What is Classic Car Insurance?
If you’ve just bought your first classic car you will need to consider not just where, but also how you are going to insure it under a classic car insurance policy.
As a classic car owner it matters not if you drive a perfect condition Ford Capri 3 litre from 1970, a beat up old Triumph from the Sixties, it is essential that you find the best classic car insurance cover for your cherished motor, that covers your individual risks at prices that won’t break the bank!
What might be easily covered with one provider may be excluded by another. Fortunately most online classic car cover providers provide this information on the first page of their websites, so it is fairly easy to surf around and check your eligibility with different insurance companies.
The major variation between a standard policy and those offered by the classic car specialists is in the way that you use your classic vehicle, and in particular, how much you drive it.
The large mainstream insurers and price comparison sites will offer cover for older cars but will charge an additional premium because of its age. More importantly you will only be offered the current market value replacement if the car is covered under a mainstream policy and is deemed to be a write-off when you claim.
With a standard car insurance policy on a replacement like for like basis, the value of the car is often set by the market value at the time of a claim, typically taken from one of the car price magazines such as the UK’s Glasses Guide.
The amount you will be probably receive for a write-off will be at the current market value of your car which is an annual depreciating amount. Inevitably, if you own a classic car and insure it under a standard policy contract, this leads to under valuation and under insurance of the true value of the car.
If you change your lifestyle and you will be eligible to apply for all sorts of non standard specialist car insurance that is tailored to a particular genre or lifestyle group or club.
Classic car insurance policies are now based primarily upon usage limits and consequently tend to reflect the fact that classic cars are used differently than a normal everyday car, although the all types of use will still apply.
The types of use are
a. social, domestic, pleasure
b. business and commuting
c. for hire and racing
Many a beloved classic motor will stay under wraps in the garage for many a month and is only brought out and paraded for special occasions and events.
Most specialist motor underwriters therefore appreciate that you may need a more tailored and flexible type of car insurance for a classic car, one that allows you to fit the policy around what is effectively your lifestyle risk. Your risk levels are calculated upon the way you use the classic car and the number of miles distance you cover in that car each year.
Classic Car insurance polices are therefore tailored to the needs of cars considered to be collectable and effectively the valuation is a rating factor for the condition of the car.
However the introduction of many classic car insurance comparison websites on the Internet means that premium levels can no longer be ignored and that customers now rightly demand service and cover for their specialist car insurance lifestyle vagaries, at the right price.
As with all car insurance it is important to compare both covers and prices when shopping around. There are many specialist classic insurance providers available online today and many specialist schemes that are targeted at particular classic owners. Compare the premiums offered by these with those from the price comparison sites, but if you want to avoid disappointment if you need to make a claim, be sure to understand the difference in policy covers.
The Internet has made it very easy to get classic car insurance quotes that were previously only available from specialist car insurance brokers on the high street.
You can find classic car insurance companies offering bespoke schemes for your particular classic by searching for your model type e.g Austin Healey classic car insurance.
To compare classic car insurance quotes online visit the UK’s leading classic car insurance specialists or call 0800 089 0182
Add Yours
YOU