Insurance Companies - Wondering what positive experience people have when filling claims

[kbillet]

Wondering what positive experience people have when filling claims for your classic or antique car. I’m up for renewal and never had a claim. The best company is one with reasonable rates that is there when you need them.

kbillet

[oldcarfudd]

Hagerty.  I've had two claims and been treated very well.

[JACK M]

I see that one of the classic specialists is now offering to insure all your cars and motor homes on one policy.

I think it was Grundy.

I am with Hagerty, but this sounds good to me.

[SC38dls]

Hagerty did a good job on mine after an accident. They had a $20,000 parts car in the bid for a $15,000 insured running good original value car. They wanted to total mine and pay me the $15 so I showed them I thought their parts car was out of line. We negotiated and I settled for over $9,000 then did the work myself and spent less than $3,000 with a lot of input from forum members that wanted me to succeed. I had never done body work before. Hagerty worked with me to keep from getting a salvage title which was my goal along with getting the car back on the road. 
See my thread 1938 Studebaker front end repair.

for more details if you want. They did not increase my premiums this year either. 
dave s 

Edited June 6, 2022 by SC38dls (see edit history)

[alsancle]

JC Taylor.

 

I had a jack come loose in the trunk of one of my cars during transport. It made a bunch of dings from the inside on the trunk lid.

 

I got an estimate to have it fixed, which was $4500. They asked for the estimate and some pictures, and sent me a check. No questions.

[joe_padavano]

I've made claims twice with American Collectors - both times when the car was hit while legally parked. No muss, no fuss.

[kbillet]

I thought more people would share their experience with claims.

kbillet

[TerryB]

1 hour ago, kbillet said:

I thought more people would share their experience with claims.

kbillet

Hopefully it means they haven’t needed their services which is a very good thing.  I had excellent service from Progressive on a very serious motorcycle accident that happened to me.  For that, I would recommend them for anyone needing insurance.

[TAKerry]

I have Hagerty on my antique car. I think the premium is very reasonable and I spoke with them in person before I signed the dotted line. They seem to be very generous on the use of the car. Fortunately I have never had to file a claim.

[Terry Bond]

Plenty of posts on this site if you do some research. It's one of the most frequently asked ? 

My personal choice based on experience J.C. Taylor.

Terry

[Marty Roth]

J.C. Taylor - Outstanding support since I switched to them back in the mid-1980s!

Several of our cars were damaged during Hurricane Katrina. All were properly repaired and all repairs were completely covered.

Our '14 Buick was damaged inside the enclosed trailer en route to an AACA Meet outside of Chicago. Long story short - all repairs were covered with no argument.

Another of our cars was totalled by a driver who crossed the interstate and T-Boned us. Their company wanted to offer an absurd minimal amount, but J.C. Taylor immediately not only had our car towed home (didn't want to leave it in some salvage yard away from home), but also assured us of full AGREED VALUE ! Then they fought the other company.

Once had a claim for damage within our garage when tools fell over - also completely covered.

 

Another very important consideration - J.C. Taylor is a very strong supporter of AACA in particular, and our hobby in general.

After having dealt with another of the major companies previously for years,

I've been with Taylor since 1985, and recommend them wholeheartedly !

[TTR]

Knock on wood, in 40+ years owning and extensively (several hundred thousand miles) driving antique/classic/vintage cars, I’ve personally never had a claim, but 10+ years ago, one of my clients had a road & weather condition related, single car driving accident in a high six figure car.

 

Repair estimate (by me, and I don’t normally deal with this type of stuff] was close to $200K.

Took us (mostly me, but also the owner was forced to get involved) around 6 months to “fight” and settle with his insurer, one of largest companies in the U.S. providing covered for just about everything, not just old cars. 

After about 3-4 months, due to their inability to handle it properly and in timely manner, I even submitted an additional five figure invoice just for storage fees and wasting my time. 

I’ve said it before, a true value or worthiness of a policy is not so much in the cost of premiums, but will be revealed if you ever have a considerable claim.

Vast majority of people with antique/classic/vintage cars only focus on saving a buck or few with cheap premiums and act all shocked when their (alleged) favorite car(s) get totaled with pennies on the dollar they spent or think it’s worth.

 

[oldcarfudd]

Keith, the first response to your question was mine.  Call, and we can talk about my experiences with Hagerty, and why I think so highly of them.

 

Gil Fitzhugh

[nickelroadster]

Grundy.  The fellow I bumped had a real coniption fit  and was real unhappy.  The nest time I saw him he was a ll smiles about how generous they were.  Tey gave me something like fifteen hundred dollars to fix a tiny dent on my right rear fender and I spent a few hours on it and fixed it myself.  Most of what i hear about many insurance Cos. is pretty good.

[TAKerry]

I stand to be corrected, I have Grundy not Hagerty. Nothing against the latter.

(must have also had a senior moment when I typed the initial response!)

Edited June 9, 2022 by TAKerry (see edit history)

[kuhner]

I’ve had Grundy for 26 years. Never had a claim.

I did run into Jim Grundy in his booth at a meet. I jokingly said “I’ve been with you for 20 some years, without a claim. Shouldn’t I get something for that?”

He handed me a can cozy.

[avantey]

Several years ago we were on a Hupp tour when a deer fell off a 20' ledge as we approached.  Broke it's leg, ran in front of us and almost made it.  Clipped the hind quarter with the passenger front fender curling it under for about 4".  Hagerty was incredibly quick, generous and easy to work with on the claim. 

What I remember is the independent appraiser they sent from 65 miles away saying he repped 12 companies and Hagerty was by far away his favorite.  Never challenged his write ups, always encouraged him to be generous so their customers were happy.  They even told me to just call if the settlement was not enough.  Very happy with Hagerty for the old iron, get the same great service from AMICA for the modern cars but they don't do the old stuff.   

[TAKerry]

On 6/9/2022 at 9:40 AM, kuhner said:

I’ve had Grundy for 26 years. Never had a claim.

I did run into Jim Grundy in his booth at a meet. I jokingly said “I’ve been with you for 20 some years, without a claim. Shouldn’t I get something for that?”

He handed me a can cozy.

Ha!, I got one of those and a couple of key chains and didnt have to meet the big guy, LOL.

[DaveBerg]

I had a claim with Hagerty for near 20K. I had the check in less than ten days !

[Buffalowed Bill]

I switched from JC Taylor to Hagerty about thirty years ago. It was a matter of premium cost for my fleet of antique cars. It had nothing to do with the quality of service. I have been treated very fairly for the two claims that I have had to file, with Hagerty.

 

However, I did run into one irritating coverage item with my coverage. I have one car, that for lack of a better term, is a "trailer queen." If I wanted coverage for transport to and from a show, loading, unloading, and while at a show, Hagerty informed me that they wanted an additional premium (paddock coverage). The additional premium amounted to more then several hundred dollars. That didn't sit well with me and I told them so. Whether this policy is still in place is something I will have to deal with shortly. I honestly don't know it this was unique to the company, but it's something to consider.

Edited June 11, 2022 by Buffalowed Bill (see edit history)

[5219]

About 15 years ago, I had a very nice 1966 Impala Super Sport convertible destroyed in a flash flood. Hagerty paid the agreed value without any hassle, gave me right of first refusal when the car was auctioned, and did not raise my rates or refuse to renew my policy afterwards. Couldn't have asked for a better conclusion.

 

I have been a practicing lawyer and a judge for thirty years. Insurance companies are all good until it is time to pay out money. Then, the ranks of the good ones thin out noticeably.

 

As an aside, I can think of a at least four or five reasons why I would not want my antique cars on the same policy as my driver cars or my house.

 

 

[John_S_in_Penna]

I used to have Condon and Skelly for antique-car insurance,

and they served me well.  They are not as well known as

some of the others.

[John348]

I have had Hagerty for almost 25 years now I switched from JC Taylor. At the time Taylor has some rules about driving, and they just did not fit into my use at the time, I have heard they have since changed their policy but I have moved on.  I have had two claims with Hagerty, both of them involving the vehicles on the trailer. One on an open trailer, and one while loading it on enclosed trailer. I was happy with the everything and the entire process, not happy that the damage had occurred. The made it a lot less painful.   

Edited June 11, 2022 by John348 (see edit history)

[Paul Dobbin]

Had J.C. Tayor for 20 years then switched to State Farm when I had a State Farm Agency,.    Then went to American to Collectors Ins, when I represented them.  I think that if it was good for my cars, it was good for my customers too.   Now over 50 years of no collector car claims.

All the agencies in that line of coverage as a specialty do a good job in selecting good carriers..   Very little difference in mileage and premium

from one company to another.   

I even had J/C Taylor extend coverage for the Great American Race a couple times with just a phone call and $100.00.   

My advice is, raise the liability limits way up and buy a Umbrella Policy that adds a million or more to all underlying policies.  If you are at fault

in an accident, you will be a target of hungry lawyers  Then review your stated value every year before renewal.   Collector insurance is the best

buy in property insurance anywhere.     

[Marty Roth]

1 minute ago, Paul Dobbin said:

    My advice is, raise the liability limits way up and buy a Umbrella Policy that adds a million or more to all underlying policies.  If you are at fault

in an accident, you will be a target of hungry lawyers  Then review your stated value every year before renewal.   Collector insurance is the best

buy in property insurance anywhere.     

Great advice from my friend Paul,

he and I think - and act - alike in several ways !

While my collector car insurance is with J.C. Taylor, my umbrella policy, as well as homes and all modern and tow vehicles are insured by a major company with a big statue in their otherwise stupid and unnecessarily expensive TV ads.

[1935Packard]

I've been. a Hagerty customer for 20 years.  I had a claim around 2006 or so, and Hagerty was great.  

[Ron Green]

Switched from Taylor to Hagerty years ago after I started adding vehicles to my collection. Taylor said no to insuring my Amphicar, Citicar and 72 Corvette (owned 48 years). Zero claims with the exception of a lady who ran a stop sign a few years ago and hit my Corvette. Her fault and Hagerty couldn't do enough to make sure her insurance covered the damage. Just reupped my policy along with the agreed upon values and Hagerty was great to deal with. Even added marine recovery insurance for the Amphicar for $40.    

[KRK Sr.]

I renewed Hagerty insurance for my fleet back in November. Something new is a loss buy-back of the vehicle if it’s totaled. For a small increase in premium , should they total any one of my rare cars I get to keep the remains which would surely come in handy to keep other rare cars on the road. I have no idea if anyone else offers such insurance options but in my case I thought it was well worth a few extra dollars. As for claims, my one Pierce was rear ended at a traffic light. I called Hagerty and let them deal with the modern insurance company. I didn’t want some modern adjuster showing up and telling me what it was gonna cost to fix the back end of a Pierce Arrow . That was over $15,000 till it was done. Even though this was not my fault as I was just sitting at a red light, I let Hagerty Ins do the work of dealing with the other owners insurance to get my Pierce back on the road.

[SC38dls]

The one thing to be careful about on a buy back clause is after the insurance company has made a total loss payout they may have to take your title and process it thru the state DMV and send you a “salvage” title. It can be difficult to then insure a car with a salvage title in some states. SC is one of those states and it may be difficult to sell the car if you repaired it yourself. I know as this is what I negotiated with Hagerty in order to not have a salvage title. They were very willing to help avoid it but I took a reduced claim to make it happen. 
dave s 

[Restorer32]

17 hours ago, KRK Sr. said:

I renewed Hagerty insurance for my fleet back in November. Something new is a loss buy-back of the vehicle if it’s totaled. For a small increase in premium , should they total any one of my rare cars I get to keep the remains which would surely come in handy to keep other rare cars on the road. I have no idea if anyone else offers such insurance options but in my case I thought it was well worth a few extra dollars. As for claims, my one Pierce was rear ended at a traffic light. I called Hagerty and let them deal with the modern insurance company. I didn’t want some modern adjuster showing up and telling me what it was gonna cost to fix the back end of a Pierce Arrow . That was over $15,000 till it was done. Even though this was not my fault as I was just sitting at a red light, I let Hagerty Ins do the work of dealing with the other owners insurance to get my Pierce back on the road.

To quote an appraiser who obviously knew little about pre-war cars when looking at a mangled rear bumper for a Pierce that was hit hard in the rear "Can't you just buy a new rear bumper or find a good one in a junk yard?"

Edited June 13, 2022 by Restorer32
spelling (see edit history)

[KRK Sr.]

Jeff, I have only seen THAT adjuster one other time since then, and that time: a modern car. Also, this time I was glad it was not mine! I don't think I'll ever forget his name...

[erichill]

Progressive. Had my 1948 Harley insured fro $20K with them. A lady hit me who also had progressive. They honored the $20K I had it insured for and spent $16 K fixing my bike instead of totalling it.

 

[46 woodie]

Four years ago I was in my driveway detailing my 1946 Ford Station Wagon for a car show. I was kneeling down on the drivers side when I heard "help me, help me, he's going to kill me". When I looked up a 13 year old boy saw me and ran past me into my garage and was hiding behind my '32 Ford. I saw a man walking up my driveway and told him to stop where he was and to not come on my property. With that, he raised his arm and I saw him brandishing a 10" Bowie knife. I yelled at the teenager to run into my house and I quickly followed him and when I got to my front porch, I told the knife holder that I was calling the police. With that he said "this is what i think of the police" and smashed the windshield of my '46, slashed a tire and snapped off the original cowl vent mirror, denting the cowl, $3700 in damages. The people from Grundy had adjusters at my house in two days and issued me a check for all my cost's. Turns out the attacker was a mental case that was off his meds and attacked several teenagers playing lacrosse at the school field, two blocks away. He punched the kid that ran into my garage several times and when the kid fell the attacker said "now I'm going to kill you". The sad part is that the charges went from "Attempted Murder With a Deadly Weapon" to "Assault With a Deadly Weapon" to "Simple Assault" to "Menacing" and then all charges were dropped. Needless to say the 13 year old's parents were livid. Grundy was great!!!

[John Byrd]

I have had Hagerty for several years, and have no trouble receiving or paying my bills or reading their fabulous magazine, but I cannot still, after several days, a few emails, the F-Book page, and trying all of their numbers, get a real live human being  to talk to.  Can't handle all that "say yes or no or punch a number" crap and all the transfers to "the next step", so guess I'm going to go back to humans at the local level. Such a shame that people are completely out of the loop for so many things these days. If any of you have a secret number please let me know though.

[Restorer32]

Interesting side note.  Jim Grundy's Grand-Dad was a Pullman dealer and he owns a Pullman, a 1910 I believe. We have done maybe 10 insurance jobs over the years and have never had a problem with the insurers.  Generally they just want the repairs done properly so they can move on and keep a customer.  We have another insurance job coming in this month so we will see how that goes.

[JACK M]

16 hours ago, John Byrd said:

I have had Hagerty for several years, and have no trouble receiving or paying my bills or reading their fabulous magazine, but I cannot still, after several days, a few emails, the F-Book page, and trying all of their numbers, get a real live human being  to talk to.  Can't handle all that "say yes or no or punch a number" crap and all the transfers to "the next step", so guess I'm going to go back to humans at the local level. Such a shame that people are completely out of the loop for so many things these days. If any of you have a secret number please let me know though.

Just reupped a few days ago and from their email advice wanted to increase some coverages.

No problems calling them by phone.

[John Byrd]

Just to set things right, an extremely nice rep from Hagerty called me this morning and answered my questions and are working on the issue to my full satisfaction. They called in response to my emails, so I'll go that way only from now on.  All is good in "The Byrd Nest" again !!!!  ( I'm sending in my payment for another years coverage on the Studebaker and Mini today too )