From the November 2016 issue
Insurance is the root canal of automotive enthusiasm. It?s fine print, inscrutable terms, disaster scenarios, and just-tell-me-where-to-send-the-damned-check resignation. It gets more obscure when insuring collectible cars.
?An auto policy is an auto policy,? explains Jonathan Klinger, public-relations manager for Hagerty Insurance. ?The difference between a regular auto policy and a collector policy is how it treats the value of the vehicle.? For most of the 260 million or so cars on America?s roads, that value is set according to relatively straightforward depreciation schedules.
But about 18 million to 20 million cars in the United States (Hagerty?s guess; the company says it insures about 1.2 million of them) qualify ­generally as custom, collectible, antique, or classic cars. They?re normally not used every day, they?re driven few miles every year, and their true value usually has nothing to do with depreciation. Classic-car insurance policies are typically based on an ?agreed value? assessment of a car?s worth. For restored or preserved classics, that?s usually based on sales and auction results. Most of the time, Klinger says, an appraisal isn?t necessary. But one can be used in determining a specialty vehicle?s value or in resolving a disagreement. Hot rods, for example, tend to reflect the initial builder?s taste and personality, which doesn?t always translate into widespread desire in the market. Those cases may involve more negotiat...