Just looking for some advice and opinions about project car insurance. I've come a long way on my project recently and would hate to see all that hard work or the car itself be wiped out in an instant. Last time I talked with my insurance agent, home & auto, they said that car parts were covered even if the entire car was not insured on a separate policy. Now I will have to say this was when my car was more parts than a car. I'll post some photos of my progress. Another thing to think about is, yes the car is more together than before but I still have parts spread out between two different garages at two different addresses. So what I need is coverage for the big piece of car at one location, but will also cover all my little pieces at the other location. Needless to say I'm a little confused. So what have you folks done? Companies that are good, others to avoid? If I go with my regular agent what do I need to do to prepare? Question to ask, etc? Anyone have good or bad experiences to share? Here's where I'm at, there's more photos on my build thread and in my profile, Thanks Bryan
I would think your average home owners or garage policy would cover you until it's registered and inspected. But...I could be wrong. A call to your insurance agent should clear it up...
I avoid all auto insurance except the Liability required by law. I never buy a car that I can't pay cash for, therefore I ain't dictated by any finance company to insure THEIR investment. All else, on average, is a means of support for insurance companies. Any loss of any sort should ALL of my vehicles suddenly fall in a **** hole has already been paid for with money I haven't spent on full coverage/comprehensive in nearly 60 years of driving. Hot rod Suddenly Gone? I'd just build another.
Well if your insurance policy covers your parts already then either A: Keep them in one location where they're covered or B: Insure the other site. Make sure you have receipts safely stored or else you have no proof of parts lost if something does occur. I'd rather not have to pay for all that stuff out of pocket again it would probably put me off from the hobby.
I think I would get more info than what the agent is saying. They can be wrong. I know on some trailer ins, if the trailer isnt insured neither is the object on or in it.
I would call Grundy also, you can insure it as partially complete, It looks like you are about maybe 65% or 75%, that's what I did. My home owners would not give me the coverage I wanted. You can get a very reasonable rate from Grundy, say 200.00 a year for about 50,000 to 60,000 worth of coverage.
Insurance = Risk. The way I "advise" people is as follows: Can you afford to light on fire $ 5,000.00 cash (or what ever you have invested in your project) for the price of Cl***ic Automobile Insurance ?? I would think not. 29nash is ***uming all of the risk on his own. Sure, insurance is a "gamble". You pay and pay and pay so that "if" there is a theft, fire, collapsed building, tornado, hurricane, etc... you get your investment dollars back. Without insurance, you get nothing. Say for instance a $ 10,000.00 cl***ic car policy (the value of your project in it's current condition) costs $ 191.00 per year. It'd take 52.35 years in premium dollars to add up to $ 10,000.00. I haven't even been on Earth that long and I've carried Cl***is Auto Insurance on everyone of my 6 project vehicles. I am a licensed N.Y. state appraiser and would suggest getting an Agreed Value Cl***ic Auto Policy. I have dealt with Grundy and many others. Grundy (hands down) has the best pricing.
Coverage probably depends on the state and the company, make sure you ask specific questions and get answers in writing, or know exactly in the policy where it says it is covered. Generally homeowners policies don't cover cars or car parts. I probably won't drive our Nomad for another couple of years but it has been insured since the day I bought it because I could live for a year on what I got in it, shop fire in Tennesse last week is exact reason it is insured. On the other hand, if it wouldn't hurt too bad financially to lose a car, I only carry liability & high limit uninsured motorist, to cover medical bills, in case of serious injuries. I hit a deer with my 34 last fall, $10,600.00 damage, at $800 a year for full coverage on 3 cars, insured for a total of $75,000 for the 3, I think that $800 a year is a good investment considering American collector wrote me a check for over $10,000.00 to repair the '34.
Homeowner's does NOT cover projects, unless you have a specific rider in the policy for THAT car. I lost four vehicles that were not insured, in a tornado in 2003. Basically it was "tough ****" for me. Of course, I had coverage on four others through Hagerty, that worked out very well. Three others were drivers that were also covered by a different auto policy.
I have full coverage agreed value cl***ic car insurance for my OT car that is finished and my '41 Chevy project car. The OT running,driving, registered, car is insured for $40k. The far from running, driving, etc '41 is insured for $5k. Just got my renewal bill: $324 for a year.
I have Hagerty.Put insurance on it while being built.Very cheap.They are going to want pictures and keep your receipts.And you can up the coverage the further along you get.
I had never bothered with it, but my wife insures all the projects(its only about 20 bucks a year) in case of tree falls etc. Last summer I dropped a large cooler on the windshield of our Buick. It was 680 bucks to replace, I just paid the 50 dollar deductible.
I have Haggerty and when I bought the initial pile 'o stuff I sent them some pictures and we agreed on a value. At two-thirds done I sent photos and raised the amount. Same thing when finished. Worked for me and no pobs..
Your parts and stuff are not covered, I found out the hard after being told that they were. The total cost per year to cover them,,, 50 bucks. I lost 6 grand worth of stuff thinkin it was covered. If they had told me it wasnt covered by my normal policy I would have gotten the rider. Your insurance guy will tell you whatever you want to hear to sell the policy. I hate insurance companies. Pay out the nose for coverage and if you file a claim, we double your rate.
Check with Hargerty/Grundy and find out what is applicable to your state. Homeowners will very likely NOT cover you for loss,nor will it cover you for DOG BITES. (OT I know, but if you have a dog,better make sure you have coverage somewhere as 25% of homeowner claims are dog related and you won't be covered). Project insurance is pretty cheap, but peace of mind-unless like 29Nash you self insure your vehicle and feel like ***uming all the risk.
Homeowners insurance does not cover cars, period. They will cover spare parts up to a specified limit. It's usually $1500. I do work for Grundy, Hagerty, American Modern and Hagerty. All have coverage for project cars. Start with what you have into the car and add as the project progresses. DO NOT seek advise from an agent. They know nothing about claims. If you have questions of how a claim is handled, call that company's claims department.
The car, together with its parts, need coverage separate from your building or home. I insured my "A" with Haggerty when I started building it. Took 4 pics and insured it for what I had in it plus a little more. Bad things happen! Had a fire in my garage. Lots of smoke and water damage from the fire dept. putting it out. My "A" was in a far corner from the fire, but got a pile of water doused on it. Lots of bare metal and a brand new Cornhuskers rolling frame in bare metal. The day after the fire it was all bright orange rust! I called Haggerty. Two days later an adjuster looked at it. Less than a week I had a check that more than compensated for my loss. They paid to dip the frame and blast the body. Get projects insured!
Car has a value to you. Insure the car for that value plus 20% even if it's not on the road as it still has a set value as a project or a complete car. Make sure you get a seperate policy on the car and don't count on the home-owner policy to cover it !! This will make sure you are covered without any gray area !! I've never met a cat that had a loss on a car that said he was glad he was under-insured and had cut corners on the policy !!! >>>>.
Thanks for the advice! I'm going to speak with my regular agent this week, just to give them 1st crack at it and will be calling Grundy and Hagerty as well. Found out last Saturday that the storage building at the wife's grandparents collapsed, heavy snow, on our O/T project Triumph. Thankfully the damage is minimal and we have not started any work on that one yet. We haven't even transferred the ***le yet and the car was free, so if I had my ducks in a row I probably could have made some money on it! Funny dog bites were mentioned. We have a rottweiler that was declared 'potentially dangerous' a few years back, our agent said our homeowners would cover the first bite but after that we would either have to destroy the dog or be dropped. Haven't had to cross that bridge yet and hopefully will never have to, but isn't that what insurance is for? Thanks again fellas!
save your time.. Condon and Skelly was the only big boy I could get to insure my 57 convert in the building process. These folks don't easily raise the value either. They also don't want you to have it apart condition for forever. $14,000 value is like $50.00 year. Found them through a Street Rodder article a couple years ago.
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