insurance question (related to recent post)

[avemood]

Hi! I am a relatively new 240z owner (i got hls # 30-10862 in October 2006 and have been loving every minute since then) with a slightly more specific question about insurance. Hagarty would not insure me when I told them that I would like to be able to actually drive my car when I want to (ie: once a week or so to work and on weekends for fun, etc...). I do not anticipate putting tons of miles on it (I have diven about 1750 in the last 5 months) but would like not to be restricted to 'just to car shows' or 'just to car club meetings,' or whatever the common restrictions are with the classic car insurers. As it is right now, I just added the car onto my GEICO policy with my Forester and my wife's Corolla. Are there any options out there for someone who wants to enjoy their Z without such restrictions?

Thanks a lot for any insight- I'm sure when I know more about the car I'l have a lot more questions for y'all!

Avery

[mally002]

Hello Avery,

I'm not sure why Hagerty would tell you this, they do allow weekend driving and "fun" trips unless you registered your car as an antique. You must have another daily driver available, and have a locked garage, otherwise you should not be limited to just car shows and parades.

Look at the 5th bullet point on this link:

http://www.hagerty.com/Auto/vehicle_features.aspx

Yes, there are some restrictions, but 1-2 thousand miles a year should be fine. I would call them back.

RM

[Carl Beck]

Hi Avery:

The fact that you mentioned that you "planed to use" your car for transportation to/from work on a regular basis - even if once a week, automatically makes it a daily driver... even if only one day a week, or every other week. In effect, regardless if you realized it or not - you told them you planned to use your Classic Car in place of your daily transportation, just to get you to/from work.

I've been with the Hagerty for many many years - and every once in a while - I'd drive one of my Classic, Collectible or Special Interest cars into work - just to show it off. The company I worked for held "Classic Car Appreciation Days" about twice a year - and everyone brought their Classics to work for a parking lot lunch hour show.. In both cases the cars were fully covered under the terms and conditions of the Hagerty Policy. That's quite a different situation than the planned use of the car for transportation to/from work.

The fact of the matter is - Classic, Collectible and Special Interest policies are regulated by the States the insurance is sold in. For that reason, the CC&SI policies are not allowed to offer the same coverage as Full Line Insurance Companies what write normal automobile insurance. For the most part the CC&SI carriers full a need, that is left void by regular insurance companies - ie. to insure cars older than 15 to 20 years, to offer Agreed Values on cars with no traditional Book Values and very few data points in terms of "current market values".

The rule really is - that you can not use a Classic Car for daily transportation, nor use it to replace your daily transportation should that daily transportation be tied up or out of service for the day.

All CC&SI insurers can offer very low rates because they are very picky about your driving record, your age, the number of other potential drivers in the household... that is especially true of teenage drivers...

Nonetheless, better to be honest up front - than to have something happen then only to find out that coverage was being denied because you misrepresented your planned use of the car.

FWIW,

Carl B.

[EScanlon]

Flexible Usage. Drivers can enjoy their classics with comfortable limits. Our policy allows for an occasional leisure drive, not just to parades or car events.

I think it depends on what your definitions for "occasional" and "leisure" are, then combine the two and see what's left.

Your occasional may be their semi-frequent level of use, and if you have time for leisure at work, is it work?

E

[avemood]

Thank you all for your insight! Carl- thanks for explaining the whole deal- I definitely did not want to misrepresent my intended use of the car to Hagarty and I'm glad to know why they didn't insure me.

On a kind of funny note, the woman on the line at Hagarty asked where I would be keeping the car. I assumed she meant address so I just said 'here at home.' She (with a slight smart tone) asked if I would keep it in the driveway, in the kitchen, in the livingroom...WHERE would it be kept. I said "well, we have an extra bedroom where we can park it, I guess..." There was a long silence indicating lack of sense of humor. The call ended pretty quick after that.

Anyway, thanks y'all!

Avery

[jmark]

Hagerty requires a locked garage I believe.

[sakijo]

Try Grundy. State Farm also offers it, but you have to insure all your other vehicles with them to get it.

[gregs240z]

Grundy has been good to me also. Rates are comparable to Hagerty.

[7T1240]

Try Grundy. State Farm also offers it, but you have to insure all your other vehicles with them to get it.

Grundy has been good to me also. Rates are comparable to Hagerty.

sakijo and gregs240z,

Does Grundy have an exclusion for occassionally driving a classic car to work as was mentioned with Hagerty?

Thanks, Gary S.

[sakijo]

Gary,

The screening process asks the question. I don't know what happens if you answer "yes," but you'd probably be disqualified. Check their website.

[Carl Beck]

sakijo and gregs240z,

Does Grundy have an exclusion for occassionally driving a classic car to work as was mentioned with Hagerty?

Thanks, Gary S.

Hi Gary:

Just a fine point of clarification - so we don't confuse anyone following or reading later.

Hagerty doesn't have an "exclusion" for occasionally driving a Classic Car to work. Exclusions in a Policy outline specific things that are excluded from coverage.

Their policies provide "coverage" for occasional pleasure driving of your Classic Car.

The main point here is that your Classic is covered - if your intended use, at any point in time, was based on deriving Pleasure from an occasional drive.

So if you get up one day and decide to drive your Classic Car in to work -because it's a fine sunny day and you just want to show it off ... it's covered.

It would not be covered - if you intend to rotate the task of getting to and from work - between your Classic Car and your daily driver. In this case there is no intention of Pleasure Driving... but rather an intention of sharing the "duty" of getting you to and from work.

Example:

It was beautiful today here in the Tampa Bay Area of Florida. Clear, dry and about 72 degrees (F)... I got my white 72 240-Z out of the garage - and drove it about 20 miles from Clearwater over to Tampa (across Tampa Bay)... to the International Shopping Mall... Traffic and Mall Parking were very light, so I parked the Z right outside the doors to one of the entrances to the Mall.

Ran in, made a purchase - and yes - when I returned to the car - there was about four guys standing around looking it over. <VBG> Z compliments were accepted and Z stories exchanged... it's part of the fun of owning one...

Purely a Pleasure Drive - my brief stop at the Mall - well that was pleasure too.

I do not normally use my Classic Cars to run routine errands, do daily shopping trips, nor use it in leu of my daily driver..... but a 40 mile round trip spin in the 240-Z... even with a stop at the Mall.. would be covered under my policy with the Hagerty.

Fine lines.... sometimes hard to keep clear...

FWIW,

Carl B.