Just because a car isn’t new doesn’t mean a car isn’t expensive. And this extends to insurance policies. An antique or vintage vehicle may have even more value than many brand new models, and the insurance costs and options are often quite reflective of this fact.

Finding and selecting the best antique, classic or vintage car insurance to satisfy your needs is vital to safeguarding and providing protection for a very important investment. These vehicles, being special by nature, have an array of unique accommodations and areas to consider.

So whether or not you’re familiar with insurance or not, there is no harm in reading up on the specifics of vintage car insurance. Below we’ll list just a few helpful instructions to assure you make the wisest possible decision pertaining to your vintage vehicle insurance policy.

1. Make Use of some Insurance Policy Restrictions

One important thing to consider is how your vintage car insurance policy covers you, and how it compares it your actual use of the vintage vehicle in question. The more you do with your ride, the more coverage you’re going to need. The inverse is true as well.

If the use is minimal, primarily to and from local community events and vintage car showcases, employ a policy that restricts to those particular uses. This will prove satisfactory for your limited usage and plenty more affordable.

On the other hand, if you are tad more willing to take the car out on the town, run errands, or even drive rather long distances, you’ll need to choose a policy that accommodates for this xxtensive use. Needless to say, a vintage car policy will not need to cover everyday use through all four seasons, but with more frequent use, a less restricted policy will definitely need to be selected. Consult an insurance agent for more information on specific policy restrictions.

2. Know the difference between a Stated and Agreed Value

One important thing to understand with high price vehicular insurance like a vintage car is the distinction between a value that is “Stated,” and one that is “Agreed.” Inquire from your agent how the insurance company you are using classifies these two terms, and which one remains better suited for your car and individual circumstances.

It’s much better to be safe than sorry, and know your value heading in—especially having assurance that value was properly calculated.

3. Rules that affect where you park and how you store

When looking through insurance policies, keep an eye out for restrictions on where you store your car and its parking location. Some of these requirements may necessitate you keep your vintage vehicle incredibly secure, stored in a locked up garage or otherwise kept secure from outsidethreats. You may be forbidden, for instance, from leaving your car in the middle of a parking area as you leave it alone for extended periods of time.

4. Is your “Vintage” car a “Vintage Car”, and is it even eligible for vintage car insurance?

While it may seem simple, this question could save you a lot of time and energy when answered.

While your cool, old vehicle may strike you as hip and “vintage,” whether or not it officially qualifies as a vintage car (for insurance purposes) may be another story. This is an area very important to check up on, and it can be researched rather easily. Simply consult the insurance agent and ask whether your model is defined officially as eligible for antique car insurance. Some require a car be older than 25 years old, or ask that a vehicle was produced between two years or specific dates. Most of the time, these numbers vary from company to company and many classic car insurance specialty companies offer their own definitions.

5. Discover your objectives

A helpful tip for ensuring the coverage you want and need is to head in with some objectives for a prospective policy. For instance, you may wish to keep your old mechanic if a repair is necessary. This is something to make sure is included within your policy parameters if you have a trusted professional you’d prefer to remain with. Like discussed during our “Stated Value” tip, do what you can to assure your vehicle is insured for what you truly feel the car is worth. Is coverage provided for damage at special interest car-shows? Are premiums in some ways malleable to how much and often the car is driven? If so, it should be appropriate and applicable to your level of use.

So in close, just keep in mind that there are varying types different plans, rules, rates, and sorts for your potential coverage. If you’re ready to get serious about vintage car insurance, make sure to do some serious homework, doing research into individual companies and their policies. Costs are of course a factor, and probably a big factor, but it should be kept  relative to good service.

Make sure first and foremost you are getting a good value, and that high prices are justified by quality service. It’s like anything else, you’re looking for a good product here, and maybe it’s more expensive than inferior ones—but you’ve got an investment to secure. If you the call service for customer support is good, claims are handled professionally and well, and the staff seems well-versed in specialty vehicles such as your own, you may have found a great company with which to do business.

If you’re interested in getting the best insurance for your car, iron out the details and head in ready to purchase the best product at the best value!

I am not a lawyer, nor am I a car insurance broker. This article is merely meant as an outline, so be sure to discuss your options with your insurance specialist before making any purchasing decisions.

Here’s what I’ve found about saving money on your car insurance:

Automatic Seat Belts: As annoying as these things are, you can actually get a discount if your car has them. Why? Because the insurance company knows you’re going to be wearing your seat belt… and therefore you can grab a discount on your medical coverage.

Airbags: Same as above, and when paired together you can get a hefty discount (sometimes upwards of 30% on medical coverage).

Comprehensive Insurance Discount: Most times you can get a discount on your comprehensive insurance by having an anti-theft alarm or even another anti-theft device such as a steering wheel club. This discount is usually pretty small, but every little bit helps!

Have you been to driving school? This can get you a discount too. Most people haven’t taken any type of driver training and it can help out a lot when it comes to sticky situations on the road. Because of this, the insurance companies will sometimes reward your good driving skill with a discount.

Have Good track record? This is the most obvious discount. If you’ve been a driver for a long time without any accidents or blemishes on your license you’ll get a discount.

Combine Your Insurance: A good insurance broker will offer more than one type of insurance. If you combine your home, life and auto insurance you usually can get a pretty decent discount. Car insurance companies know that you have a lot of options, so they want to make it as appealing as possible for you to choose them. What’s even better, is if you have multiple cars and you combine all of your insurance into one bundle.

Type of car: This one is a bit trickier. If you’re like me, you like to choose your car based on how it makes you feel instead of what type of insurance premiums you’re going to have to endure. But in either case, the type of car you drive will effect how much you are going to spend on insurance. If you have what’s known as a “safe car” then you will see a discount. But it goes the other way, and if you have any type of sports car you can expect to pay more.

There you have it, the 7 most common car insurance discounts that are available. Always be sure to ask your car insurance specialist about these discounts to see if you qualify. Let us know in the comments about any other car insurance discounts you’ve come across.

Until next time, drive safe.

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