Do any of the classic car insururance companies offer project insurance. My car is going to be a multi-year build and the car will gradually be worth more and more. Is there a way to get agreed value on a project? Thanks in advance
It's almost impossible to get insurance on a basket case. You are much more likely to get insurance if the insurance company believes that it is a complete running and driving car, and you provide pictures to prove it.
Not sure about in the US. However I got a standard car insurance policy from a classic car insurance company here is Australia. As the car is always in my garage its very cheap and I can just increase the value of the policy as I work on it. Was surprisingly easy and I am sure you would have something similar there.
Check with Hagerty. They insure projects builds. They may need pictures for a final quote. http://www.hagerty.com/ Smokey
Yes they do, I have a grudy's policy through Heritage, I insured mine from the get go, I upped the amount as I built the coupe. Very easy people to deal with.
Why would you want to insure it? How easy can they take an unbuilt, non-running car? Don't waste your Money on insurance, use it for the car. When it's done get your insurance.
And what happens if your shop burns or a tornado takes the whole mess along with your house? You sound like the people I see on the news who after a loss cry "I lost everything, I don't what am I going to do?". Insurance is the first thing I get on a new project once it is titled and stored in my shop. If you can't afford $80-100 a year for insurance then you should be asking can I really afford this project. My uncle came home and found the entire front clip gone off of his '46 Ford one day. It hadn't run in 10 years.
I also did mine in steps through Haggerty.Gave them pictures at the start,and updated them along the way as I increased the insurance amount.Very easy all done over the net
Sorry it is not affording the insurance , it' s wasting money on it. My garage and everything in it is insured already with the house so is insuring a build really needed? Insurance companies are the biggest money makers around for a reason. And Hagerty is one of the most expensive in the lot. When I got insurance for my 57 they were the worst quote out there, almost double what I pay for the same coverage.
Well when you rent a garage it would be much easier to get things like this taken care of, wish I had it back then !
Ditto, I similarly took up insurance. As I progress I can upgrade depending on how much my project owes me and how much work goes into it. As long as you have proof to support your purchases and work done, it's all good. That way when finished you can roll over into full insurance from laid up insurance. I keep photos of everything and receipts should something actually happen. Worth every cent IMHO as I already have a driver insured with them. Good business for them as well.
WRONG, period. NOT everything in your garage is covered under your homeowners insurance. A car, project or running, is NOT covered under homeowners. Only vehicles used to maintan property like a riding lawnmower or tractor are covered. To the OP, I have and had Grundy all through the build of Big Olds and sent Grundy a quick email to increase the agreed value, along with a few new photos, every time I wanted to increase its value. Very easy.
Your house, etc, may be insured......but the average insurance co will NOT pay for any type of vehicle, boat, ATV or what have you. They say each type of thing has to be specifically covered on it's own policy.
While building my 32, I had State Farm Insurance on it. It cost about 20 bucks/year for 15K coverage. When finished, I went to Grundy per Denise's advice. Easy
So at our shop some people will show their insurance companies the receipts that we give them. Then the insurance company knows exactly how much they have in their cars. Maybe just send a copy of your receipts as you order parts?
Thank you Denise, I have personally experienced this just recently. My father-in-law had a three year old 5th wheel travel trailer ($33K loss) and garage destroyed by a tornado 18 months ago. The insurace company replaced the garage but not the 5th wheel. He thought it would be covered since it was in the garage. They did pay to repair the John Deere tractor that was in the garage...
I have all 4 of my hot rods insured with American National,,2 running cars with agreed value and 2 projects with agreed value. As the renewal on the premiums come due I can call and add more insurance on the projects or the drivers. Homeowners does not cover project cars no matter how much you have invested,, The project insurance is relatively inexpensive and I sleep better knowing I have it. HRP
Have you documented specific/agreed value on project car(s) in the garage and have them listed as a "rider" or "add-on" on your homeowners policy ? Unless you got something in writing with your homeowners policy holder, you might be surprised in the event that something happened, like several unfortunate posters have contributed. It is amazing to read the actual policy boilerplate and see all the exceptions, etc, etc....
hagerty's or grundy's .we checked out both when we got our sedan. they are close to the same coverage for cost . the each have differant features and add ons. we went with grundy's.
As a property claim adjuster, I can tell you you're more than likely wrong. I can't speak for every policy with every insurance company, but for the most part, your "Land motor vehicles, including recreational land motor vehicles, all other motorized land conveyances and any vehicle or conveyance parts, equipment and accessories" are not covered under a standard homeowners insurance policy. There are a *few* exceptions, however. Generally a vehicle that is used "soley for the maintenance of your premises immediately adjacent to your dwelling" (think tractor), a handicapped scooter chair, or a golf cart will be covered under a homeowners policy. Think about insurance like this...if you can purchase a separate policy, it is not covered by your homeowners policy. (Car, large boat, ATV, motorcycle, etc). Yes, there are companies that will insure a project. I used American Collectors Insurance (A sponsor of the Jalopy Journal) to insure my car as I was building it.
Why ? We have a 49 Aero Cp sitting in the shop, 5,200 hours labor so far , 32K in parts dollars and it's not ready for paint yet. I don't consider the insurance on it a waste .
A recent break in happened to a family member. They stole his outrageous minibike that he had a couple grand in. No coverage because it was a "motorized vehicle", even though they are not street legal or carry a title. Total loss. If you do try to add a rider to your homeowners policy, the price will knock you out even if they would allow it. They have the right to refuse that coverage. For those of you who have a substatial amount of tools and equipment, you will need a rider over a certain amount. They can limit coverage to something much less than replacement value, like less than 1/2. I have additional covenenants in mine. 3 welders, 10HP compressor, slip roller, paint shaker, and they can legally stop at simple common garage contents. Probably a good thing, this post. Time to review your policy, kids.
Along with Home Owner's and separate contents policy, we have Home Owner's Garage WITH separate contents policies; covers everything in both buildings, updates for high end tools included, but NOT vehicles. Like Denise and several others, we've gone with Grundys for projects and update them as needed.
Grits turned me on to these guys. Great guys to work with, economical pricing and immediate service. My truck is still in the "project" stage but will be fully insured when, and if, it is finished. PM me if you want the agent's number.
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