And Then it Was Insured!

Kinja'd!!! "jlmounce" (jlmounce)
04/28/2015 at 15:59 • Filed to: None

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It’s been a long and arduous journey, getting my 1969 Firebird to the point where it needed insurance. As of last Friday, that day arrived.

A milestone for sure. What I wasn’t prepared for was the possibility that the car simply wasn’t insurable. I started with the usual suspects for classic car insurance, Grundy and Hagerty. Neither would offer coverage for my car. Primarily because my wife and I are a single car family and they feared that my Firebird would become a primary driver.

Working from home I don’t need another car, but they really didn’t car. That blew the idea of a stated value policy out of the water. Next up I went to State Farm that currently holds the insurance for me and my wife’s Jeep, as well as other policies. The amount of information they required about the car was almost mind boggling. Literally it’s entire life story from the time I acquired it until now.

Even then I was initially told that while they’d certainly offer liability coverage for it, underwriters would have to review to see if they would qualify it for comprehensive and collision. Once again, stated value coverage was not available due to my unique car situation.

In the end I did receive a competitive rate that includes full coverage and emergency road side coverage. My guess is I’ll need that later coverage soon.

On the plus side, I have a standard use policy which means I can drive the car whenever and for whatever reason I want. On the negative side, without a stated value policy I risk not being able to rebuild or replace the car should something significant happen. I’ll likely end up picking up a beater at some point so that I can get a proper classic policy on the car. For now, I’ll be as careful as I can and start enjoying the car!

For those of you who stuck through this post, here’s some engine porn! Pay no attention to the filthy engine bay. I’ll detail her first real bath in a post coming up soon :)

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DISCUSSION (12)


Kinja'd!!! sm70- why not Duesenberg? > jlmounce
04/28/2015 at 16:02

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That’s one badass bird.


Kinja'd!!! RallyWrench > jlmounce
04/28/2015 at 16:03

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Glad it’ll be on the road! Weird about State Farm, I just added my ‘66 Fairlane with full coverage with nothing more than a phone call to my agent.


Kinja'd!!! jlmounce > RallyWrench
04/28/2015 at 16:39

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That’s honestly what I expected to happen. Certainly wasn’t my experience though!


Kinja'd!!! mr2gud2u > jlmounce
04/28/2015 at 16:44

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Congrats! She's a beauty.


Kinja'd!!! Tohru > jlmounce
04/28/2015 at 16:56

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I don’t understand folks that get a project car and don’t get insurance on it and the title in your name right away. What if the garage had started on fire? You’d be out the entire car.


Kinja'd!!! Takuro Spirit > jlmounce
04/28/2015 at 16:58

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I’m still with the original company that insured my ‘77 Esprit back in 1998. I’m hoping they don’t give me Hell when I finally get my TA on the road


Kinja'd!!! jlmounce > Tohru
04/28/2015 at 17:47

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The car has always been insured under a personal umbrella policy. Not being in a driveable state I didn’t need collision or liability insurance on it.


Kinja'd!!! jlmounce > Takuro Spirit
04/28/2015 at 17:48

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I’m sure you’ll be fine. My issues simply stem from the fact that I don’t have a daily driver. The companies are worried that my classic would become a daily driver.


Kinja'd!!! bhardoin > jlmounce
04/28/2015 at 20:19

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That kicks ass.


Kinja'd!!! dr861 > jlmounce
04/28/2015 at 21:12

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Got damn that’s a pretty beast.


Kinja'd!!! Dingers Ghost, Champion Jockey > jlmounce
04/28/2015 at 23:11

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That sir is one beautiful car.


Kinja'd!!! Tohru > jlmounce
04/29/2015 at 08:30

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Ah, okay then. That makes much more sense.