Low Insurance Cost

[HKS]

In 2012 my 2002 Tbird will be 10 years old and I can get Antique Insurance for it, realy cheap.

A good deal for Garage Queens. But, I plan to drive it a few more thousand miles before I just use it to go to the local Dairy Queen or nice restaurant with wide parking spaces.


HKS

[Leroy]

Re: Low Insurance Cost

If you're looking for low cost insurance for your TBird and you want to drive it when ever you want, you better stay with regular insurance. I've found that the Collector or Antique Insurance has alot of restrictions. If you're a member of the AARP, they have some real low rates through The Hartford Co. They saved me quite a bit. Leroy

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[BirdsAndBugs]

Re: Low Insurance Cost

I just looked into that a couple of weeks ago. In the past I've insured classic vehicles with Hagerty Insurance. I know they also do specialty cars so I got a quote from Hagerty Insurance on my 2003 and 2005 Thunderbirds as my insurance was up for renewal on May 1st. Since they're just used mostly on the weekend and I average less than 1,000 miles each annually, I was hoping to save a few dollars. I've been doing temp work for the past year and I'm not sure how much longer my current assignment will go on for so anything I can save is a plus right now. The cost difference over my regular insurance company, Hartford, was less than $200 total for the year based upon agreed upon values of $20,000 and $25,000 for the 2 vehicles. I didn't figure it was worth all the restrictions for less than $200 a year.

[tbird6t4]

Re: Low Insurance Cost

Most specialty insurers want the vehicle to be at least 15 years old before they will consider them special interest or collector cars.

Not sure about Haggerty but I was able to place my 95 Lincoln Mark VIII on my policy with my 64 Thunderbird for a very low price but again, there are restrictions on it's use.

[MATBird]

Re: Low Insurance Cost

Here in MA the car must be 25 years old to be considered an antique and therefore elegible for that cheaper coverage.
Yes they do have restrictions. But, for my antiques, I always carried a hemmings magazine with me. There's always an event scheduled somewhere / sometime and that's exactly where I was going :)

[My Raven]

Re: Low Insurance Cost

If you're a member of the AARP ....

[SixPac]

Re: Low Insurance Cost

AARP/Hartford may be cheap, but once you put a claim in they will jack your rate up to recover their payout. I know from experience.

[mctbird02]

Re: Low Insurance Cost

I have been wanting info on specialty insurance. With Daytons, custom boot, and lots of bling mods - my baby is worth more than Blue Book, etc. in the unlikely event of an accident. What should I, we, do? I currently have a State Farm policy, and I store my baby at least 4 months per year and she's a Fair Weather Bird!

McTBird02

[BirdsAndBugs]

Re: Low Insurance Cost

I have been wanting info on specialty insurance. With Daytons, custom boot, and lots of bling mods - my baby is worth more than Blue Book, etc. in the unlikely event of an accident. What should I, we, do? I currently have a State Farm policy, and I store my baby at least 4 months per year and she's a Fair Weather Bird!
McTBird02

Here's the link to Hagerty's website.

http://www.hagerty.com/

I've insured many classic vehicles with them over the years and they've always been pretty good from a price standpoint compared to most standard auto insurance policies. For 1987 and later vehicles to be covered under collector car insurance you must:

A. Have a daily use vehicle insured with another carrier.
B. Limit use of the collector vehicle to occassional pleasure driving, club events, car shows, and organized cruises.
C. Vehicle must be garaged when not in use.
D. Mileage should be 3,500 miles per year or less.

The good thing is that the insured value is agreed upon so if you have a low mileage car you can probably insure it for a little over Kelly Blue Book.

Since my wife and I changed our home and auto insurance over to The Hartford through AARP, the cost savings for me wasn't that great as they were already charging me based on the mileage of my Thunderbirds which has been pretty low. For the added restrictions I just opted to keep them insured at Hartford. It may make more sense depending on your situation. Costs you nothing to get a quote though.

[DavidA]

Re: Low Insurance Cost

My Tbird and Morris hare both covered by Grundy. No restrictions and agreed value of something happens. They are terrific and very inexpensive. I have 3 cars covered and the total cost is under $400 a year.

The only thing they insist on is you have a daily driver for each licensed driver in the house.

[bluebird2002]

Re: Low Insurance Cost

My dad has an 87 Monte Carlo SS with no plates on in it in the garage. We were told we are unable to get antique insurance on the car because there are too many drivers in the house. They said because there are only two cars (the Thunderbird and the Expedition) and 4 drivers (my sister and I ) that the car wouldn't be for recreational use (even though my sister and I are both away at school.) Kinda sucks. Any ideas?

[DudleyM]

Re: Low Insurance Cost

We also have our vehicles insured with Grundy, the '55 TBird, a '32 Ford Roadster and now my 2005 TBird. They've proven wonderful and very cost-effective.

[tbird6t4]

Re: Low Insurance Cost

My dad has an 87 Monte Carlo SS with no plates on in it in the garage. We were told we are unable to get antique insurance on the car because there are too many drivers in the house. They said because there are only two cars (the Thunderbird and the Expedition) and 4 drivers (my sister and I ) that the car wouldn't be for recreational use (even though my sister and I are both away at school.) Kinda sucks. Any ideas?

Having had been in the insurance industry for 35 years (now retired) I can tell you that that is a common stance by most insurance companies but here is a hint, if you can live with it:

You can sign an endorsement restricting the underage driver(s) from using the vehicle(s) that you want to classified as collector car ie: the 87 Monte and perhaps get around that rule; but you have to make sure those restricted drivers never, but never drive those vehicles otherwise the insurance company will deny any coverage for their use of the vehicle.

Ah, the beauty of being an empty nester!

Gord

[gary hauver]

Re: Low Insurance Cost

My 2002 has been insured with American Collectors Insurance, Inc. since 11/02/06. The premium this year is $498.40. See their ad in Hemmings for their website.

[Vintage Merlot]

Re: Low Insurance Cost

Is it insured for an agreed value?