How-To for Insuring Antique Vehicles
It doesn’t matter if you call these beauties classic, vintage or antique, they are enough to get your heart racing. But while auto insurance for vintage autos only covers part of the car’s worth, it is better than having zilch, in case of theft or damage. These antique autos are a delight for many people, preserving some of our automotive history in the process.
The price of antique autos increases with each passing year. This is totally different than with newer autos, which diminish in value every year. It is to a certain extent complicated to precisely determine the market value of a classic car for insurance purposes.
To make matters even more complex, there are not very many classic car insurers available either. These automotive “works of art” are sought-after by collectors who are sometimes prepared to pay a good deal more than their actual value.
Computing the Average Car Insurance 101
In the situation of an everyday vehicle that isn’t aged enough to be considered an antique (usually 20 years), the assessment of the vehicle is calculated by using the original cost then taking a depreciation for each year from that cost. Naturally, this presumes no major incidents, etc.
For vintage autos, though, a bit trickier. The price cannot be determined using common methods. Particularly since the value of a classic car grows as time goes on, not decreases.
Calculating Vintage Auto Insurance 102
There are three main ways for determining the value, insurance-wise, for an classic automobile.
Method Number 1: The monetary value is mutually agreed upon between the owner and the insurance company. This tends to yield a higher insured sum than other ways.
Method Number 2: The auto’s price is determined based on the present amounts for comparable autos as listed in well-known vintage automobile magazines and current price indexes. In some situations, an third-party assessor might be called in to help ascertain the value of the vehicle.
Method Number 3: A lesser-used technique is to compute the worth of the automobile as the total of the initial vehicle cost plus the numerous upgrades and amount spent on repairs and such over the years. In other words, the value of the vehicle is the amount calculated after deducting the depreciation with age from the initial cost of the vehicle, then factoring back in the restoration and upgrades.
Insuring Your Vintage Vehicle
In summation, antique auto insurance providers have their own provisions they use to decide upon the insurable amount of the classic vehicle. For example, the insurers typically require that the automobile being insured shouldn’t be used as a regular means of transportation. They may also insist that the vehicle be garaged.
Added requirements could include that the vintage auto can’t be used for racing, and that any other members of the household have proven access to other modes of transportation. And finally, the owner has to have a spotless driving record, to boot.
Whether you call them antique autos, classic cars or vintage vehicles, they are a slice of automotive history…although a slice that must be insured!
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