American Collectors Insurance

[kenneth bingener NCRS#38563]

Anyone have any experience with this insurance? Saw this on the Classic Chevy site and was wondering if this Co. is reputable and trustworthy. I see they pay "Agreed Value". Email me directly if needed. Thanks Ken

[GREGG PLAPAS]

Re: American Collectors Insurance

I am with Great American, not sure if the same co. However, they are reasonable in cost and I was refered to them by my primary carrier GEICO.I have never had cause for a claim so I can not really say with out a doubt that they are trustworthy, but they did come with a very good reference as stated above. If you would like to know more, just ask?

[Wayne K.]

Re: American Collectors Insurance

I've used them in my agency for about 20 years and they've been good to work with. Hagerty is also very good to work with. They all charge about the same rate. I can't comment on claims service as I've never had anyone turn in a claim. We car people must be very careful and are good business for the insurance companies.

[Duke W.]

Re: American Collectors Insurance

I'm with them, but have never filed a claim. I was referred to them by my primary carrier, USAA, for my vintage cars - over 15 years old.

Cost is low, but as with most collector car policies there are restrictions - car must be kept in a locked residential garage, cannot be left unattended or used for normal yeoman duty, and a limit of 2500 miles per year. None of this is an issue for me.

Duke

[Art B.]

Re: American Collectors Insurance

I've been with American Collectors for over 10 years but have never had a claim.
I have a friend, also with American Collectors, with a '57 who had a major claim a few years ago and got excellent response. He was totally satisfied, and since I know how "picky" he is, that is saying a lot. The only drawback I have experienced is when I requested to put my '86 coupe on the policy along with my two solid axle Corvettes. Since it is now over 15 years old I didn't think that would be a problem. They basically told me that they did not want to insure it. I'm not sure why.

[Tom Sarno]

American Collectors- car must be 'done'

I have my '74 Corvette and '72 el Camino with them. When I tried to put my '49 Dodge on the policy so I could register it to drive it to the different shops for the restoration, the refused it. They want the car to be painted and not in need of repair. Their thinking is the car must be kept in the owners garage and not at restoration shops were a proplem might arise.

I never had a claim, but they offered fast friendly service and coverage for two cars at $125 a year it cant be beat.

[Bruce L.]

Re: American Collectors- car must be 'done'

Ken,

I have had two claims with them. One major and one minor. Both were handled prompty and professionally with no questions asked. My rates have remained the same. If you can live with in the restrictions, I would go with them.

Bruce

[Todd Pollock]

Thoughts on Hagerty?

Any feedback on Hagerty? I see I can put both my cars under them (62 vette and 68 camaro) becuase on is a daily driver. It would save me about 1400 a year. Any thoughts? I think their limits are low but I could get a umbrella policy to cover that and it would only dent my savings.

Thanks

Todd.

[Rich G.]

Re: American Collectors Insurance

I'm a "newbie" as of last september. I chose these guys because they were easy to work with. I have had no claims, but there was a typo on the original insurance cards and they fixed it right away and faxed me new ones within an hour. They are an agency, not an underwriter, so your insurance will be with some company they find. The policy looked ok to me, but I'm not into fine print. They did take almost 2 weeks from the time I started with them until I was able to register the car, so if you're in a rush, tell them up front. Their customer service has been good. Had to call them one other time because of a NY DMV screw up, and they helped me fix that too. I don't have anything to compare them with, however.

Rich Giannotti

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: Thoughts on Hagerty?

Todd
I have had Haggerty for several years and had a claim last April on my 69. I had a small fire caused by my poor welding technique. There was no damage to the fiberglass but the paint was scorched on the back end and had to paint entire rear from doors back. There was some carpet damage and a door panel got singed. They never even had an adjuster come and look at the car. They just took the estimate from my body shop and paid in full in about a week. It took me until about 2 weeks ago to finish replacing the door panel with a NOS piece and to get the carpet. They paid immediately when I turned in the receipts. They were absolutely great!! When I called to make the claim the day after the fire, I was very upset about it and was concerned about getting it fixed right. The claims person said not to worry about the cost or the time it took to get the right parts. Just get it done and they will pay regardless of how much it costs. I highly recommend them.
Hope this helps
Jeff

[Tom Merkel]

Re: American Collectors Insurance

Ken - I've been with Amer. Coll. at least 20 years. I have nothing but nice things to say about them. AND, the best thing is...I haven't made any claims.

So, take what I say as from an individual who hasn't been involved in "the claim end" of American Collectors insurance. Look to the others have commented on that.

HOWEVER, in speaking with an agent from Hagartys, he made a good point about leaving the car unattended.

I'm a Sunday driver, Monday driver, Friday nite driver, a nice weather driver with my original owned L-79 conv. Whatever. Take the wife out, go thru the gears, stop for lunch.

My point is (under Am. Coll. coverage), if you leave your car unattended for any reason, and park (such as the far end of a resturant parking lot, on a Sunday afternoon, up in the hills of the Pocono Mts. here in eastern PA) and some incident happens, BE ADVISED that your car was UNATTENDED. Thus, according to the policy I have with AC, the coverage "might be" voided.

Why? Simple. The car was unattended. That is, ain't nobody standing next to it, such as the case at a show.

So, factor that point in to your selection process for insurance.

Good luck.

Tom

[John H.]

Re: Thoughts on Hagerty?

Todd -

I suggest you check again with Hagerty - if I recall correctly, there's no way they'll insure a daily driver under their "collector" coverage, as their low "collector" rates are based on low risk exposure; I believe they require that you own a daily driver (in addition to the collector car[s] you want them to cover) and have it covered with a conventional auto policy.

[kenneth bingener NCRS#38563]

Thanks! That helped a lot. Ken *NM*

[Bill W.]

Re: American Collectors Insurance

I deal with ins. companys every day. 2 things you should have at ALL costs .1. have an agent that is easy to get to, not an 800 # 2 make sure everything you want covered is on paper .if you dont understand it ,ask.and ask questions like ,can i have it repaired at the shop of MY choice .how much is it insured for? what is the total loss amount ? remember if it aint on paper you dont have it ! my cars are insured by state farm.

[Mark S. Lovejoy]

Unattended is exactly why

I switched from American to Hagerty's. You can't take the car to a resturant, golf course etc. without the added risk of being denied a claim! Further, American has mileage restrictions and Hagerty's has no such clause. There is also "stacking" available, where if you have more than two collector vehicles they offer lower rates than insuring them individually, the rational here is the number of cars that you can operate at one time.

I believe all collector insurers have an age clause though, Hagerty's policy states at least 10 years driving experience required. Works well for me but if you intend to allow your children to drive your cars it could be a problem.

Hope this helps.

Best regards from Connecticut,

Mark