Collector Car Insurance

Your classic car is special to you and that’s why classic car insurance is a special category with some key differences to ordinary auto or car insurance policies.

First, let’s deal with the name. Different policies may be called classic car insurance, collector car insurance or antique car insurance. Exactly what qualifies will depend on the insurance company, but usually such policies cover cars that are not only of a certain age, but have distinctive characteristics such as being particularly rare.

The biggest difference with classic car insurance is that the insurance company will usually agree to a specific value of the car at the start of the policy. If the car is destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair, your payout is for this agreed upon value, rather than the usual system of looking at the market cash value of your classic car at the time of the claim. This gives you the peace of mind of knowing you’ll get the right amount with no surprises.

If the insurance company pays for repairs after a collision, classic car insurance will often guarantee to pay for necessary and authentic parts that might be excluded or exceed coverage limits with an ordinary car insurance policy.

One note of caution, however: many classic car insurance policies only apply to limited usage, whether that’s a specified (low) annual mileage, or only covering trips to exhibitions and parades rather than everyday driving. Witkin Scott Associates, Inc offers free, comparative quotes on collector / classic car insurance from multiple insurance carriers so you can get the best possible rate.