Insurance for toy cars.

OK, I’ll want to insure the SAAB soon. Right now it’s a stock car, although I’m thinking of adding a roll bar and losing the rear seats. At 25 years old it’s one year too young to get Michigan historic plates, but it will only be a weekend toy. I’m not worried about getting much for the car, I just want to be legal and safe from an accident/medical/uninsured motorist point of view. I don’t want/need/expect coverage for autocross or rallycross, but know enough not to mention those heinous crimes while talking insurance. What’s my best option? AAA and other major brands seem expensive for an occasional car and I assume Haggerty will run screaming and black list me forever if I contemplate a roll bar, although there isn’t one fitted now.

I'd just go with whatever state minimums you can get in that case...

I think we insure the Escort for something like $20/month or less, when added to the same policy as the other more expensive cars. (Err... well.... expensive as far as Insurance is concerned.)

Historically, in its ratty state, I just insured my 2002 as a plain ol' car. One insurer early on wanted some pics to demonstrating that it was actually still car-shaped and not a rolling tetanus risk.

I'd just do the usual shopping around (have a broker? Ask them to run through their options...). It's possible you can get a bit of a break for low-mileage "normal car" insurance.

I don't think things tend to get too weird until you're actually worried about being covered for collector-car type prices if something happens to it.

No expert, that's just my experience so far. Same way I handled my E30, and it did take quite a bit of whining, complaining and documentation to get a good settlement when it was rear-ended, though in the end I was happy with it, though that was dealing with the rear-ender's insurance, not my own.

Not only will Hagerty, Grundy, etc...not write it if you put a roll bar in it, there's a decent chance they may not cover it in stock form. It would all depend on if the underwriter considered a late '80's Saab a "collectable".

Most standard auto carriers have a limited use option, where they charge less for cars that are weekend/pleasure cars.

Well I just called AAA and did the HAggerty on line quote. AAA is nearly double, yup as in twice the cost of HAggerty. That's collision only, multiple car discount, pleasure only. No way to insure as 'just an old car'

plpd and done

What about State Farm?

(Pardon the Canadian currency reference) With the minimum amount of coverage required in Ontario (liability, theft, and fire) it was $90/mnth.

Now that I just have theft and fire on it, I'm paying $2.92/ mnth while it's stored.

Who do you used for your "normal" car insurance provider?

In reply to Protege2886:

Fire coverage......canada is weird. Adrian should be able to get plpd in the states for somewhere under $30/mo for a limited use vehicle.

bgkast wrote: Who do you used for your "normal" car insurance provider?

Right now AAA. Michigan has a hefty bump for life time medical and uninsured motorists.

Hmmm, my toy (S2000) costs me $84 a month, full coverage, with a tiiiiny deductible. I'm 28 and it comes from a certain large insurance company based in Bloomington, IL.

The daily driver is $30 a month...

yamaha wrote: In reply to Protege2886: Fire coverage......canada is weird.

Fire coverage? Can cars even ignite when it's that cold???

I cannot be the only one who thought he was referring to vintage Matchbox and the like, can I?

Very well then. Carry on.

I have Hagerty coverage on my LS 944. They know it has a rollbar and that I use it at the track and they didn't care.

I have my E30 insured through Hagerty. Its primary purpose was as an auto-x car although I had dreams of turning it into a TT car or maybe even a SE30/IT. As it sits, you can tell it's a bit lowered, but the appearance is otherwise stock. No matter what I considered doing to the interior, the exterior would always remain subdued. I really dislike stickers on my cars anyway, so any required decals for competition would be magnetic.

I wouldn't lie about it, but I also see no point in offering any more information than necessary.

The SCCA is a "club" you know, so auto-x is a "club event"...

petegossett wrote:

yamaha wrote: In reply to Protege2886: Fire coverage......canada is weird.

Fire coverage? Can cars even ignite when it's *that* cold???

Ferrari, Ford, and VAG stuff could probably catch on fire even in a vaccuum

My 2001 Focus is $25 a month with no collision and the maximum liability with Allstate. We do have two more vehicles and the house insured with them.

I did some checking with other companies when the insurance came due the last time and couldn't come up with a better deal. Some of them didn't want to write a no collision on the Focus when we had it on the other cars.

petegossett wrote:

yamaha wrote: In reply to Protege2886: Fire coverage......canada is weird.

Fire coverage? Can cars even ignite when it's *that* cold???

I live in Michigan and my policy has "Fire and theft" listed seperately. It's not just a Canadian thing.

Farm Bureau has never hassled me... And I've driven a drag car on cheater slicks to the office with open headers rattling the windows... But this is Kentucky. I pay 20 a month for liability on additional vehicles.

In reply to FranktheTank:

They berkeleyed with me so I went to Erie......but I think that was just due to my agent of a decade retiring and a berkeleytard taking his place that wanted a shiny new boat.

My advice, make some calls and get some real answers. I have three cars--one modified, two stock--with one of the larger providers of classic car insurance. It's a killer deal for great coverage. If my garage burns down or gets hit by an alien invasion, I get a check for the value we agreed upon. My brother has his bone-stock Miata covered by another one of the big players. We both have full collision with zero deductibles, too.

The biggest things regarding classic car insurance:

Usually if not always the car needs to be stored in a locked garage.

Usually if not always the insured needs to have a "real" daily driver.

This might help, too: http://classicmotorsports.net/articles/wreck-relief/

By the way, some of the classic car insurers will cover your classic toys--like the ones that sit on a shelf. (Obviously we're talking about six-figure collections and not a few Hot Wheels, though.)

yamaha wrote: In reply to Protege2886: Fire coverage......canada is weird.

He's confused.

Fire and theft, usually referred to as comprehensive is not mandatory, but it's cheap, and common to leave that coverage on your summer car when it's not in use.

I'm in MI and I go through Hagerty. Agreed-upon value, and it's about $25 a month or so, about the same as a motorcycle was.

American Collectors Insurance. They insure all my toys at agreed value coverage. They aren't too picky.

Currently the Wartburg (agreed coverage at 6k) VW Thing (8k) and the Colony Park (4.5k the minimum they will write) costs me about $160 a year for full coverage in NJ, I'd pay that monthly for one of them with a "normal" car insurer.

Never mentioned the roll cage in the Wartburg, they never asked.

When I had the Manx, Haggerty sweated me about the roll cage, I questioned their logic of assuming the liability would be less without it. Still they (and most collector companies) "wont insure kits" ACI was willing to insure it once I provided verification that it was a real Manx and the collector value of such.