Grundy, Hagerty /classic insurance?

[Bandit400]

Anyone have experience with one of these types of insurance companies?
I know you have to have a daily driver and can't use your enthusiast car(s) to go to school or work. I think you have to park them inside as well. All that is fine, but has anyone had experience when something went wrong ie.. a claim - wreck, damage, theft, etc..
Is classic car insurance a good thing? It seems it would be the only way to get what a car was worth because the other "typical" insurance companies would hit a 2,000 mile Firehawk at something absurd like $16,000.
My agent actually told me my '78 Trans Am was worth $1500 at most because, and I quote, "you can buy them all day long for that"

[Firebirdjones]

I use Grundy. Great service and there is no mileage limit. That was a huge concern for me as we (wife and I) drive the cars to long distance events and easily put 5-6,000 miles a year on several of the cars.

Most other companies will limit your driving to 2,500 miles if you're lucky,,,that just wouldn't work for us,,,hell it's not even an oil change by most peoples standards,,,,

You are right though,,,,your average insurance company will not cover a car properly in my opinion which is why we use Grundy. I've been down that road and it's not pretty.

Quite honestly I hate insurance companies,,,,always willing to take your money but don't want to shell out when the time comes. It looks as though you are getting that idea from your current insurance.

What we do is have the cars appraised and take many pictures to keep on file so there is no question. And with the skyrocketing prices of the classic cars I found that we have to update our appraisals every 2-3 years just to be safe. (we should probably do it every year to be honest).

Just as you mentioned you have to have a registered daily driver,,,and most will require them to be garaged with a security system.

As far as claims with Grundy,,,,I am one of the lucky ones that hasn't had to make one, as I keep all my cars within sight where ever I go and I'm carefull to not put them in a situation where there may be a hazard (parking lots etc....I always park away from people and where I can keep an eye on it as well) I also generally drive at times when there is less traffic and take scenic routes with less traffic as well. Sounds anal but hey,,,,when your talking about thousands of dollars that most people don't give 2 shits about you have to be that way.

Grundy has been great to deal with and very easy so I have no worries about claims in the event that something should happen. Hope that helps.

P.S. Your insurance company is yanking your chain telling you a mint 78 T/A can be bought for $1,500 all day long,,,,lol I keep an eye on the market and those late second gen T/A's are starting to fetch $15,000 to $20,000 now for a nice low mileage example. It's time to put quality insurance on that thing.

[Bandit400]

Thank you for the reply. Sounds like you and I are in agreement.
I try to be safe.. driving only in low traffic times (sunday morning), avoiding public parking, no tickets, etc... Insurance is a one way straw and I've bought my insurance company a new car with what I've paid all these years and they've never paid a cent. I don't want to wait until something happens because I know I will be RAPED. I am aware of the current market value of 2nd gens Trans Ams and the comment made by my State Farm agent merely pushed me into exploring better coverage which is what I am trying to do now.

[third_shift|studios]

i've had "Drive INsurance" from Progressive for more than 5 years. Last year i had 2 wrecks with the Batmobile. They were very quick to take care of me. They paid for towing even w/out it being in my contract. They forked over cash left n' right as needed no questions asked. The second wreck yeilded a near-totalling. I asked if they could just give me the check (as if i were going to fix it) and I could sell the car as scrap to someone, preserving the title-which they 100% obliged with.

They even give me the option to drive n' drop coverage almost daily. I can literally call them on friday morning and turn on full coverage, then call on sunday night and tell them to reduce it to comp only while it sits in the garage for the week. That has significantly reduced my insurance spending-considering I have 3 cars insured [Wife's, my DD and the current Phoenix].

I've called other companies and they have rediculous rates compared to Drive/Progressive.

[Firebirdjones]

i've had "Drive INsurance" from Progressive for more than 5 years. Last year i had 2 wrecks with the Batmobile. They were very quick to take care of me. They paid for towing even w/out it being in my contract. They forked over cash left n' right as needed no questions asked. The second wreck yeilded a near-totalling. I asked if they could just give me the check (as if i were going to fix it) and I could sell the car as scrap to someone, preserving the title-which they 100% obliged with.

They even give me the option to drive n' drop coverage almost daily. I can literally call them on friday morning and turn on full coverage, then call on sunday night and tell them to reduce it to comp only while it sits in the garage for the week. That has significantly reduced my insurance spending-considering I have 3 cars insured [Wife's, my DD and the current Phoenix].

I've called other companies and they have rediculous rates compared to Drive/Progressive.

Ummmm,,,,are you talking about a 30 year old car with a current $30,000 market value or more????? Because thats where you'll find these standard run of the mill insurance companies really stick it to ya.....

If your talking about a car that is 10 years old or less,,,,then it usually isn't much of an issue.

[Firebirdjones]

Thank you for the reply. Sounds like you and I are in agreement.
I try to be safe.. driving only in low traffic times (sunday morning), avoiding public parking, no tickets, etc... Insurance is a one way straw and I've bought my insurance company a new car with what I've paid all these years and they've never paid a cent. I don't want to wait until something happens because I know I will be RAPED. I am aware of the current market value of 2nd gens Trans Ams and the comment made by my State Farm agent merely pushed me into exploring better coverage which is what I am trying to do now.

LOL,,,,what a coincidence,,,,,I had nothing but trouble with State Farm as well. They never wanted to pay out,,,,at the time I had full coverage on an 84 full size 2-door blazer,,,,somewhat hard to find around these parts,,,rust free and near mint. At the time is was about 15 years old with only 60,000 miles on it. Wife slid on black ice,,,,,hit another car. Needed a hood, grille, front bumper. Extent of damage wasn't bad,,,total bill was only $2,200 from a local shop (good shop, friend of mine) and State Farm gave me all kinds of crap wanting to total it. Man what I pain. I can't replace a fullsize 4X4 blazer for $2,200 unless I get a clapped out piece of junk.
They also try to dictate what shop you go to,,,,which is total garbage. They have bodyshops sign up to their program so they can dictate a price structure and the type of parts to install on the cars,,,,(usually cheap Taiwan parts) My buddy doesn't play that game with insurance companies and uses genuine parts on all cars whenever possible.
They pissed and moned that I wanted to use this shop, because he wasn't part of the program. Thats just tough,,,my car, I make the bills, I take it where I want.

In the end I got what I wanted,,,I got the Blazer fixed without totaling, my buddy did it with GM parts and it came out looking new. After that I dropped State Farm. Sorry for the rant.

One company I did have good luck with as far as standard run of the mill insurance goes is Farmers. I had my 71 Nova,,,,again a mint car with low miles,,,,some guy t-boned the left rear quarter while pulling out of a parking lot. He had Farmer Inusurance,,,,,so I took it to the nearest Farmer claims office,,,,and I was prepared to rip somone a new ass if they gave me any trouble. (I already had a quote from my buddy to fix it) which was a little over $4,000. I thought for sure they would try to total a 25 year old car for that.

Wow was I amazed when they looked the car over and he said,,,thats one of the nicest Nova's I've seen in a long time. He cut me a check without a fuss for more than my buddy quoted and told me if there were any additional repairs to let him know and he would take care of it. I was completely shocked.

But I don't take chances anymore,,,,Started using specialty car insurance in the mid 90's and knock on wood it's been great. Nice piece of mind knowing that the cars are appraised at replacement value and insured accordingly.

[third_shift|studios]

Ummmm,,,,are you talking about a 30 year old car with a current $30,000 market value or more????? Because thats where you'll find these standard run of the mill insurance companies really stick it to ya.....

If your talking about a car that is 10 years old or less,,,,then it usually isn't much of an issue.

ooops. Not familiar with that area. Sorry!

[Firebirdjones]

ooops. Not familiar with that area. Sorry!

Still though, I would like to hear more about 'drive insurance" from progressive. I'm not familiar with that term.

[raynor139]

LOL,,,,what a coincidence,,,,,I had nothing but trouble with State Farm as well. They never wanted to pay out,,,,at the time I had full coverage on an 84 full size 2-door blazer,,,,somewhat hard to find around these parts,,,rust free and near mint. At the time is was about 15 years old with only 60,000 miles on it. Wife slid on black ice,,,,,hit another car. Needed a hood, grille, front bumper. Extent of damage wasn't bad,,,total bill was only $2,200 from a local shop (good shop, friend of mine) and State Farm gave me all kinds of crap wanting to total it. Man what I pain. I can't replace a fullsize 4X4 blazer for $2,200 unless I get a clapped out piece of junk.
They also try to dictate what shop you go to,,,,which is total garbage. They have bodyshops sign up to their program so they can dictate a price structure and the type of parts to install on the cars,,,,(usually cheap Taiwan parts) My buddy doesn't play that game with insurance companies and uses genuine parts on all cars whenever possible.
They pissed and moned that I wanted to use this shop, because he wasn't part of the program. Thats just tough,,,my car, I make the bills, I take it where I want.

Ive been using USAA and never had a problem with them. They let me take my car wherever i wanted in january when some asshole backed into my car in a parking lot. I ended up taking it to the local chevrolet dealership which was a certified usaa repair shop. The only reason though i took it there was b/c they have one of the best collision repair shops in Greensboro. They redid the front end of my 03 cavalier that i used to have when a punk kid pulled out in front of me and the adjuster that looked at it afterwards swore that if he didnt know it was wrecked he would never be able to tell, the dealership that i traded it into also couldnt believe it until they pulled the cars title.

[basballny2]

subscribing to what everyone has to say, im also interested in the different types of insurance coverages

[Vertiviper]

Most collector car insurance places the car has to be older than a 75 and the driver must be 25 or older.

I think Grundy had it for any year car and 25+ older.

I'm content with my Gieco insurance both of my vehicles(06 Wrangler/ 99 Trans Am PJE ) year round for $1700, im 25.

[raynor139]

paying 64 a month with usaa and im only 23

[wvsp518]

Went from $679 with regular policy to $285 with Grundy.