Leland West Insurance Good or Bad???

[stutt66]

Anyone have any experience with Leland West insurance. I always used Hagerty but decided to shop around. Got a great price quote from Leland. I saw that they're endorsed by PCA. Any comments appreciated.

[patz]

Compare their limits and stated coverage to your Haggerty policy, go from there.

[Topgun63]

I lost 2 cars in a freak flooding incident. Leland West was the insurer and promptly processed my claim and I had a check in hand for the stated value within 3 weeks.

[stutt66]

That's great to hear that they are prompt... My Hagerty renewal quote was $2,100 and Leland quote was $915 for the same coverage. Big difference!

[sky1jord]

Had a horrible experience with them many years ago, wouldn't now touch them with a ten foot pole. I now have stated value policy with State Farm, cheap as dirt, don't think it can be beat, very happy with them.

[tirwin]

I've had Leland ever since I've owned my 911. Agreed value and unlimited miles. Normal collector car policy restrictions. I have never had to use the insurance so I can't say how they are to file a claim. They want to see proof that the car is kept in an enclosed garage and they match your deductibles for your primary policy. You must also have one car for every licensed driver in the household on your primary policy.

I have always wanted to know if State Farm's agreed value policies are collector car policies or regular policies?

[sky1jord]

Originally Posted by tirwin

I have always wanted to know if State Farm's agreed value policies are collector car policies or regular policies?

I'd be happy to tell you my limited experience. How you define collector car vs. regular?

Here's a thread that might be fun to review

Car Insurance Coverage with Today's Market

[porschenut]

I don't like L-W because they refuse to join the 21st century. They have a web site but it's useless. You can't create an account, get a quote, manage your policy or do anything else online. It's all email and phone, which I dislike.

About 5 years ago when I was with Hagerty, I was hit by a texting teenager and nearly totaled my car. She got the ticket and even admitted fault to the officer. Although I was made whole (reasonably), Hagerty nearly TRIPLED my premium in spite of the accident being her fault! I won't do business with them again, either.

[tirwin]

Originally Posted by sky1jord

I'd be happy to tell you my limited experience. How you define collector car vs. regular?

Here's a thread that might be fun to review

Car Insurance Coverage with Today's Market

Collector car policies typically have restrictions on use, like you can't use it as a daily driver. Agreed value is common with collector car policies. I've never seen a 'regular' policy that had an agreed value. Just wondering if such a thing exists.

[sky1jord]

Originally Posted by tirwin

Collector car policies typically have restrictions on use, like you can't use it as a daily driver. Agreed value is common with collector car policies. I've never seen a 'regular' policy that had an agreed value. Just wondering if such a thing exists.

I understand. Yes, I don't think they don't want to insure "daily drivers" under this policy type. For me, that's OK. Mine's not a daily driver, but I can still use it for 3-5 thousand miles of pleasure/fun driving per year.
For less than $200/yr with a $40K agreed value, I'm a happy camper.

[tirwin]

Originally Posted by sky1jord

I understand. Yes, I don't think they don't want to insure "daily drivers" under this policy type. For me, that's OK. Mine's not a daily driver, but I can still use it for 3-5 thousand miles of pleasure/fun driving per year.
For less than $200/yr with a $40K agreed value, I'm a happy camper.

That's pretty similar to what I have with my current Leland policy (but no mileage restriction).

There was a discussion on here a while back about collector vs regular policies. There was a case where the insurance company said they wouldn't cover an accident because of the use. I believe the owner was selling the car and drove it to work one day to meet a potential buyer. He got in an accident right in front of his place of employment. The insurance company said he was a violation of his policy and refused to cover the claim. I believe the attorney that actually represented the owner chimed in and said they beat the insurance company in court.

My point is, make sure you really understand the fine print in any policy that places any restrictions on use, especially when comparing different insurers.

[Starless]

OK, my renewal fro Hagerty just came up so i figured i would look around to see what else was out there. Here's what happened when I applied for ins. with Leland West.
Filled out the info on their web page. Quote was almost half of what Hagerty is charging me. A note comes up that they will call me since they need more info. Fine. They call, here is more or less our conversation:
Them: Is you car in excellent condition?
Me: Well no, mechanically it's very good, no real issues, cosmetically, it's a 36 year old car, no rust or dents, but the seats have wear, no rips or tears, dash is perfect, but still, 36 years old.
Them:...................
Me: hello?
Them: Do you belong to any car clubs or organizations or go to car shows?
Me: No, not into that type of thing.
Them:How do you plan on using your car?
Me: I like to take it for a joy ride every now and then, maybe run an errand or go to a friends house or out for supper. I really don't like letting it sit around without it being driven.
Them: Well I guess we're not the ins. co. you're looking for.
Me: Your web site says commute, no problem, unlimited mileage, now available. You're saying I can commute 50 miles to work and back but can't take it out for a simple errand or just to enjoy it? What good is unlimited mileage if I can't drive it?
Them: Yes, well, I'm sorry, you can commute a couple of times a week, but not go to the grocery store or out to diner............
And that's about where it ended. So I guess, what I'm saying is, don't just go by what's on the web site, call and talk to some one and find out exactly what they will and will not allow.

[Jesse16]

Pretty much how my conversations with agreed value providers have gone so far. I like to drive my car and any word that hits their ears such as parked outside a hotel while on a vacation or visiting a friend makes me ineligible. How can you use anything like 5000 or 7000 miles and not get away from home ? The mileage didn't seem to concern them.

[Franks89-911]

FWIW, my experience with American Collectors Insurance has been positive. I don't know if they are exclusive to USAA members or not. Anyway, I drive my baybee 1-2x a week to keep the cobwebs out, 20-30 miles at a time, and maybe the occasional Date Night with the Wife if she's nice to me. Full disclosure to them; they said that's fine, even occasional trips to work OK, just not used as a daily driver. 89 Carrera Targa, 73k miles, good cond. but certainly not concours ready, 2500 mi/yr limit, 100k/300k limits, 40k agreed value, costs me $625/year.

[tirwin]

This issue over what is the best type of insurance for an old car is something I've struggled with for a while. I feel like it's kinda sorta been discussed, but I've personally never reached a point where I am 100% confident.

From the insurance company perspective, they are assessing risk. Obviously, if you're daily driving your car a long distance in urban rush hour traffic you are much higher risk than a garage queen. But there is a whole lot of grey area in between.

I work out of my home so I have no office to go to. My idea of a long commute is a two-dog pileup at the bottom of the stairs. When I am not at home my 'daily driver' truck is parked in covered parking at the airport. In the last 10 years I have put 50k miles on my truck which averages out to 5k miles a year.

The 911 gets driven less than that, so arguably I am kind of the ideal customer.

But what if I want to go meet a friend for lunch on a nice spring day and drive the 911? Is that allowed? If I drive 2 miles to meet a friend maybe that isn't ok but if I drive to the other side of Atlanta for a PCA event, that is ok? The language used in collects car policies leaves a lot open for interpretation. By that I mean the language is designed to given the insurer an 'out' if they want it and not to protect the insured.

When a great SC could be bought for well under $20k all day, this was not as big of an issue. But now with the run-up in the market I think it's more of a concern. If your car was totaled and you don't have an agreed value policy there is a greater risk that you couldn't get buy an equivalent car today.

I've heard good things about Grundy and Haggerty -- that they are more friendly to car guys. The costs compared to Leland are at least double in my experience and they other companies seem to be more restrictive.

I feel like maybe I'm missing something in my comparison though. Like I said, I've never been completely satisfied that I've got the right policy or coverage.

[RichardNew]

One thing no one has mentioned is what you should do if your car is in a shop for a long period of time. This might be a repaint or a restoration. Keep your insurance intact.

Here's an article I just finished on this topic.



Here's an article about insuring your project car.

Richard Newton

[Starless]

Ok, as my search continues for an Ins. co. that will allow me to actually drive my car, I called American Collectors ( thanks Frank ) They gave me two options:
1/ I can take it for an occasional joy ride $441.45 no deductible.
2/ I can take it to dinner, errands and joy ride $383.00 but 5% deductible off the agreed upon value. So with a $25,000 value I would pay the first $1250.
So far the best options from all the ins. Co. I've talked to. Now which one to pick..........

[Starless]

They just sent me another option. The above had a mileage limit of 7500 miles/year. If I go with the no deductible, more restricted driving and lower my annual mileage to 5000 miles the rate drops to $254.45

[Franks89-911]

Originally Posted by Starless

Ok, as my search continues for an Ins. co. that will allow me to actually drive my car, I called American Collectors ( thanks Frank ) They gave me two options:
1/ I can take it for an occasional joy ride $441.45 no deductible.
2/ I can take it to dinner, errands and joy ride $383.00 but 5% deductible off the agreed upon value. So with a $25,000 value I would pay the first $1250.
So far the best options from all the ins. Co. I've talked to. Now which one to pick..........

Glad I could help. Most times on here I am receiving advice so it's nice to give back once in a while...

[Starless]

Glad I could help. Most times on here I am receiving advice so it's nice to give back once in a while...

Same here Frank, I let people that have more knowledge than I ( and that's just about anyone on here ) give advice. This is just my small way of giving something back.