If you have regular insurance for your antique or classic car, you may be paying too much. Most people don't drive their classic cars every day, so it's best to get a policy that's made for classic cars and takes that into account. It's likely that you will pay less for it.
There is a difference between old, classic, and antique cars from the point of view of insurance companies. Usually, the criteria change from company to company. In general, a classic car is one that is between 15 and 30 years old, has value to a collector, and is in good shape.
A car that is thirty years old is called a "antique." It can only be driven as part of a show because it has historic licence plates. If an old car doesn't meet either of these conditions, it's just an old car that can't be insured with the special policies that are out there. This is needed because there are some companies that only deal with classic or antique cars, which usually have lower insurance costs.
If you think your car is worth a lot more than what the book says, you can have it appraised. As part of the appraisal process, the car is added to a list of other cars that are considered to be in the same price range.
You could call the American Society of Appraisers to find a good appraiser (or ASA for short). Look at their resumes when you are trying to decide who to hire. It is best to find an appraiser who has worked with your car brand before and knows a lot about it. Look at their references to learn more about them.
For the final report, the appraiser looks at the car in detail. If she can, she'll start the car and pay attention to how it runs. She will also take a lot of pictures to add to the information in her detailed report. She will include a list of similar cars and how much they cost. The appraiser gets her list from different places, like car price guides, ads, auction and sale results, and other paperwork about the car.
The insurance company needs more information than just an appraiser, such as the make, colour, model, body style, and year. People could be asked for the engine number and the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). Ferraris and Corvettes must have a VIN so that they can be checked.
Putting your classic or antique car under the right insurance policy is also a good idea because the company will probably know what the car needs and what worries you have about it.
A classic or antique car can get three different kinds of insurance. There is the actual cash value (ACV), the agreed value (AV), and the stated value (SV). If your insurance policy is for "actual cash value" (or ACV), the value is set at the price of the car when it was insured. This value goes down over time. An insurance claim adjuster will decide how much the ACV is if the insurance is needed.
With the stated value, or SV, the insurance pays either the repair costs or the ACV, whichever is less expensive. The best of the three is the AV. When you buy an AV policy, you are always covered to some degree, no matter what happens to your car.
