Classic Car insurance in New York City.

by Guest » Thu Aug 13, 2009 09:45 pm
Guest

Hi, We have just purchased a 62 skylark (purchase price +/-7k). We live in NY city and therefore have the following 2 constraints

1/ We don't have or need a daily drive vehicle - we have no use for one in the city. the car will still only be driven on occassion and milage limits are certainly ok.
2/ It will be stored in a secure facility (parking building) but not in an individual locked garage.

These two constraints seam to rule out classic car insurance policies. We could go with a normal auto insurance policy however the reps tell me that by the time they depreciate the vehicle the value is less than the deductible.

This must be a problem for thousands of people that live in cities and have a classic - any suggestions??

Total Comments: 5

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 11:01 pm Post Subject:

Talk with an agent or two that are independent and sell for several different carriers. You should be able to get an antique, stated amount policy...Be sure to get TONS of pictures showing every part on this car inside and out, for condition purposes in the event something would happen.

Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 12:57 pm Post Subject:

Lori,

What benefit would an "stated amount policy" have over a normal ACV policy?

Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 12:52 pm Post Subject:

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Lori, Seriously,

What benefit would an "stated amount policy" have over a normal ACV" policy?

I have a very nice antique car that is insured with a standard ACV policy.

The reason.... while questioning an insurance agent about "Stated Amount" insurance I ask how a Claim would be handled if the unthinkable happened and my car was Totaled?? Would it be like Life Insurance where the insurer would pay the stated amount?

The reply was "NO... they would determine the cars value at the time of the accident and pay its actual market value.

At which I ask.... Then what's the point of having a stated amount ??

The reply was "It sets the Maximum amount the insurer would pay", as in ... if the Stated amount was $20,000.oo and the actual value at the time of the accident was $28,000.oo they would only pay $20,000.oo. Or if the actual value was $16,000.oo they would only pay $16,000.oo.

Is that correct? Or is my Agent mistaken? And... if so ... How?

Thanks in advance for your response.

PS, Through the years... everyone and anyone I've ever talk to about this type of Policy believes the insurer will pay the stated amount.

Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 08:35 pm Post Subject:

My limited understanding based on what I have been told by the companies trying to sell me the policy is that an ACV policy is based on the MSRP of the car less depreciation - so in my case 2600 less 40 years of depreciation. - ie less than the deductible.

We tried several brokers and made dozens of direct phone calls to insurance companies and have been told in each case that we can't get classic insurance (because we don't have a daily drive each) and our only option is a standard policy where we will not receive anything for our vehicle in the case of a loss. The one stated value policy we found was 2600 a year....

We ended up taking liability insurance so atleast we can purchase the vehicle - if anybody has some fantastic solution to the problem I'd still be interested to know.

Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 12:56 pm Post Subject:

Fred, You and your agent are 100% correct. I misread the OP, and thought they said they couldn't get a standard policy either. Thus my suggestion for a state amount one.

OP, I understand the carrier's reasoning, but it doesn't hold true in NY City. Can you not find a local agent, that will go the underwriter for you? And prove you've been ''x'' years without a vehicle at all? Thereby proving you've NEVER had a driver?

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