Vette Insurance in New Jersey

[Sal Rodriguez]

I bought my first Vette about a month and a half ago. Its a '65 convertible. The car was sitting for about 8 years. I cleaned out the gas tank and fuel line and replaced the filter, rebuilt the Holley 4150. I did a whole slew of things before starting it, it took me two weeks of long days and nights. Now it purrs like a kitten, YEEHAW. BUT... after all, I need to insure it before I can drive it in the street legally. So I started calling around for insurance. Thirteen phone calls later, I found a company who would insure it. The companies I spoke to do not insure either New Jersey drivers, less than 100% restored cars,(my Vette needs repainting), if so it has to be done within 6 months after the policy is written. Are they for real? Can anyone suggest a reputable company who will insure me on an agreed value, in N.J., and doesn't descriminate on my beat up paint job? Is Grundy Ins. such company? Thanx in advance, SAL.

[Daniel S.]

Re: Vette Insurance in New Jersey

I insure my '68 with Hagerty Insurance. They insure with an agreed value. You will need to supply them a photo of your car, so I suppose they could limit the agreed value, however my car has original paint and I got the exact agreed value that I requested. I haven't had any problems with them and I'm sure they insure in NJ.
Keep in mind there are some limitations/requirements with classic car insurance..ie must be garaged and cannot be primary transportation, however when I was researching this, I found that Hagerty had less of these restrictions than other classic car insurance companies.
Check them out and good luck with the '65!

http://www.hagerty.com

[Kieran A.]

Re: Vette Insurance in New Jersey

Sal, I agree with Dan's post on the restrictions placed by antique auto insurance companies. In NJ you can apply for historic plates for your car but this also restricts the use of the car in a number of other ways. The good part about the historic plates is that the car won't need the semi-annual inspection,only the registration fee for the paperwork. The reason I mention this is that I have two 67's registered in NJ with historic plates and the insurance through American Collector's Ins. Co. located in Cherry Hill ,NJ. They run an ad in Hemming's each month and have provided me with an agreed upon value policy. My experience with them has been very positive and the premium is reasonable,especialliy when you consider what I pay on the daily driver in NJ!Hope this helps. Feel free to e-mail me if I can be of any help. Kieran #11373

[Mark Ring]

Re: Vette Insurance in New Jersey

Try State Farm. They used to have no problem insuring vettes for regular use. If you qualify for USAA, they have some good choices. They insure my stored Vette for comprehensive only at about $56 for 6 mos. and I get a multi-car discount on my driver vehicles and a "more cars than drivers" discount as well!
-Mark.

[DAN GRUNWALD]

Re: Vette Insurance in New Jersey

Sal,
In Illinois I use Farmers Insurance for my 67 Big Block. Hagertys and Grundy also will work well for you I believe. The important thing is to have an AGREED UPON VALUE policy. That way if your car is totaled you will recieve the agreed upon value, not some discounted amount that the company depreciates your car to. Damage that is less than a total loss is always tricky but classic ins. companies like Hagerty or Grundy should understand our situation better than most others.
Dan Grunwald

[Bruce L.]

Re: Vette Insurance in New Jersey

Sal,
I have my 66 with American Collectors and have had two claims in the past year. One of which was over $6000.00. I can say that they were great to work with. I wanted a specific shop to do the work and this shop wanted $2000.00 more than what the companies ajuster came up with. It took a few phone calls and the shop had to make a small concession but the car came out beautiful and the claim was paid 100%. My other claim was a broken window in my rag top. I caused the damage and told the ins co. It was self inflicted. The top was older and I put it down in freezing weather. They didn't care. They paid for a new top installation and complete new weather stripping. I couldn't believe it! I recieved my bill and the premium didn't go up any. How can you beat that?

Bruce

[Richard T.]

Re: Vette Insurance in New Jersey

Sal,
Contact American Collectors in Cherry Hill. I live in Jersey and have used them over 20 years. Good company.

[Zachary K.]

Re: Vette Insurance in New Jersey

I will second the motion on American Collectors out of Cherry Hill. I had an embarrassing situation a few years back where the walk in door was left open while I was on the phone. A cat got into the garage, and got under one the car covers (not de-clawed). Scratches all over the hood where he almost slipped off, paw prints up over the convertible top, scratches down the vinyl rear window across the rear deck and side fender where the poor guy must have had a slipery ride off the back of the car. What a mess! I called them up to report it, they said an adjuster would be out within the next few days, which happened to be the next day. He looked the car over, said no problem, wrote the estimate out to replace the top and take care of the scratches. Check came within a week. The adjuster was short a few dollars on the top replacement, I called and they sent out a follow up check for the amount. No questions asked! No arguments, it was great, after being in the automotive business for over 25 years and having to argue with many adjusters over little things on insurance claims. This was a real pleasure. I recommmend them highly.

[Tom Sarno]

Re: Vette Insurance in New Jersey

Kieran,

I also have American Collectors and the main reason I selected them was that they did not require historic plates. I like to take the car out late at night when traffic is light just to blast around. This is not allowed with historic plates, but A.C. Insurance said if the car is driven under 3,000 miles a year I could use it anytime, day or night, as long as I don't park it unattended and keep it in a locked garage when not in use.

Tom

[Eric H.]

Re: Vette Insurance in New Jersey

Where did you bury the cat?