This whole thread is of great interest to me - I feel like I am in a major
catch-22 with the whole insurance thing. I have a pretty nice Spit, not
concours, but far above the average. I paid $3500 for it last year, and
have spent probably $1000 on redoing various bits (interior mostly) to my
standards. I would like to have it insured such that I would get around
$4000 if it was "totaled" I feel like this is a realistic value for the car
based on various pricing guides and what I have seen around. My regular
insurance company (Geico) will gladly insure it for ~ $180 / year - but
they tell me that they will only give me "a couple hundred dollars - it's a
1974 auto" if it is totaled. Admittedly they are in effect charging me $30
/ year for the collision and comprehensive coverage, but they will not give
me the option of paying more for more coverage. Parrish Motorsports will
sell me an agreed value policy for $209 /year, but they require proof of a
locked garage, which I do not have, and less than 2500 miles per year,
which I will likely exceed. I am not concerned with it being damaged while
it is parked, as much as when it is being driven! I am certainly not
worried about it being stolen - chances are no thief would ever get it
started. ;-) This is a crazy situation - I would gladly pay what my Volvo
(worth $10000+) costs to insure - around $350 a year. This is with no
restrictions at all! I can drive it anywhere, park it anywhere, and put
50,000 miles on it if I want. And if I drive it into a bridge abutment and
live - I get roughly $10,000 for it! Madness - seems like there would be a
market for an insurance policy that is JUST agreed value, no restrictions.
I just want a reasonable amount of coverage for what I have "invested" in
the car, at a realistic price.
<Soapbox mode off>
Kevin Rhodes
Feddy the Spitfire
89 Volvo 745Turbo
85 Peugeot 505 Turbo Diesel
84 VW Jetta GLI
At 03:06 PM 4/15/1998 -0500, William Elliott wrote:
>
>Phil Barnes writes <<... (snip of excellent example of coverage on rally
>cars)...The
> same thing holds for classic insurance, as I see it. I would not look
>for compensation if I suffered a loss outside the limits of the coverage. I
>may be (probably am) wrong, but that's my take on it.>>
>
>My point exactly. The question to ask is "What is the chance that I will
>suffer a loss
>WITHIN the limits of coverage?" For most people it would boil down to a
fire or
>other destruction of the "locked garage". If that coverage is worth the
price
>of
>the insurance for you, great. Another question (and one I have never
>experienced and
>really don't know the answer to): How firm is the liability aspect of
classic
>insurance?
>
>Example: You drive the car 2 blocks to a 7-11 because it's a nice day and
>you're at fault
>in an accident. (Or in Phil's example you hit another rally driver or cause
>property damage on one of the "closed" stages...) Outside the limits of
>coverage.... Does
>the policy still pay or does the other driver get to sue your pants off?
I've
>always felt
>more secure with liability provided by my "standard" insurer. Am I being
>overly paranoid?
>
>Oh, once I was asked by my standard insurer if I intended to use the car
in any
>speed
>competition to include autocross, rally, or other "sanctioned" events. I
said
>no (fairly honestly...
>it was a Cadillac) but then asked the ramifications of saying "yes". The
young
>agent was
>taken aback... checked with her supervisor.. who made me confirm that I
wasn't
>going to
>race the Caddy... and then said they really didn't know what they would do
>since no one
>had ever answered "yes".... I've never been asked again...
>
>Bill Elliott
>"Just because you're paranoid it does not mean that everyone's not out to
get
>you!"
>
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