April 21, 2014

Getting The Best Car Insurance For A Lovingly Restored Vehicle

Car insurance is something no one wants but nearly everyone has, at least everyone who drives a vehicle. It’s something you always want to have but never want to use. If you own a restored vehicle, you’ll want to have it insured but you’ll want to look into obtaining a specialized type of coverage written specifically to protect vintage automobiles. It’s not difficult to find companies online who provide this type of car insurance coverage.

It used to be that any car 25 or 30 years old was considered a collectible but that’s no longer the case. Because production numbers for car manufactures increased so significantly during the 70s, some mid-70s and 80s vehicles are actually not considered collectible. There was also a marked decrease in manufacturing quality standards during this period, which also affects a car’s collectible status. Certain styles, though, even from the period mentioned, may still be classics. These include convertibles, cars with big-block V8 engines, cars with unique body shapes and certain sports cars.

If you own a car that you’ve lovingly restored you want to make sure it’s protected from damage, theft and fire, but there’s a good chance it won’t be driven on a regular basis and, in some cases, hardly driven at all. You may only transport your restored vehicle to car show events, for example, and having a regular car insurance policy containing collision, liability and medical benefits may not be the most prudent expenditure of funds.

Some people actually never drive their restored vehicle because it’s normally garaged or displayed in a controlled environment and, on the occasions it’s taken to an event it’s simply put on a trailer and delivered in that manner. A car insurance policy written on that particular type of car should consider all this. There are many online insurance businesses specializing in car insurance for vintage or collector models. In addition, companies who don’t specialize in insuring older cars may still be able to write a policy. Using your current car insurer could even earn you a discount.

There is another group of individuals who have restored their older vehicles to pristine condition for the purpose of using them for daily transportation, much as they would any car. These vehicles are anything but typical, however, as is evidenced by the number of heads that turn when a really nice, old one drives by. While these ‘used’ cars will have to be insured, much as would any car used for daily driving, special care will have to be used when figuring the replacement value of these lovingly restored machines.