Hagarty Insurance

I've just purchased a turn key Vintage Speedster(yet to take delivery of) on the secondary market. Quoted $281.00 by Hagarty, which certainly seems reasonable for the coverage, and spoke with policy rep Rudy Bishop. I lacked the Vintage VIN# at the time so the policy wasn't inacted. Yesterday a policy rep by the name of Kelly contacted me with the news that my rate would be almost double the quote because she's putting the Speedster in a 'modified catagory' since it has VW chassis components. I protested that in my month long seach for a replica I found at least a dozen similar Speedsters for sale (many of them Vintage turn keys) in which the sellers praised the reasonable Hagarty rates of $250/$290. Her comment was that Hagarty guidelines clearly put my Speedster in the much more expensive modified catagory...She said "Of course if it were an authenic Porsche 356 it would be different" i.e. not as much!!
I don't believe Ms.Kelly has the slightest knowledge concerning factory produced replicas, and I asked her to look into current Hagarty policy pricing for such vehicles...and to get back to me.
Which she did today...and was very adament that her catagory judgement was correct and my policy would be as SHE previously quoted i.e. nearly twice my initial quote.
I'm requesting comments, and opinions on this from my fellow replica owners...and suggestions for alternate insurance carriers.
Thanks, carlberry

she is blowing smoke up yer butt...
email www.grundy.com
they know their cars and i just had a $5K claim and it was 100% painless.

A number of things dictate a policy premium, actual coverage, tort limit, deductables, mediacal coverage, value of the vehicle, horsepower, miles driven, where the vehicle is garaged, young driver(s) within the household, primary driver's age & MV record, credit score, etc. IMHO 'modified catagory' ... is BS.
Do a search here for other speciaity insurance companies. ~Alan

Carl, Call Condon & Skelly to see if they write in your State. They used to use the Modified Category like Haggerty still does but switched to Original if you have a VW Vin#.

http://www.condonskelly.com/

Contact Our FUNderwriters: 800-257-9496

I found that by calling Hagerty directly and not dealing with the local agent saved me a couple of hundred dollars in my initial sign-up. I believe their rate of coverage for me was and still is $17 per $1000 of vehicle value for full coverage. Was your conversation with the HQ office or a local agent representing Hagerty? Beware of the middleman.

I am taking ownership of my 2000 VS in the next couple days and I went with Hagerty. My rate for 20,000 in complete loss coverage is just over 380 per year which I was very happy with. I dont think I am allowed to back the car out of the driveway - or as she put it, we really dont want you taking the car to get milk, but if you are on your way home from a drive and stop off it shouldnt be a problem. Either way, I will sit in my driveway and stare at it I guess. Lot of back roads here in Jacksonville to take long drives on so I am not worried. But again - if I have a total loss - 20K check. No deductible...seems like decent coverage.

I dont know Todd. i have $36K agreed value, no mileage restrictions on my 65 Tiger from www.Grundy, have been with them for 6 years with 3 different cars , not all at the same time and it is $204 a year here in CA.

I have had excellent experience with Hagerty so far, but have yet to file a claim. I have an agreed value of $35k for about $500/yr. They are aware that I put 5-6k miles per year on the car, with half as local driving and half going to/from the Carlisle and Smokeys gatherings. They even said it's ok to take to work once in a blue moon to "show it off to my buddies". So far, so good.

Im calling Grundy!!!!!

Hagerty was flaky about usage and I didn't want to have some huge liability claim because the usage turned out to be not acceptable. I can write off the car, but not a lawsuit. I added Natalie to my Geico policy, no restrictions, same cost as Hagerty. Btw, the service has been fantastic too. They had no problem putting my vehicle on as an "assembled vehicle" (which is what the State of Michigan has deemed it ). I actually have spoken to the same guy 3 times now (he remembered me). When I put it on, when I took it out of storage last year, and when I put in storage this year.

I have used Infinity Classic Collectors Insurance for years.

http://www.infinityquotes.com/classic/

Carl and Todd.
What ever you do, read the policy carefully! No matter what they "tell you" the policy is what you and they agreed on and if the worse happens you can bet that is exactly what they will go by. I left Hagerty, because they would not put it in writing that I could occasionally drive my car to work or for non-"pleasure" reasons.

My policy includes a "Collector Vehicle Occasional Commuting Endorsement" that deletes the "to or from work" restriction. Otherwise, it's the same as my old Hagarty policy with an "Agreed Value" of $30,000 for $411/year.
My "Declarations" page states:
Mileage Tier: Mileage limit of 6,000/year
Usage: Occasional commuting to work, Occasional pleasure use

This is the most recent thread about insurance. It's from October 2011. Read it.

https://www.speedsterowners.com/forum/readmsg.asp?t=22051

While it's possible to finagle a low rate it will be impossible to convince an insurance company to pay full claimed valuation if there have been any misrepresentations made in the early agreement.

I don't think that it's all that wise a course to achieve a low annual premium by claiming that a $20K + car built in a late model year is a classic old VW (or Porsche) simply because it registers based on an older VW chassis number if there's an expectation of full value compensation in case of loss. These cars are neither.

The cars are not collectible vehicles - they are not original examples. At best they could be valued at a rat rod VW replacement cost when the insurance investigation is completed - maybe $800. or less.

Believe me, insurance companies know how to game you better than you'll ever game them.

Ken - who do you recommend?

Using a VW VIN number (if you have one) really has nothing to do with misleading an insurer. The FACT is that you are still required to submit all the ancillary information to complete the transaction. Here is a short list of the docs that many insurers use when underwriting these policy types:

1. Detailed description of the Property including the Manufacturer or Assembler. Model information (Replica of 1957...)How it registered with the State. All this info upfront advised that the car is modified from the original.

2. Bill of Sale, Appraisal, or Determination of Value

3. Color Photos of all four sides interior and the engine bay

4. Usage and mileage information.

5. The information on your Dailey Driver including the Insurance company name and policy number. Other household driver etc..

6. Garaging information

They ALL do it a tad different so like Troy stated read your policy and inquire about the "Occasional Drive to Work" endorsement if you feel that is what you need.

May want to check with Barrett Jackson insurance they use "chartis" I pay 156.00 yr. 877 545-2522. inc. tow and 150% of agreed value.

I've had in depth dealings with several insurance companies including several mentioned here and am an agent myself. Someone mentioned putting their car with Geico, thats fine for now but if you ever have a wreck, a fire, or a theft you'll wish you had gone with a collector car insurer with agreed value. You just won't be able to get the money back to replace your car as they will treat the car as a regular car and figure in depreciation. You will end up having to hire a lawyer (or wish you had a certified appraisal done in the last 6 months which will cost several hundred dollars itself) Even if its not a total loss they will balk at the cost it will take to fix the car they way it should be because they're used to claims on regular cars. Either way you won't be happy. As far as Grundy, they used to be good but they sold their business to Philadelphia Insurance a couple of months ago. A friend of mine called and was on hold for 45 minutes to get his VIN corrected. When he finally got someone they told him it would take 2 weeks to get him updated ID cards!!! I've always had a good experience with Hagerty. The stock rate as I understand it is for cars that came from the factory the year that they appear. If you have a kit or a reproduction it isn't original. Giving it a modified rate is supposed to acount for the higher risk that the car might not have been built as well as an original one would have been. (Think guy tinkering in his garage building a car from a catalog.) Not saying thats you but thats the thinking with giving it a higher rate.

Would rather pay for damage to my car on Geico than worry about paying liability on my car with Hagerty because they didn't approve of the usage that day.

PDaddy: I just renewed my policy with Grundy/Philidelphia Insurance and was pleasantly surprised with a $200 reduction in cost and a $3000 increase in the agreed value (appreciation?). I too phoned about receiving an insurance card and put on hold, but I scanned their website while waiting and found that I could print my Insurance card from their website. I hung up, since I didn't have to wait any more.

Hagerty, 6 years, two claims, ZERO problems. Excellent service, would recommend them to anyone. 'Nuff said.

Again, if your policy doesn't include a "Collector Vehicle Occasional Commuting Endorsement," that deletes the "to or from work" restriction, you are driving uninsured if you drive it to work or for any reason that could be considered non-pleasure driving.

U sretired guys don't need to worry about "Driving to work"!

But they will be looking for anyway possible out of paying a claim (especially if it's a total loss) and I doubt they would consider driving to the store "pleasure" driving either.

It's not just driving to work. Running errands, etc. are also not covered. I want to drive my car when I want, the way I want, with no worries. Living in Michigan, there's little enough precious driving time, as it is. You bet that I'm driving it to Home Depot!

i dunno, Grundy(philadelphia indemity) handled my claim with zero problems, no 20 questions and paid on time. $5000 bucks for a minor hit/run in parking lot. Im sticking with them.

I'll NOT be renewing with Grundy.
Twice on the phone , and 5 times website forms requesting changes .
They wont confirm my coverages.

I'm putting my faith in Warren Buffet & Government Employess Insurance Company. Check out Warren doing his Axl Rose impression http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35yjGkvoV6Q&feature=youtube_gdata_player

That was great. I can't believe they got him to do that. But I'm still not going to buy Geico insurance!

He's a fun guy.

I'm sticking with my Insurance Agent " Kim " personalized benefits include sleeping with her...

That works!

I waited out Hagerty until my policy expired! I got great rate for the Speedster and MP Lafer...less than $400 for both. I ignored all snail mail until they phoned me 2 days ago.