Which antique car insurance firm(s) do you use for your antique BMW(s) in the US?

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Roman596061

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Which antique car insurance firm(s) do you use for your antique BMW(s) in the US?

I had my 1973 E3, 1973 E9, and 1985 Mercedes 380 SE (W126) insured with Hargerty, but now they want $487 a month ($5,498).

I had Allstate Classic car insurance for all three above for 5 months @ a mere $149 a month, yet they are cancelling my policy, as my son had an accident.

I told Allstate that my son has his own car; he doesn't know how to drive my 1973 5-speed, nor does he drive my MB.

I also told them that my wife doesn't drive any vehicle.

They don't care, as they said, "they have access to them."

Thanks

Richard
 
There are a number of factors to consider:
  • Where is the car garaged (different loss rates based on zip code)
  • your agreed value
  • other policy options such as un-insured, and under-insured motorist, etc.

In my case I have Hagerty and have an agreed value of $85k for the present term, and also the buy back option. The policy is $705 per year.

I just changed carriers for my daily drivers and saved over $2k annually. I know that good quality carriers will exclude certain drivers from various cars. You may need to find a good broker to help you.
 
Insurance $$ are all over the place right now. FYI - I live north of Seattle and have all my cars in enclosed storage and have not had a home claim. I did have an auto claim for a hit and run driver against my E38 about 3 years ago.

Every couple of years, my broker runs my package through his preferred carriers even if I don't ask.
I had substantial increases in each of my home, 'regular' auto and umbrella last year so we talked and he ran them again.

I found out two things - many companies are NOT taking on any new business - period.
And often those that say they are open have rates that are just nuts..... meaning - they are are really not wanting to either.
In my case - nothing came up that would have been good, so - I stayed with my current carrier (SAFECO).

I have Hagerty for my three classic cars.... My annual premium is right around $2,000. Agreed value (all three together) is ~$235k.
I am looking at seeing who else may be good to go to in the future.... but not expecting much in this insurance environment.
FYI - even Safeco wants to know about my Hagerty cars (and Hagerty wants to know about Safeco as well).
Hagerty doesn't care about my wife driving any of them or not (never even asked).

I second the recommendation of finding a broker that can do all this leg work. I have my Hagerty listed through him as well (even though I started with Hagerty on my own). I had his office put my Hagerty policy under their banner so all my insurance stuff is together - from that stand point.....

Good Luck
 
i originally had Hagerty, nothing but high praise ... although while my car was in the paint shop i went with Heacock and the premiums were less. now that my car is coming back together, i've got to raise my agreed value ... so i will be checking with Hagerty, Heacock, Grundy. first i need to come to agreement with myself as to what the car is worth ... and possibly get an appraisal when my car is complete.

i would stay away from State Farm, Allstate, and all of the other standard car insurers for a classic car ... getting them to agree to a value and agreeing to pay it if something happens will probably take lawyers.
 
I am with Hagerty after insuring my classics(one at a time over the years) with State Farm. When I filed my first claim with my Bavaria they first said we will fix it, changed their minds and said we are writing it off. They did that scenario two more times!! Finally writing it off for the agreed value and selling me the car for $5,000. Agreed value was $21,460. Where the additional $460 came from was anyone's guess. Long story after that dealing with the State of PA and having the finished car run through an expensive State Certified Re-inspection station. I cleared $4,000 and ended up with a dent in the rear fender fixed along with the passenger rear door repaired(it had been pushed in).

Car now has an A title scrubbed by the state of any indication that anything ever happened.

So I do not recommend Main Line Insurers. At the same time I went with Hagerty, annual premium $579. I went with Erie Insurance, highly rated by Consumer Reports. Bundled home owers and the family Subaru and saved over $1,000.
 
Grundy, their policies are underwritten by a bank in Philly I Pay $275 a year for full coverage on my E24 with a declared value of $40K. The one time I needed a tow I had to pay and was reimbursed by them within a week. Grundy has been around for ever I first heard of them 50 years ago when I started reading Hemmings, No mileage limitations as long as you use it for car events. I.E. cars and coffee, driving events.shows and if it applies to you club events. In other words as a DD or to go shopping is a no no
 
I have Hagerty, $1560 gets me coverage of my E3 (15K value), E9 (110k), 2XE24 (80K) , 67 Mustang (15K) and I thought I would take a hit when I added my 79 323i (12K for now). They asked for 45 bucks more.

I received a letter from Mapfre who does my DD's and my home. A drone image of my new (they were supplied the receipt) architectural shingle roof was interpreted as a roof in disrepair. They dumped me without any form of remediation. My agent said nobody wants to insure a home with replacement cost over a million which is 1/2 the homes in the northeast. He said State Farm lost a billion last year on homeowners insurance. Really! One dot on the entire graph and our state governments allow it all. Boo Hoo.
 
I have Hagerty. I insure my E9 ($50K), my E24 ($25K), and my Bronco +($50K) for about $1K per year. I will probably boost the coverage on all of these as I update them, starting with the E9. I'll be updating the Bronco with a Coyote engine and new interior after the E9. Both of these cars will probably have an agreed value of $100K each., So I expect my premium will about double (although I am pleased to see @bavbob getting a better deal than I would have expected on $200K+ worth of cars.. )

I included Hagerty's "cherished value" coverage, so they pay the agreed value, and give me the car if it gets totaled. I also got a break on the E9 since it is "under restoration".

I found the Hagerty people to be delightful to work with. Helpful, and supportive, and they seem to understand classic cars..

These coverages include all of the usual liability (100/300, IIRC) so I cancelled these cars on my USAA policy that covers the other cars, and such.

As an added data point, I have an antique boat that costs a bundle to insure. 34' Stephens cruiser (agreed value $75K) insured through Markel at $2500/yr. Almost nobody will insure a 97 year old boat...
 
@Roman596061, for a moment I was shocked by your Hagerty monthly premium. I live in PA with a yearly premium of $524 that includes Cherished Value and other options.That's one car, my '72 Bavaria with $25,000 AV. Yeah, that's me my love to your left.

But then I saw you live in FL. You are probably shopping for a better rate, but from what I have read about certain states, CA and FL come to mind first, you are lucky Hagerty is still writing policies. I suspect that huge increase is due to the fact they would like to get out of FL like most of the other insurers.

Call it Climate Change, call it Global Warming, call it the natural evolution of the climate, call it whatever you want, it is here and hammering all of us. The Planet!
 
I am insured with Hagerty. It was a simple process through my insurance broker, and the prices were slightly higher than American Collector Car. I was more comfy with Hagerty, as was the agent. I am a VT resident, and insure two classics with them here in VT:

The annual cost for E9 is $1,061 (at $131K stated value) and the MB 280SL is $355 at $30k stated value. This seems very reasonable to me!
 
@bavbob mentioned State Farm losing $1B on homeowners and I can believe it. The fires in So. California take time to hit the books, as cash settlement or rebuilding costs move from reserves to actual loss expense. The carriers have re-insurance on their losses, but those are likely capped and then the excess will come back to the carriers.

With that said, @CSteve I think you hit it on the head, the loss ratio in some states will drive rates across the US and there are some states or localities where homeowners simply have to buy homeowners insurance coverage from the state because insurance carriers will no longer accept the risk. For those buying from the state, they have to hope that any claims will not be part of such a huge loss that they have to take a massive haircut on the payout as the payouts are limited by what's available in the state fund (oversimplified I know).

With classic cars, the premium price will, I suspect, be influenced by large loss events such as the California wild fires and Florida hurricanes and flooding experience. While they may need to raise premiums nationwide to cover their increasing loss ratio, the individual markets with the greatest risk will see the greatest rate increases.
 
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