Insuring a 7

[DB6]

I am looking for input on insuring a 7, your experiences relating to :

 

costs,type of coverage, restrictions,mileage limits (if any), collectors versus regular companies, etc etc.

 

Any recommendations ?

 

Thanks

 

David

[slngsht]

I have Hagerty. I've only needed them when I ran out of gas once. VERY happy with their response. The first question the guy asked was about whether I was at a safe place or not. He later called back to check on the tow truck.

 

I think i pay between 300 and 400 a year, on a 20K agreed upon value.

 

I think there is a mileage limit, but since I constantly work on my car and have no odometer, I have not had that problem.

[MHKflyer52]

I had Hagerty but switched to State Farm. I now pay less and have better coverage for my money and have an agreed value of $24000. I also have AAA and have used thier service once with my seven to have it brought home on a flat bed when I broke down last year.

State Farm also has a milage limit of 5K a year and if I take it out of the area (200 mile radius) then I have to just tell my agent so the coverage is extended. So far I have not had any problems with my insurance or its coverage.

[bsimon]

David,

 

Start with talking to the agent that carries your current tintop insurance. Most of the big name carriers have collector car insurance available with replacement valuation these days. It may actually be cheaper than going to specialty companies as you will get the mult-car discount. The larger companies use Hagerty, Zurich, and Grundy to underwrite their collector policies. Progressive and State Farm are examples. I use Progressive.

 

If that doesn't work go to Hagerty or Grundy.

 

 

 

[WestTexasS2K]

I use my State Farm agent to get insurance on mine. It was an agreed value coverage of 30k. I am not aware of any mileage restrictions on the policy. I had asked the agent when I insured the car he said no. It run me 480.00 per year. I am sure rates will vary from state to state.

[DB6]

Thankyou all for the input.

I did call Hagerty and had quite a problem with them identifying what the car is, the lady then said that the policy was basically for parades, going to car shows etc. with the odd pleasure drive, when I asked if there was a mileage limit she got hazy and said "well no, not as such".

I then asked that what if I wanted to drive all the way down the Pacific Coast and she siad "in that case we would not be the insurance company for you".

 

[David C]

A while ago when I asked USAA wouldn't have a problem insuring a Westfield kit car. Don't remember the cost though.

 

For those taking their 7 to the track this was an interesting post on our local BMW Club board:

 

Sorry if this is a re post... I have no affiliation but thought I would pass a long the info.

 

http://hpdeins.locktonaffinity.com/

 

I thought this was interesting as the insurance rep from this company is the chief driving instructor for the Kansas City Chapter of BMW Club.

 

From another forum...

 

"This is Ryan Staub from the HPDE Insurance Program. Short background on me - I've been doing DEs for about 8 years and I've been SCCA club racing for the past 3 years. Currently I'm the Chief Driving Instructor for the Kansas City BMW Club. I totaled my first M3 at a track in 2005 and State Farm covered my claim. In 2006 my renewal included the policy language changed to exclude anything "on a surface used for racing;" many of my friends with different insurers in different states started to notice the same thing. I thought about dropping out of the hobby and many of my friends did as well. Because of all of this, I wanted to start an insurance program designed by enthusiasts and for enthusiasts to solve this problem.

 

Regarding spur of the moment events, from my experience there aren't many of them. Tracks typically book their entire season by April so there aren't many opportunities to plan a last minute event...unless the event organizer is doing a weekday event. That said, if a group that we've already approved adds an event we can get it loaded on our website in a matter of minutes.

 

Our deductible is 5% (of the value) or a $1,000 minimum. To give you an idea of the premium for single-event coverage, it typically comes in around $67 per $10,000 of value.

 

If you have questions about our policy or want to purchase coverage for an event that isn't listed, feel free to e-mail me at rstaub (at) locktonaffinity (dot) com."

 

When you go to their website and apply for coverage you pick the event your attending.

 

NW Pudget Sound BMW event in April appears on HPDE event list.

 

The "Spur of the Moment" comment was a question I asked about events in our area that are put on during Nov - March based on window of good weather. Example this weekends track day.

[scannon]

Thankyou all for the input.

I did call Hagerty and had quite a problem with them identifying what the car is, the lady then said that the policy was basically for parades, going to car shows etc. with the odd pleasure drive, when I asked if there was a mileage limit she got hazy and said "well no, not as such".

I then asked that what if I wanted to drive all the way down the Pacific Coast and she siad "in that case we would not be the insurance company for you".

 

Try again with a different agent at Hagerty. Most of them don't know their a$$ from a framitz valve.

 

Stress that you car is a replica of a 1957 Lotus 7 and will be street driven. I had no problems getting my Caterham insured with them at an agreed value of $30k, no mileage limit and a premium of around $450 per year.

 

Skip

[Jim F.]

Hi, Skip:

I've recently been in touch with DB regarding Caterham insurance. Please don't take offense because it seems to have worked for you, but in talking to others about titling and insuring my new Caterham in '03, it was advised that I not bring "replica" up at all but rather use "continuation" in describing the heritage and progression from the original Lotus Seven to the acquisition and on-going production of current Caterham models since Caterham is the (or one of many?) "official" or "authorized" Lotus Seven manufacturers. It appears to have a lot to do with semantics and talking to knowledgeable people who can make the process easier. I got real lucky when the local Grants Pass DMV gave me erroneous, complicated, involved, and unnecessary instructions when first registering my Cat. I took it upon myself to call the Salem, OR home office and spoke with a DMV official who just happened to know about Lotus cars and especially Sevens. I went back to my local DMV office and asked for an obscure, single page form they had to find in a back room somewhere. They didn't know they had it or what it's purpose was. Very, very quick & easy registration process! "Continuation" also helped with the insurance process. Jim F.

[scannon]

Jim,

 

No offense taken. Replica was the term the agent came up with to satisfy the computers for insuring a 2004 Caterham SV with their company which normally does not insure newer cars. I had suggested Lotus 7, continuation, kit car and a few others but the computer wouldn't accept those.

 

When I got the policy, it listed it as a 1950 Lotus 7 replica. I don't know how they got the 1950 in there but the VIN was correct so I didn't worry about it.

 

Similar thing happened with the DMV. I went in with a 2004 Caterham MSO and came out with a title stating the car was a 2007 Cat. According to the DMV code for kit cars it should have been registered as a 2007 Kit. I had hopes of getting it titled and insured as a 1967 Lotus 7 as some others have been able to.

 

I didn't have to pass emissions as a new law in 2007 exempted kit cars.

 

Skip

[DB6]

One point that crosses over with this is what the DMV registers the car as:

As raised in previous threads one point in many states that requires front and rear plates can is where to put a front plate on a 7, I just found out that in Oregon you can apply for a "SP" plate (Special Interest) if the car is over a certain age, or a street rod based on a 1949 or earlier model, or bla bla bla etc etc.;this allows the car to run on a rear plate only. I might soon have the oldest 7 on the planet.

If a 7 does not qualify as "Special Interest " I don't know what should.

[wallisek]

You might be able to get the seven registered as a special interest vehicle (I'm not DMV so I wouldn't know, I just know the enforcement part :lol: ) but then you are restricted by ORS 805.030. Basically you can only operate the vehicle for parades, events, club activities, etc...There is also a provision for a racing activity vehicle which is kinda neat because you can drive without registration up to 90 miles to/from an event and 30 miles to/from your house for testing/tuning purposes.

 

805.030 Violation of registration limits on antique or special interest vehicle; penalty. (1) A person commits the offense of violation of registration limits on antique vehicle or vehicle of special interest if a vehicle is permanently registered under ORS 805.010 or 805.020 and the person uses the vehicle:

 

(a) Other than for exhibitions, parades, club activities and similar uses; or

 

(b) Primarily for the transportation of persons or property.

 

(2) The offense described in this section, violation of registration limits on antique vehicle or vehicle of special interest, is a Class D traffic violation. [1983 c.338 §240]

 

 

[DB6]

One point that crosses over with this is what the DMV registers the car as:

As raised in previous threads one point in many states that requires front and rear plates can is where to put a front plate on a 7, I just found out that in Oregon you can apply for a "SP" plate (Special Interest) if the car is over a certain age, or a street rod based on a 1949 or earlier model, or bla bla bla etc etc.;this allows the car to run on a rear plate only. I might soon have the oldest 7 on the planet.

If a 7 does not qualify as "Special Interest " I don't know what should.

 

Thanks for the good news:confused:

 

I do not doubt what you say is true.(as you said you enforce the law not write it)

However, it really pisses me off that car enthusiasts that try to do everything by the books get hammered by the system while there are so many ppl out there driving cars without licenses or insurance or ....... well you know.:cuss:

[Hank]

I just insured my Westfield Megabusa with American Collectors Insurance. $40k agreed amount. 2500 miles/year limit. $536/year.

 

Hagerty's wanted $709 for the same policy.

 

One step closer to driving her on the street!

[RGTorque]

i use ralley insurance through safeco. cost is $424 a year with $45,000 agreed value. im limited to 5,000 miles a year and somewhat limited to when i can drive the car (weekends, shows, events). dont dare say anything about going to a race track or they will put you up on a cross.

 

i think my rate is good considering im 25 years old

[powerbookguy]

i use ralley insurance through safeco. cost is $424 a year with $45,000 agreed value. im limited to 5,000 miles a year and somewhat limited to when i can drive the car (weekends, shows, events). dont dare say anything about going to a race track or they will put you up on a cross.

 

i think my rate is good considering im 25 years old

 

interesting, safeco would only give me liability coverage. i switched to hagerty.

[MHKflyer52]

One point that crosses over with this is what the DMV registers the car as:

As raised in previous threads one point in many states that requires front and rear plates can is where to put a front plate on a 7, I just found out that in Oregon you can apply for a "SP" plate (Special Interest) if the car is over a certain age, or a street rod based on a 1949 or earlier model, or bla bla bla etc etc.;this allows the car to run on a rear plate only. I might soon have the oldest 7 on the planet.

If a 7 does not qualify as "Special Interest " I don't know what should.

 

When I registered my 7 in Oregon (McMinville DMV) they said that I had to register it as a REPLICA or a RE-CONSTRUCTED vehicle. I chose Replica and said that it was a replica of a 1963 Lotus 7 and that is what the title said (1963 Lotus 7 Replica) when I recived it from the DMV. It also did not have any restrictions on when or were I could drive my car. It was even easier when I transferred the title and registration to California as the DMV here (Ventura CA.) said that they do not have a replica title so they made the title say 1963 Lotus 7 even though I kept telling them that it is a replica of that cars year. Sure made it nice as I do not have to wory about smoging or anything like that and my insurance company agreed that it has a declared value and because it is titled as a 1963 Lotus 7 by the state of California their are no restrictions on use or millage.

Go talk to your DMV office and ask them for direction and they will usually help you or point you to the person that knows or is a gear head within the office and get you straight.