looking for the best antique insurance company to insure my 1924 Chrysler

[Danny]

Hello all, I am looking for the best antique insurance company to insure my 1924 Chrysler. All references will be appreciated

Thank You

[Mark Shaw]

I have used Haggerty for over 20 years for all my collector cars. 

I have had two claims in that time and had no issues with their service.

[Terry Bond]

This topic has been covered thousands of times here on the forum.  You can search previous discussions and save some time.  The most important thing to remember is PRICE IS NO REFLECTION OF QUALITY!   You won't know how good (or bad) your insurance company is until you have a claim.  You're going to get a lot of replies talking about price that are totally irrelevant to your question.  Cheapest is NOT always best.,  Personal experience is what you need.  My vote will always be J.C. Taylor.

Edited October 28, 2022 by Terry Bond (see edit history)

[meteor]

Hagerty allows you and in fact encourages you to drive your car. Most companies limit your drives to club sponsored events.

Careful if you go for ice cream or to the auto parts store. Not so with Hagerty.

[Marty Roth]

I have ALWAYS had excellent service, coverage, response, and satisfaction with J. C. Taylor -

I have unfortunately had claims, and was ALWAYS treated very fairly.

They continue to have my vote,

especially after having issues with another major insurer !

[ted sweet]

i gave up on taylor when they told any car made of 1970 except for short of car worth 100k,  was insurable. that was 2002

[ted sweet]

and refused to insure my 73 dart or my 74 cuda

[Mark Gregush]

Go to the web sites of the companies suggested above and read what why and how's of their coverage. Then ask yourself how you fit within those parameters. Not all companies are a good fit for everyone.  

I go through Farmers Insurance but theirs is a bit more limiting than some of the others. 

Edited October 28, 2022 by Mark Gregush (see edit history)

[alsancle]

 

 

 

 

[Marty Roth]

Flatbedding?

 

J C Taylor has a single charge of $12 /year which covers all 9 of our cars they insure (That is just over a buck per car!).

When one of our cars was T-Boned a few years ago on a Mississippi Interstate while headed to judge an AACA meet at Davenport, Iowa,

JC Taylor had our car flat bedded 235 miles home - no complaints here! 

Some years earlier on a VMCCA Tour around the Great Lakes we had a rear wheel bearing go out on our '54 Caddy convertible while in Canada.

JC Taylor's towing arranged for two separate tows -

The first one to get us to the US Border,

and the second to tow us to a repair facility familiar with our vintage car on the US side of the border.

(Apparently towing services may not be licensed to cross the border, but Taylor came through for us)

They are also very strong supporters of the hobby , as well as our clubs

, financial as well as other ways - always buying advertising in our show and tour books, and most club publications.

Not to denigrate any other insurers, but a big "Thank you - JC Taylor".

 

[John_S_in_Penna]

2 hours ago, Terry Bond said:

This topic has been covered thousands of times here on the forum.  You can search previous discussions and save some time....

That's good advice.  I tried, just to find a link to a

long previous discussion that might be helpful.  However,

our forum's search feature, lately, sometimes is not good.

I searched "General Discussion" for "insurance," and there

were no other threads identified--only this one!

 

One important point, then, for Danny:  It is very important

to use only a company that specializes in insuring antique

cars.  Don't use your regular insurance company for your

antiques.  A specialized company will give you "agreed value"

insurance and knows how to handle claims on antique cars;

a regular company may write off your 1972 Pontiac (for instance)

as just an old used car and pay you a pittance.

 

 

Edited October 28, 2022 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[Mark Gregush]

Another thing to pay attention to if you are a young driver, some of those companies have age restrictions. 

[1935Packard]

I've had Hagerty for 20 years, with an excellent experience when I had a claim 15 years ago, but I do worry about how things may be changing with that company having merged and then gone public.   I have heard at least one story of the company not being what it once was, but I don't know if that is representative.  We will see. 

[CatBird]

I had Hagerty, but at a concourse and met Sam Grundy. I have  30 cars and he gave me a great price 20% less than Hagerty. Seems the same coverage. But never had a claim. I can pay the premiums with my Discover card and get great rebates.

But Hagerty has great parties and free events, but none from Grundy. I am thinking about putting my recent car with Hagerty and get back into their events.

[Restorer32]

Speaking from the other side of the curtain we have done over the years maybe 12 repair jobs on antique cars that were insured by various specialty insurers, 

Hagerty, J C Taylor, Grundy as well as others and have never had a problem, even when we had to "modify" our original estimate.  One thing to bear in mind.  If you have a claim the adjuster who shows up to look over the damage will likely have no or very limited experience with antique cars.  Once had an adjuster question our estimate to straighten a badly bent Pierce bumper and have it replated.  I quote..."Can't you just order a new one?" This was a 1929 Pierce that had been hit hard in the back end.

[Marty Roth]

Discounts are available depending upon the size/value of the collection.

 

JC Taylor moved my coverage, years ago when our collection grew in size & value.

We are now handled by their "Large Lines" section, and the price seems very fair with a significant savings, 

and always great service.

[SC38dls]

What Restorer32 says hits the mark. I wrecked my 38 Studebaker and Hagerty sent out an independent adjuster that had probably never seen a 38 Studebaker. He spent about  30 minutes looking over the car and taking pictures. A week later I got the estimate for $32,000 ! Yes 32 K they had a $20,000 parts car in it. My running non rusted car was valued at $15k. I took the estimate and went on this forum looking for parts and help. Great response from a large group of people that sold me parts but more importantly gave me great advice on how to fix it. I offered Hagerty a $9k  settlement and they took it. Total parts and tools to fix it came in a under $3k but that doesn’t include the many hours of fun ( yes fun) learning how to repair it and listening to the advice of people on this forum. Plus I get to keep the tools! 
Hagerty was,I’ll say, a typical insurance company at first but when I actually talked to adjusters they became real people that wanted to help and get the car back on the road. This all happened while they were being merged and going public. I think they are a good company to work with based on my personal experience. 
dave s 

 

ps-I also increased my guaranteed value from 15 to $22k as they thought a parts car was worth 20. No hassle or increase in premium either. 

 

Edited October 31, 2022 by SC38dls (see edit history)

[Leif in Calif]

On 10/28/2022 at 4:47 PM, John_S_in_Penna said:

That's good advice.  I tried, just to find a link to a

long previous discussion that might be helpful.  However,

our forum's search feature, lately, sometimes is not good.

I searched "General Discussion" for "insurance," and there

were no other threads identified--only this one!

 

One important point, then, for Danny:  It is very important

to use only a company that specializes in insuring antique

cars.  Don't use your regular insurance company for your

antiques.  A specialized company will give you "agreed value"

insurance and knows how to handle claims on antique cars;

a regular company may write off your 1972 Pontiac (for instance)

as just an old used car and pay you a pittance.

 

 

I think it depends on the vintage. My wife's '72 Karmann Ghia convertible was totaled by a falling tree 10 years ago while insured by USAA. My vintage VW friends all had horror stories about insurance losses with their older cars but USAA paid enough to replace it with a very similar car.  

[CChinn]

56 minutes ago, Leif in Calif said:

I think it depends on the vintage. My wife's '72 Karmann Ghia convertible was totaled by a falling tree 10 years ago while insured by USAA. My vintage VW friends all had horror stories about insurance losses with their older cars but USAA paid enough to replace it with a very similar car.  

I have been a USAA member for close to 40 years. They have always come through whenever I had a claim: loss of house due to 1991 Oakland Hills Fire, 2 car accidents and leaking shower drain. One of the better insurance companies when it comes to taking care of their customers IMO. 

[Grimy]

51 minutes ago, CChinn said:

I have been a USAA member for close to 40 years. They have always come through whenever I had a claim: loss of house due to 1991 Oakland Hills Fire, 2 car accidents and leaking shower drain. One of the better insurance companies when it comes to taking care of their customers IMO. 

I've been a USAA member for 55 years and love their service.  They have been most generous in my losses (mostly those of the now-ex-wife).  Although they have a subsidiary/referral agency for antique autos, I prefer to use the established specialty companies--in my case Grundy and JC Taylor.  USAA covers my antique cars under my umbrella policy so long as I prove a significant level of liability coverage under those specialty companies--and USAA would cover any claims in excess of the specialty companies' coverage.  I believe in high coverage/umbrella policies--for example, hit a utility pole that kills power to a grocery and you're on the hook for spoiled food and lost business until repair is complete.

[Danny]

Looking for recommendations for antique auto insurers for my 1924 Chrysler B 70

Thanks

[Terry Bond]

Still not made a choice???7

[John_S_in_Penna]

23 hours ago, Danny said:

Looking for recommendations for antique auto insurers for my 1924 Chrysler B 70

Thanks

Danny, I say in all humility, why repeat the question

when so many people have already given advice?

Please read the responses, and ask specific questions

if you need more detail.

 

This made me wonder whether your repeat question

was by a legitimate user.  I think you are.  I hope so.

[charlier]

On 10/29/2022 at 1:54 AM, 1935Packard said:

I've had Hagerty for 20 years, with an excellent experience when I had a claim 15 years ago, but I do worry about how things may be changing with that company having merged and then gone public.   I have heard at least one story of the company not being what it once was, but I don't know if that is representative.  We will see. 

I have been with Hagerty for a few years now after my prior coverage was bought out and then Hagerty bought that part of the business. I too had concerns about how the changes at Hagerty might impact their business. At my last policy renewal this past September (2022) I got my answer. The cost of my coverage went up about 18% with NO changes to the coverage, no claims (ever) and the AACA & Mature Driver Class discounts. Granted I only have 4 vehicles on the policy but I thought that increase was not very reasonable. Come next summer I will be shopping around just in case they try up my premium again.

 

This year at Fall Hershey I didn't get a chance to cover much of the flea market. Was Hagerty even there? I know they weren't there last year. They used to have a BIG presence at Hershey but that may not be the case any longer. 

 

[Tom99]

JC Taylor gets my vote. I have had only one claim in the over 20 years. I could not have asked for better service in handling my claim.

[Lahti35]

Beware that Hagerty may require you to have a "modern" vehicle for every adult in the house before they will insure your antique. Not an issue for the majority of the hobby but for us that drive something old as DD also (and have it insured with standard insurance) they won't insure your antique. I ran into this a few years ago while driving my '61 falcon as a DD and trying to insure an antique through Hagerty. Their game their rules, not my circus. I didn't buy the reason they gave me though. They said I would be tempted to drive my antique as a DD when my falcon DD broke down. If they only knew my falcon gave me fantastic service year round, much better than the modern Chevy Colorado it replaced.

 

What really wrankled my shorts was that about the same time they promoted their "driving a Ford model A for a year" as a DD. Hagerty could drive an early 30's car as a DD and that was ok but my ride from the early 60's was verboten!

[Marty Roth]

16 hours ago, charlier said:

 This year at Fall Hershey I didn't get a chance to cover much of the flea market. Was Hagerty even there? I know they weren't there last year. They used to have a BIG presence at Hershey but that may not be the case any longer. 

 

Absolutely not disparaging anyone else in the industry,

but I appreciate, and respect, JC Taylor for their unflinching support of the hobby,

for their support of AACA,

and most recently for their ongoing  support of touring -

specifically per the most recent AACA Sentimental Tour, hosted in Gettysburg by my AACA Region ,

the Buzzards Breath Touring Region (BBTR),

dedicated to touring and driving our cars!

Edited November 4, 2022 by Marty Roth
Typo and add picture (see edit history)

[SC38dls]

Danny, 28 replies to your question in 8 days and the only response from you was to ask the same question again. No indication you resolved the question, no response regarding any answer, no “thanks guys for responding” absolutely nothing from you. That is not a way to gain respect. You will only hurt yourself if asking future questions as people will not respond without some interaction with the original poster. It is just common decency to do that. This is a very giving bunch of car enthusiasts but they don’t put up with someone always taking and not giving back. Good luck with your hunt and future projects. 
dave s 

[Terry Bond]

Typical. Has not even visited the forum since he repeat posted the orig question.

Terry

Edited November 6, 2022 by Terry Bond (see edit history)

[sagefinds]

We had Condon and Skelly on our 15 Cadillac but after it sold there were only projects left,no drivers. No mention of them here,are they gone? I compared their rates to others back then and they were always cheaper,we never had a claim so I can't say anything about the service. I'm pretty sure they would insure parts of a project being restored for use,what about the above mentioned companies? Lots of really good information here.

[John_S_in_Penna]

I left Condon and Skelly a few years ago when

they changed their underwriter for a Chinese

company.  I had no problem with them, but I didn't

want to be associated with the Communist Chinese,

or let them have my data.

[BucketofBolts]

Those Chinese "commies" don't appear to be that keen on being "communist" while seeking profits in the old car insurance business. My experience is that the Chinese are capitalists who apparently desire a central government. It seems to work for them. Over the last 30+ years CHINA (with the majority of the population ethnically the same) has grown at leaps and bounds. What would we be without Chinese parts for our vehicles?  At the same time the US has not been so lucky.

 

I saw GRUNDY at SEMA in Vegas for 2022 but not Hargerty. While at the GRUNDY booth in the Vegas Convention Center on 11-1-2022 the GRUNDY lady gave me some nice ink pens and an old style rubber coin case similar to what my grandfather had back in the olden days. Sadly, she would not lower my premiums that I have to pay on my old cars. 

[Bryan G]

Inflation is really hitting insurance companies right now. Parts prices continue to jump faster than estimating databases can update them. Lots of delays getting parts due to supply chain issues, meaning customers eating up more rental days. And, of course car rentals rates are through the roof. Then there is the higher cost of paint, and shops are raising rates everywhere (and still not able to keep up with their expenses.) So, yes, premiums are going up. Sadly, no way around it right now.

[Paul S]

I had J.C. Taylor since 1978 until this summer. I wanted to add a 12th car and they gave me a hassle. I went to Hagerty got more coverage for the same price and no hassle.  My vote is Hagerty