By Jonathan Winstel
11/12/2015
Certain strokes of engineering border on artwork: an idea that manifests itself in the creation of something truly beautiful.
Imagine yourself behind the wheel of one of those beautiful pieces of machinery, zooming through a twisting, scenic, back country road usually reserved for a postcard. Sunlight reflects off the mirror-like finish, and the engine purrs sweetly, tuned ever so carefully down to the most minute detail.
You open your garage door and admire it, ready to climb in and escape for a while. But one large question lurks in the back of your mind: how do I make sure my investment is properly insured?
Unlike a regular passenger vehicle that you drive every day and that depreciates over time, a collector car is an investment. In more cases than not, it appreciates in value. Properly insuring the vehicle to an acceptable value is essential.
Your insurance company should be able to insure the vehicle on an agreed value basis, where you and the insurance company agree in advance that in the event of a covered total loss, the agreed value is the amount you will receive for the vehicle. Depending on the value of the vehicle, the company may require that the vehicle be professionally appraised prior to insuring it. Having an appraisal regardless of value can set your mind at ease as well as give your insurer confidence there will be no difference of opinion on the value of your treasured vehicle.
Adding a collector car to an existing auto policy also adds an element of simplicity to the insurance process. Instead of dealing with multiple policies with multiple carriers, you’ll have one policy and one carrier. The same liability coverages should apply to your collector car as they would to your everyday vehicle. In addition, the collector vehicle could also earn an additional credit from a multi-car discount.
When choosing a company to insure your collector vehicle, make sure the company can offer you agreed value as well as an option to insure the car on the same policy as your everyday vehicles. These two aspects of insuring a collector vehicle are sometimes overlooked, but are the most important considerations.
By streamlining the process, you spend more time enjoying your vehicle and less time worrying about how to insure it.