICATIONS TO AND FURTHERMORE WE NEVER ACCEPT NEW APPLICATIONS VIA FAX."

Ok, no problem, my bad. I sent in the application with the required photos and premium payment calculated by the application question. A week passes and I get a letter in the mail from them. Turns out it was a rejection letter for some pretty rediculous reasons:

1. "Older vehicle for regular use." I use a 1992 Geo as my daily and it was indicated on the application that the Galaxie is not used for daily transport and only for pleasure rides. No clue what the hell is up, is 1992 too old to be considered daily? Must I buy a new car for regular use? LAME.

2. "Excessive anual mileage for a collector car." On the application I noted the car would be used for "<10,000 Miles Annually" This was a super liberal estimate given the past 3 years I've not run it more than 5K miles per year at most. One trip across the country will chew even that up super fast. A trip to Bonneville will cost me 1400+ miles per year. Should 5,000 be what I should have said? 2,500?

3. "Minimum Driving Experience." Ok, I'm 27, been licensed for 12 years now. No driving incidents of any kind, no accidents regardless of fault, nothing whatsoever that would tarnish anything but a spotless record.

4. "Low Value Collector Car." Ok, I'll agree here, it's not a Barrett Jackson trailer queen. It does have decent value and every year I put more upgrades and improvements on the car it will increase in value. In the next 5 years I have about $10-15k in improvements that will be done, hopefully. So if you have a project in piles that they claim they will help you get insurance for, you better make sure those piles of panels are worth more than $6,000.

I will be contacting the underwriter who processed my claim on Monday about all this, and will have more to report then. I hope it will be a report of how they helped to earn my business instead of another report of more bullshit.

 

Why do you pay for full coverage if your only gonna collect $1,500 bucks if it's totaled,,,something or someone ain't right! HRP

 

My experiance is 100% positive.

I suggest that you contact: Hillary Jackson
or email her: hillary.j@americanhobbyist.com
or call her: 800-395-4835 x294
American Hobbyist

 

I have Hagerty

58 Impala at $14000.....
32 Ford Sedan at $20000....
73 Corvette at $8000....

$502 per year.
No hassles.

Thank You.

 

gotta tell you I've had really good luck with GRUNDY...just rememebr you DO have a garage right!!!! GOOD LUCK KEEP US POSTED

 

I think your 10K mileage estimate would make them consider it as a second car and not a low mileage (low risk) collector car. The low rates are based on it spending most of the time in a garage and not on the road.

I had Collector Car insurance refuse me because it had no fenders or hood!!! I got a new insurance company.

 

HRP - Basic liability doesn't pay anything in a total loss, hence the full coverage. Also full coverage has the benefit of some shitty towing benefits, etc.

AHotRod - Glad your experience was good, I'm hoping something good comes out of this.

Deuce - Haggerty doesn't do coverage in this state unfortunately.

Meatball - I got a quote from Grundy, but when I went to purchase the policy, they wanted to charge me 65&#37; MORE than they initially quoted me. My car is kept in a secure shop 24/7, so I should be good on the "kept indoors?" question.

 

Tommy, I think you're right. I should have said 5k, which is probably closer, but you never know when you'll get bit by the "go drive across country" bug.

 

I got full coverage through my regular insurance on my old clunkers because it was about 10 bucks a year more than liability. Better to get a few bucks, than nothing.

How do they gauge the mileage?
Do you have to have the odometer inspected each year?
I'm looking to get insurance through one of these companies.

What if you drive it every day? Do any of you have a good agreed value policy with your company?

 

I use Condon & Skelley (which is MetLife) along with all my other cars, home , etc.. Try them..........

 

If it were me I'd estimate 2500 miles. I think that is the standard. I sometimes have trouble with the speedo cable becoming disconnected It's an intermittent thing.

 

Maybe I'm old and jaded, but your experience is what I would expect, for your situation.

Old cars are a crap shoot, if something goes wrong you probably have to cover it out of your own pocket...unless you can afford to play the game their way, in which case you probably don't need the insurance in the first place.

 

I use Grundy. I have 2 cars covered, 40K each car for 500.00 per year total. Thats half of what Farmers was charging me...

 

Sounds like you have some communications problems....how about skipping the FAX and ignoring the voice mail and actually call the company. Talk to a real person (hopefully speaking correct English...on both parties parts) and get an overview of the coverages available, the requirements to start the process and also have a short question and answer session....sure would save you alot of time and aggravation and we wouldn't have to hear your whining.

Typical classic car insurance limits are 2500 miles while some companies allow 7500 or more, there are use and storage restrictions and 'attendance clauses'....all of which vary by company and policy. You could have learned all that over the phone in about 10-15 minutes.

Good luck with it.

-Bigchief.

 

Probably what killed you was the annual mileage you listed. Most of the collector car insurance companies have a 2500 mile a year limit. Find out there limit before you fill out the form. You might also try American Collectors Insurance.

 

I tried to get insurance though Haggerty on my '34 Ford pickup and got denied. It had no fenders or hood and no shiny paint? WTF
A friend of mine has a Lincoln V-12 flathead in his T-bucket, he fabbed up a 6 carb manifold which he is only running 2, the other 4 are dummies....Deninied. They said he had too many carburators!

 

They frown on rollcages too.

 

I use Progressive....

Nothing but awesome words about this company. Full coverage on my 1953 Plymouth Belvedere. Insured value $11,000. And free 15 mile towing service. Oh yea...did I mention if my dog is with me and I get in a accident and my dog is hurt the insurance covers my dog too!!!!

With my 91 Dodge PU i pay $967 every 6 months. I also live in NJ so rates are a tad high, but I cant complain

 

This is a good subject - I'd like to see more responses - keep 'em coming. Let's see if we can figure out who really is the best car friendly company.

 

I use Grundy, they dont complain about taking my money. Also never had a reason for them to complain about giving it back yet either though.

 

I've had Grundy for several years. No complaints re: their coverage of my 1931 Model A hot rod.

 

I've had nothing but good experiences with them. They insure my Hudson at 10k, and my 65 Ford truck at 3k. They even let me take out the policy on the Hudson before it was even roadworthy.

I'm happy with them.

 

I Had a similar experience getting insurance through Hagerty. I gave them a 10,000 mile figure for personal use and they denied me. I called and a very helpfull lady explained to me that they do not consider miles driven to events, car shows, sponsered rod runs ect. or miles driven to repair shops to be personal miles. Personal miles are those like commuting to work, going to the grocery store, or just crusing aimlessly. I cut it down to 2000 and got accepted immediately. Theres always car shows all over the country you can show as attending in order to justify higher miles if it comes down to it.

 

Cheaper isn't always better. Always read the fine print in your insurance policy. I did some comparisons once and found on 1 of the companys policys previously mentioned in this thread.. I'd be covered if I was coming and going to a run or show but if I stopped on the way home for a six pack and dog's to bbq when I got there that was not allowed, it was deemed additional personal use. I've been with Condon & Skelly since the early 90's, multiple cars ,agreed value replacement and miles allowed. The only time no coverage is on the track should I choose to do a 1/4 pass.

 

I use Grundy. Their pamphlet mentions they have NO mileage requirements for cars insured by them, that cars where meant to be driven and if you purchase an additional car, that car is insured for a short time automatically through grundy to give you time for transporting and what not. That sounded pretty cool to me so I called them up and everything was glitch free, two cars insured 6k each and I pay 151 a year.

Just make sure you have a gaaarrraaage, and can list a daily driver .

Only thing that pisses me off about them is that they do not take payment for the premium over the phone, but they did send me insurance id cards before payment which I was quite amazed that an insurance company would trust anyone like that.


This is not a paid advertisement.......Just passing along info .

 

I've got both of my rides insured by State Farm. The policies are agreed value antique / classis car policies. No limit on mileage, other than you can't use it as a daily driver.
The premium for my F-100 is $214 / year, with an agreed value of $20k, appraisal and photo's are required.

I just finised up a claim for just under $4k of front end damage. Couldn't be happier with the insurance company or the shop that did the work.
When I filed the claim, the State Farm rep noted it was classic car coverage and suggested that I find a body shop that specialized in classis/custom cars. I did, and the adjuster approved the estimate as written (your experience may vary based on the attitude of the adjuster).

 

GRUNDY ....... www.grundy.com

NO better place for insurance.... ... No Deduct on Comp or Collison, No Mileage limits ..Drive and NJoy it !

EOS !!!

 

I've been with American Hobbyist for the last year since seeing their placement on the Journal. Chopped, channeled, fenderless '37, Model A/Nailhead and a '50 Ford - no problems to report and good service from the agents.

 

Here's a fenderless and hoodless (is that a word?) car insured by Hagarty for the last five years. Nothing but good to say about them. Currently have a 66 Olds Tornado and 46 Pontiac woody along with the roadster insured by them.