Insurance: going over the limit:

Thats an interesting question, and as the closets things to a collector car I have is a rare 1:43 model, i cant answer from personal experience. However, I think it would be along the line of "if you didn't get into trouble we don't really care". BUT, you have to inquire as to what exactly would happen if something should happen while your over the limit. If they are really gonna take you to the cleaners, might just be worth it to extend the mileage coverage.

 

Read the policy, it will have a clause on that exact contigentcy.

 

More than likely they will make you pay additional premium for the additional exposure. First they have to verify that you actually went over the mileage limit. Did you provide your mileage as part of last years renewal?

 

Your policy was relatively cheap because you told the Company that you didn't drive much. However, you are driving more than you anticipated. That's understandable. These cars are fun. Unfortunately, you really don't belong in that type of program. IF they ask and you report your mileage, they may drop you from the program. Just apply to another program that allows higher usage. All of them have restrictions that allow them to reduce premium, due to lower risk. Mine has no mileage restriction, but I can't commute to work in it every day. I could drive 50K miles on club events, though. As with all insurance, shop around every few years.

 

Have you looked into just normal insuranace for you car? I have found in my little investigations into insurance companies that these "Vintage" insurance plans are not all there cracked up to be. I found out that insuring my car with just normal insurance (full coverage 1million liability) that its cheaper in the long run..and I don't have any limitations on were I can drive the car,and how many miles I can put on it. I pay 600CND for six months coverage on my 308. I think that is a very good rate..and I can drive anywere,when ever I want.

 

I agree with Tom. I just switched over to Marsh as my broker, and the full boat coverage on a 1998 Maranello is $1,600 a year.

Personally, I think that the "Vintage" insurers are cherry picking. By going with agreed value they actually limit their coverage. By not insuring track days or "driver's ed," they limit that risk. By requiring a locked garage, they limit their theft risk. And by insisting on unreasonable milage limits, they give themselves an out if you go over, along with limiting the driving risk. Finally, the more valuable the car, the less likely it is that you will drive it.

I'm not knocking these guys. They see a chance for profit and go for it. But as a consumer, it pays to shop around.

Dale

 

I pay $400 for a year. As I stated, you have to shop around for the policy that fits your needs. There is a plan for everyone, but everyone is a little different.

 

Yep, good ole State Farm was considerably cheaper than any of the collector companies. I think I'm limited to 7500/year which is higher than pretty much any of the collector companies would allow. Unlike other cars, it's not like they can ask for like quality and kind parts for the car thereby producing a crappy repair. There just aren't that many after market type parts for these cars. On top of that, having many cars, home owners, umbrellas, etc policies with the same carrier, you stand a better chance of a better settlement should an accident occur.

 

I have GEICO and found them to be much cheaper then the vintage companies...I have no mileage restrictions on any of my cars...my bmw runs me about $600, my blazer another $150, and the 348ts is $300 more. Granted the reason F-car is only $300 bucks is because of multi-car discount, but don't we all get multi-car discounts anyway? So my F-car costs me $600 a year in insurance for unlimited mileage....definitely well worth it.

 

Jim,

If you're concerned with mileage limitations, think about shopping around for a company that doesn't have limits.

I've been with Grundy about seven years. No mileage limitations, set agreed upon value, glass coverage and a $0 deductable.

It's about $900 a year for my Boxer and would probably be about half of that for a 308/328.

 

For those of you that use your regular insurance companies (state farm, etc..) - do you have agreed upon values? Are you sure they will let you fix'em at the garage of your choice?

 

There is never "driving too much".

 

Low premiums are great until you have a claim. Unfortunately, it's too late to buy the right insurance after a loss. I'm not knocking the direct writers (State Farm, Allstate, AAA, Farmers, Geico, etc.) but you get what you pay for. My insurance through ACE is cheap because I agree not to drive my car to work and I have a $2,500 deductible. However, if I drive it off a cliff and survive, I know EXACTLY how much they are going to pay me. There are so many options out there. Do a little shopping and find the one that suits you best.

 

You might find that Grundy (www.grundy.com/grundy_car_insurance.html) quotes the same annual price or lower for agreed value, and does not limit mileage driven. Of course, there may be other differences in coverage.

 

Try living in New York City. GEICO's charging me a single-car rate of $3,250+ a year. And that's with a spotless driving record (at least when I took out the insurance policy). ;-)

Gotta love City Living.

 

Allthough I´m not trained in US insurance-law, I find this very odd.

If an isurancecompany agrees to take over your damagerisk in exchange for premium (that is a insurance-contract in a nutshell) and the company does this under the condition that you don´t drive more than 5000 miles a year, than every mile over 5.000 comes at your own risk. The insurance-deal stops at 5000 mile a year. So if, god forbid, you´d happen to damage your Ferrari in a collision, while you´ve run -let´s say- 5250 miles, than the insurance does not cover the damage. And that is it. They really have no interest in cancelling the deal alltogether. They want to collect your premium and they can get out of having to pay the damage. So why would cancelling the deal do them any good?

Besides, it is all about the stretch of coverage. An insurancecompany can not tell you how to make use of your property. You are free to decide how many miles you put on your Ferrari, they only downside is that over 5.000 miles, the damagerisks shift from the insurancecompany back to you.

 

Vik, Hagerty is charging me $1650 year with 250-500 liab, $500 deduct, with "agreed value" and no depreciation. No mileage restrictions.

 

I had one claim with Hagerty and they payed me $1800 for truly minor fiberglass damage (1972 Lotus Europa TC). Yes, that was a real damage estimate. They never did even ask what my miles were; I had a 2500 restriction that I was under anyway. Excellent servive for $120 a year.

I'm now paying $350 a year with Farmers and have no restrictions other than daily commute. I CAN drive to work every now and then.

Ken

 

How would they ever know if you were driving to work???

 

Well, for me it would show on the mileage. It's 70 miles round trip. I have a "loose" 7500 mile restriction, meaning if I'm over that they will want to up my rate, but won't drop me. I think it it was a $200,000 car, they'd dig a little deeper if I totaled it in Chicago on a Tuesday morning, but in my case I would doubt they'd care.

Ken