I just purchased a 1966 cadillac with 57,000 miles; in excellent condition. Not only is it old and in good shape, its an unusual style that sets it apart from most other cadillacs.
I want to insure it as a classic/antique car, because it is; I intend to drive it rarely; in parades, to local car club events; or get ice cream on sunday with the family.
My agent claimed it would be easily insured as a classic car (which is much cheaper than regular ins), but later came back and said his underwriter would not allow it because it was rusty and weather beaten.
I was offended. Clearly in the pictures he took and I sent, the car is NOT rusty or weather beaten. The valve covers have surface rust on them, though, so it is not a “show car,” that will win awards in sanctioned events.
The underwriter said they only allow the classic car insurance to "show quality"cars. I want a second opinion.
Does anyone here have such a car with State Farm that they have insured as a classic car with out it being “show quality?” I checked into American Family, they would insure it as such, but would require I transfer at least one other car to them additionally.
Please, no gripes about State Farm or insurance…I just want to see if anyone else has had this issue, or if they successfully gotten a non-show quality classic car insured through State Farm.
Sure, we insured our '64 Rambler with State Farm. We used their “stated value” type of policy, where we told them it was worth $XXX and that’s what they used as a value when they insured it.
Have you tried an actual classic car insurer like http://www.hagerty.com/ ?
They will probably be better (and cheaper) to deal with than your primary insurance carrier.
Interesting. I insured my old (pristine) 74 Corvette convertible with State Farm. I told them it was a weekend vehicle (not a show quality car although it would win some of the lower categories) and would be driven less than 7500 miles per year. My agent came out and took pics. We agreed on a value (about $25K) and my premium was less than $150 per year. No problems whatsoever.
I insure my 66 GTO through Hagerty, less than $300 a year for full replacement value and 100k/300k property/medical. The only complaint I have with them is their insistance of sending warnings about using my car in speed competitions or drag racing because I happen to live very close to a drag strip. It has bordered on the rediculous the past few years, having to take the car in for inspections to prove it has not been raced. I have shopped around but no one comes close to their price.
The first guy just looked at the rear tires. I have 2 sets of tires, one set of Coker red line repros on stock rallye wheels for show and a set of Cragar mags with Radial TA’s for cruising. I took the car in with the Cokers. He just looked and shrugged his shoulders. The last 2 times a different guy looked inside the rear wheel wells for tire residue from doing burnouts. Of course he found nothing.
I don’t even think they have my email address. My email address is my name so it would not matter. My user name is from the time I drove at the local oval tracks and my cars were generally number 72. I really don’t care for drag racing and have never visited the track next door to even watch it, much less compete. In fact, the only time I have ever been at the track was to watch NASCAR style late model stock cars compete on the track’s road course.
This is the odd part to me, I’ve had a number of cars insured by State Farm, two of them “classic”. One was a 67 Mustang, all they did was take some pictures and give me a price. The second one is a 78 Ford F-150, and it is a rust bucket. Maybe they will insure it as something other then a classic if they have more then a couple of classes. You should ask again, or at least find out what they will charge for “normal” insurance, just tell them you don’t plan on driving it much.