The notion of classic car insurance tends to make people think that it applies to some very vintage possibly 1930s or later type model of car that are owned or used by collectors and come out for annual rallies.
Classic car insurance is in fact a much wider market and can refer not only to ancient type cars that may still be in collectors garages or showrooms, but also to specialist cars off any recent vintage, as well as any type of car that would be deemed unique or special in some way.
The importance of classic car insurance can perhaps best be identified by a sense that it applies to any car that would be difficult to insure under a traditional or normal car insurance policy .
Obviously the idea of a normal car insurance policy is a somewhat debatable one, but the intent of a classic car insurance policy is to realise this applies to vintage or specialist cars that would be difficult to place a range of insurance for a normal day-to-day basis.
Classic car insurance can often be arranged with mainstream insurance companies, or via brokers who have a working knowledge of the insurance market and know which insurance companies are best placed to offer the type of insurance for the particular car that you own .
There are perhaps two important things to realise with classic car insurance. Firstly that it can take a bit more time and effort to find a relevant insurance company who is willing to insure the car on terms and conditions and at a cost that you find acceptable.
Classic car insurance is inevitably going to be more expensive than insuring a more run of the mill car, but that in effect comes with the territory of owning a classic car in the first place .
Classic Car Insurance
The other important thing about classic car insurance is that the insurance should be placed on an agreed value basis . This means that when the insurance policy is taken out there will be an agreed valuation of the car and this will be stipulated in the policy as a cash value.
This means that in the event of a car insured under the policy being a write-off or a total loss then the insurance company will pay specified cash amount. This is important because it is a big difference to how car insurance policies normally operate.
If a car is written off under a normal car insurance policy then the insurance company will assess what they believe to be its current market value, bearing in mind its age, condition, mileage and general wear and tear.
The valuation that the insurance company places on cars in this way is often deemed to be way less than the owner or driver of the vehicle deems them to be worth, and is often a source of much attention in a claim is made under the policy.
Classic car insurance allows the car to be insured on an agreed value basis hopefully avoiding these problems if there is a claim under this policy.