Getting Antique Car Insurance

You know that your car is beautiful. You know how precious it is. You have spent more money on this car than you have on your house and you are proud of it. You know that this car is probably one of the finest examples of it in the world and are proud that you have restored her to her former glory. You know you are never going to sell this car as you have invested too much of your own sweat and blood to even contemplate letting her go. It is simply out of the question. You garage her be best way you can and take care that everything is always in order.

This is the way that most antique car owners relate to their pride and joy. Everything has to be perfect. The only problem that most antique car owner experience will be the issue of insurance. Finding the right insurance to cover the needs of your antique car can be quite difficult. The needs of antique cars are almost completely different compared to normal cars. The only similarity is that they both use the same roads to drive on. Below I’m going to list some important points to consider when choosing your antique car insurance.

The rule to follow when it comes to antique car insurance is: To get the best insurance you must know what the available options are. Antique car insurance is not as simple as normal car insurance, each company that provides this service will offer products that are very different and it is up to the owner of the antique car to define what they want. The first thing to do is to do some research. You need to first talk to your state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). There would normally be a representative working in there that has an antique car of their own and can help to familiarize you with the state requirements and how to proceed with finding the right insurance product.

In addition to asking your local DMV staff, you can also expand your research to include body shops in your local area. These guys work on crashes and have a first-hand knowledge of how insurance companies work. Which ones are easy to claim from and which ones are frauds. They will have the experience and knowledge to share and will more than likely provide it honestly. They might even be able to provide you directions on how to get cheaper rates and which coverage options you should be looking for with your type of antique car.

The next source of information is car clubs and forums that specialize on your type of car or something of a similar type. These forums and car clubs are all manned by people who share the same level of dedication with you but might have more experience than you when it comes to dealing with antique car insurance.  You should get in contact with them and tell them that you are looking for insurance but don’t know where to start. Most of these owners would be more than happy to show you the ropes and might even recommend their insurer with a specialized plan that they developed.

If you are still not sure of which insurance company to use then it might be worthwhile to get engage an insurance agent to help. What is important here is not to find an agency with only one agent. Get one where there are a few agents with a much larger pool of experience. If the agency is large enough you can also be guaranteed of at least one agent having experience with antique cars and knowing how to proceed appropriately.

Once you have an insurance company in mind it is very important to check the financial status of the company. There is no point buying a policy from a company that has poor cash flow and will probably have problems paying you if you should claim from them. You can check with your local insurance association, the Better Business Bureau and even the Registrar of Companies to get further details on the insurance company you are looking for.

The last thing to be weary of is the fine print. Even if a company has a solid financial base and their performance has been above part there is no guarantee that they might make a mistake by changing the small print and get greedy with not allowing claims. You have to read all the fine print and be sure that you are getting a good deal. There is no point in paying your premiums faithfully but are unable to claim when you need the compensation the most.