Car Insurance Coverage with Today's Market

[SeattleChris]

So I've just finalized the purchase of a 964 C4 in great condition. As many of you know, the air-cooled market is on the rise. I'm not confident that many of the insurance companies understand the market or are at least up to speed on Porsche (replacement) values.

The worry is that I go with the average coverage and in the awful circumstance of a total loss situation, I take it in the rear because the Insurance company doesn't believe a car from 1989 is "worth that much".

Diving into it a little bit further, there are "Classic Auto" policies. I'm awaiting a quote for one of those to see how much more expensive it is.

Another option might be to go with the regular policy, get the car appraised, and deal with that argument in the event of a total loss situation (with damage coverage higher than the actual car value).

What is everyone else doing for insurance now a days with the market as crazy as it is? Regular policy or classic/collectible policy??

[silverc4s]

I use Hagerty, thru my Allstate agent. Fine so far, but no claims. Best if you have a daily driver for each driver in household.

[BFT3.2]

Here are a couple recent links covering exactly what your asking.

What do you pay for insurance?

A Kid run a red light and really messed up my 1980 911

Classic coverage tends to be considerably cheaper but perhaps with some driving restrictions. One thing they usually offer that regular car insurance may not is "Agreed Value" for a total loss circumstance. You'll tell them upfront how much you want it covered for based on it's real street/market value, they may agree or you may need someone like a local P-car shop do a appraisal based on their expertise. Personally I would never gamble with regular insurance without a guaranteed loss value. Either way, lots of info in the links I posted..

[APachon71RN]

I too have been wondering about this and thank you for posting the links BFT3.2

~Andy

[SeattleChris]

Just bought a policy through State Farm "Classic/Anitque" and with regular coverage ($100k/300k) and then some, the policy was very cheap. $20/month with an annual mileage of $14k (much more than what I plan on driving with just weekend drives) and a replacement value of $45k.

I won't lie, this came as a huge surprise. I have a very good/spotless driving record, but this still came back way cheaper than what I had thought it would be. Regular (non-classic or antique) quotes came in roughly 4 to 5 times as much with identical coverage and mileage (except they wouldn't guarantee the value) . I kept looking for special restrictions or a catch and the agent assured me, it's regular coverage with no restrictions. He did mention that the car had to be older than 1990, which I barely qualified for with my '89.

Just a thought, but if you're paying more for insurance than that and your car is old enough, it might be worth looking into.....

Chris

[megerian]

State Farm offers "agreed value" coverage, which is what I have for my Porsche.

This thread and a few others motivated me to call them and re-evaluate the agreed value, since the value has gone up in the 4 years i've owned the car. Or put another way, if the car was stolen or totaled there is NO WAY i could replace the car based on the agreed value I currently have in place.

[sugarwood]

I just activated a policy through Hagerty
$600 a year.

$32k stated value
250/500 liability
$500 deductible for collision/comp

[bpu699]

Originally Posted by SeattleChris

Just bought a policy through State Farm "Classic/Anitque" and with regular coverage ($100k/300k) and then some, the policy was very cheap. $20/month with an annual mileage of $14k (much more than what I plan on driving with just weekend drives) and a replacement value of $45k.

I won't lie, this came as a huge surprise. I have a very good/spotless driving record, but this still came back way cheaper than what I had thought it would be. Regular (non-classic or antique) quotes came in roughly 4 to 5 times as much with identical coverage and mileage (except they wouldn't guarantee the value) . I kept looking for special restrictions or a catch and the agent assured me, it's regular coverage with no restrictions. He did mention that the car had to be older than 1990, which I barely qualified for with my '89.

Just a thought, but if you're paying more for insurance than that and your car is old enough, it might be worth looking into.....

Chris

Yep. State Farm quoted me $15 per month on the 930, and 20$ per month on the testarossa. I was shocked... Agreed value, 55,000$ and 75,000$ respectively...

Bo

[bob deluke]

Have antique/classic with State Farm for my 77 Targa, stated value: $15K. Cost, $33.00 for 6 months. They have all my insurance, cars, house. Been with them 30+years. I am going to increase value this spring. Had two windshield claims this year, Volvo and Porsche. No issue, they paid for both of them, got a Pilkington for the P'car too....

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by bob deluke

Have antique/classic with State Farm for my 77 Targa, stated value: $15K. Cost, $33.00 for 6 months.

$66 for one year?

[WyattEarp]

Be very careful with the language in your policy on 'classics' like our Porsches. Agreed value and Stated value are NOT the same. You want an agreed (read gauranteed) value policy. Stated (read maximum) value does not guarantee you will get that value in the event of a total loss. An Agreed policy does. Stated Value exists to decide how much premium you pay. Not how much you get paid.

Read the language in your policies very carefully. I had a 'classic' stated value policy with State Farm until I got educated on the differences and actually read the policy. Now I have Agreed value with Condon Skelly.

Here is a little more detail from Hagerty

Whats the difference between Agreed Value and Stated Value coverage

[bpu699]

The new State Farm classic car policy states that you will get the actual stated value listed in the policy in the event of a total loss. That's there verbiage. It's a 1 page rider added to their regular policy...


That's it. Dirt cheap.

Bo

[bob deluke]

Yepper,
Just got the invoice, $33.74 for 6 months coverage, Feb-Aug. stated value, not agreed upon. State Farm does not do agreed upon value. I have a clean driving record, no kids, 68 years old, and I don't live in Hawaii !! I presented a certified appraisal to State Farm agent, and he took a bunch of pics as well. I must be getting a special geezer rate!!

[sugarwood]

So what does state farm use to decide book value? KBB?

I feel better about paying $600 year with Hagerty for agreed value.

Sometimes, you get what you pay for...

[WPOZZZ]

With agreed value, they agree to pay you the agreed amount if the car is totaled or stolen. With the air cooled market jumping, you need to update the amount every 3-6 months. What happens with a regular daily driver type policy? They pay you what the car is worth, but you need to substantiate the amount?

[Coastr]

It might sound cheap but old geezers with classic cars not driven to work and not doing big mileage and probably garaged are actually a very low risk.

Normal policies cover car regularly in traffic, bad weather, mixing it up amongst cars with teenagers looking at their phones, parked in shopping malls etc etc. the risk profile is massively different and the claim stats bear that out.

My policy has an automatic wreck ownership, so in the event of a total loss the wreck is mine by default, unless I don't want it. This is a very valuable feature if you have lots of expensive or rare parts like engines, wheels, seats etc and would want to transfer the bits into a new do or chassis.

[APachon71RN]

Great Great Info, thanks for sharing.

~Andy

Originally Posted by WyattEarp

Be very careful with the language in your policy on 'classics' like our Porsches. Agreed value and Stated value are NOT the same. You want an agreed (read gauranteed) value policy. Stated (read maximum) value does not guarantee you will get that value in the event of a total loss. An Agreed policy does. Stated Value exists to decide how much premium you pay. Not how much you get paid.

Read the language in your policies very carefully. I had a 'classic' stated value policy with State Farm until I got educated on the differences and actually read the policy. Now I have Agreed value with Condon Skelly.

Here is a little more detail from Hagerty

Whats the difference between Agreed Value and Stated Value coverage

[Allen_70S]

Hello SeattleChris:

I can offer an informed perspective of the State Farm “Stated Vehicle Value” coverage Vs. Hagerty “Guaranteed Value”.I have a ’61 T-Bird and ’49 Ford insured with State Farm (Antique/Classic Policy). “Stated Value” is not a guaranteed value. If the car is totaled State Farm may require that it be “proved” that the value at the time of the total loss is at least as high as the “Stated Value”. By the way, I think they consider the vehicle “Totaled” if the repair cost exceeds 75% of the “Stated Value”. I recently had major restoration work done on the ’49 and they had no problem increasing the coverage from $25K to $45K. However, it took them >8 weeks to approve the increase once the photos and other documentation were provided. Hagerty executed a similar change (upward) of value on my 911 within a week.

The Hagerty policy on my 911 is “Guaranteed Value” of the specified amount. If there is a total loss they send you a check for that amount. I have yet to have a claim with Hagerty, so I can’t speak to their service. Another good thing is their “Valuation Tool” (which is updated every 4 months) given the recent escalation in prices of the early 911s. It’s hard for them to decline an increase in coverage when you’re using their data to justify the increase.

Al

[bpu699]

Folks... to clarify, STATE FARM does in fact now have agreed value insurance...

Its new as of the last 12 months. They NEVER had this before. They are doing it to compete with haggerty/etc.

I have it in writing, and will post the addendum when I get home and have a chance.

There are NO APPRAISALS NEEDED (also new, as of this year)

The policy clearly states that in the event of a total loss, the insured will get the STATED AMOUNT agreed to in the policy. Thats their wording, not mine.

Previous to this, it said you got the ACTUAL CASH VALUE.

There are some simple exclusions in there, I assume haggerty has the same:

1) You can't intentionally damage the car
2) You can't let it fall into disrepair
3) Yo are not allowed to remove any standard components that may diminish the value (tools/etc)
4) The car has to see minimal use (NO MILEAGE RESTRICTION)
5) They do send a questionaire periodically to verify mileage use
6) You need to post pictures of the front, sides, back, inside, motor, trunk.
7) The car has to be stock-ish. No NOS/no racing euipment, etc...
8) They have to agree to the value before the policy goes into effect. My agent said they can do up to $88,000 on a 1988 930 turbo at this time... Thats pretty darn good. Perhaps if you have a #1 car, thats low. But for most of us, that more than enough.

The prior policies all required an appraisal, and covergage was ACV up to the stated amount. Now, it IS the stated amount.

I will post the policy when I get home...

From their website:

More Reasons to Choose State Farm

•Lower insurance premiums since your antique auto or classic car is used on a very limited basis such as exhibitions, club activities or parades.
•When you choose antique or classic car insurance with us, you and State Farm will agree on the value of the car. If the car experiences a total covered loss, we will pay this agreed-upon value, rather than the actual cash value of the car.**•Up to $500 coverage for your car's spare parts.*
•24 Hour Good Neighbor Service — During the day or in the middle of the night, you can call your agent's number and speak with a State Farm representative to handle your antique auto or classic car insurance needs.


Bo

[Scheebs]

I am totally confused by the "new State Farm policy"
I have had State Farm covering my '67 911S since I purchased it back in 1975. 9 months ago, April of 2014, I sat in my agent's office for forty five minutes while he conferred with the special requests department trying to get them to cover said car for more than the $45K they were saying it was worth. There was no new policy covering the meteoric rise of values with the air-cooled cars.
I am now with Leland West. So far, so good.