ERNSTEVERYTHING Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Hi I'm looking to buy a superlight R, I have a pretty terrible driving record and insure myself under my girlfriends policy. The quotes I have so far are around the 4k mark annually, which seems pretty ridiculous. Any pointers or classic specific insurers, you can recommend, would be appreciated. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlumba81 Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 My 04 Caterham is insured by Safeco Ins under my dad's policy. I paid $685 for 6 months, full coverage for $36k value. I have it in my garage right now waiting for coilovers and a 1st gear swap so its coverage is suspended until April. Its a multi car policy (5 cars) and also have house insurance w/ them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidL Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Haggerty covers my car (1990 Caterham), agreed value $30K, cost is about $550/year. Assumes you are not commuting to work in it, and storage in a locked garage. I'm in California (Bay area). ---David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ERNSTEVERYTHING Posted November 3, 2011 Author Share Posted November 3, 2011 thank you, I appreciate the recommendations, I'll get on it tomorrow, If I can get it below $1.5k annually I'll be happy.. Anthony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlumba81 Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 I guess I should add that it was insured as a 04 Caterham w/ no limitations. I drove it to work and 2 roadtrips (4k miles and 1.5k miles). So you might be able to lower the costs w/ mileage restrictions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Having it insured as a "collector" car will be a lot cheaper than getting full daily driver insurance. If insuring it as a second "fun" car then try Hagertys as mentioned above and also try American Collectors Insurance or Grundy. Just read the fine print as to what you can or cannot do. For mainstream insurers in CA then you should find State Farm, Safeco/Liberty and Chubb most flexible for insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimrankin Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Your record is probably going to be the big problem dollar wise. My S2K was added to a mulit car/multi house poilcy at State Farm as a "limited use" 1959 Lotus Replica, full coverage on car and trailer for a little over $350 a year. It does specifically note that coverage is suspended any time that the vehicle is "on a property where speed contest are held" so track days are not covered even if they are disguised as driver training or whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klasik-69 Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 If its not a primary means of transportation, the insurance is cheaper and likely easier to get. I insured by 04 Caterham R300 superlight with American Southern Home (Cincinnati, Ohio) as a collector car along with my 69 Vette and 67 GTO. The total premium for the Caterham is around $553 a year. It's stored in a locked garage and only driven occasionally. I have a clean driving record and 60, so my rates are low. I tried to get it insured with Geico but they declined even though I have 3 other vehicles with them. They considered it a race car. I had two other quotes, one from Hagerty and the other from American Collectors and both were more expensive. Insurance rates can vary according to where you live as well as your age and driving record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ERNSTEVERYTHING Posted November 3, 2011 Author Share Posted November 3, 2011 the problem is the VIN, as it doesn't seem to come up on any of the insurance company databases. Hence the ridiculous price, as we have an existing policy with Met life for 4 vehicles.. has anyone else encountered this problem..? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Tell the insurance company it is a replica of a 1959 Lotus 7. That's what it took to get Hagerty to insure my Caterham SV. I'm paying $450 per year and have a fairly good record, about one ticket per year. It can't be your only car or daily driver and needs a locked garage to qualify with Hagerty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMW RACER Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 I'm in Los Angeles too (Calabasas). I'm with State Farm and I think it's $400 per year. I have it on limited milage (less than 7500) It's so cheap I don't even remember what it is 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klasik-69 Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Keep in mind the rates depend also on the coverage you choose. In my case, I have very high liability and underinsurance coverage limits, some of which is mandated by my umbrella liability policy. As someone pointed out earlier, the VIN on these cars don't pop up on insurance co. computers so they're at a loss as to what they are. This may be true of other kit cars as well, like the A/C cobras. Mine requested pictures of the car. Its also a stated value policy. In some states, any understatement of values can limit your coverage during a claim. In Florida, if you understate the value of insured property by more than 10%, any eventual claim will only be paid to the level of proper insurance coverage. In other words, if you claim a value of $30K and its really $40K, then you underinsured by 25%. Any damage or loss claim will be reduced by the same amount. They do that to prevent from low balling their values in hopes of reducing their premiums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimrankin Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 See Klasic 69's note above about coverage; "uninsured/underinsured" motorist is too often overlooked, and it's the "cheap" part of your policy to bump up. I was always worried about covering "everyone else" so have really high liability and umbrella coverage but didn't realize I was leaving myself "uncovered" until someone elses state minimum policy didn't come close to covering my wife being hit in a crosswalk by a stop sign runner. I had enough to cover it but in the meantime have added to it seriously. Kind of closing the coup door after the chickens got out and don't know how it didn't get brought up by my agent in a state full of illegals/local idiots without coverage, especially since it's really cheap to bump way up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoPho Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 A) If your really terrible driving record is because you crash a lot, you probably don't want a Seven. :willy_nilly: And if your terrible driving record is because you get a lot of speeding tickets, a Seven isn't going to dissuade that behavior :devil: B) Keep in mind that what other people are paying isn't necessarily relevant to you, there are too many variables involved, a 60yo man with a perfect record living in Alaska isn't going to pay anything near what you with a bad record and living in Los Angeles is going to pay. That said, I have a Superlight R like the one you are looking at and live in the westside of LA and I pay $810 per year from Hagerty and that is for "limited use" and insured for $40k. BUT I am 39yo, never had an accident and haven't had a speeding ticket on my record in 10+ years, so figure you will pay a lot more. C) The insurance companies can't find the VIN because Caterham isn't a registered manufacture in the US and under the CA SB100 the CHP assign a VIN to it. Also there is some funky stuff going on with the car you are looking at (if it is the one I am thinking of), I had been contacted by a couple of people looking to buy it and the owner appeared to be playing games and less than forthcoming so they backed out of purchasing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ERNSTEVERYTHING Posted November 4, 2011 Author Share Posted November 4, 2011 A) If your really terrible driving record is because you crash a lot, you probably don't want a Seven. :willy_nilly: And if your terrible driving record is because you get a lot of speeding tickets, a Seven isn't going to dissuade that behavior :devil: B) Keep in mind that what other people are paying isn't necessarily relevant to you, there are too many variables involved, a 60yo man with a perfect record living in Alaska isn't going to pay anything near what you with a bad record and living in Los Angeles is going to pay. That said, I have a Superlight R like the one you are looking at and live in the westside of LA and I pay $810 per year from Hagerty and that is for "limited use" and insured for $40k. BUT I am 39yo, never had an accident and haven't had a speeding ticket on my record in 10+ years, so figure you will pay a lot more. C) The insurance companies can't find the VIN because Caterham isn't a registered manufacture in the US and under the CA SB100 the CHP assign a VIN to it. Also there is some funky stuff going on with the car you are looking at (if it is the one I am thinking of), I had been contacted by a couple of people looking to buy it and the owner appeared to be playing games and less than forthcoming so they backed out of purchasing it. Mopho.. I appreciate your feedback, after further investigation, my driving record is not that bad, but living in for Oregon for 5 years did me no favours, the worlds slowest driving state. being 36 and in the LACMA district, isn't helping...either.. I am however interested in the Superlight you are talking about, could you possibly give me more info..? I'm not sure you can PM me, as I'm new on here, but if you could drop me an email, I would be most appreciative. my address is Hope at ernsteverything dot com, I would hate to dive head long into a lemon, I can't register. Many thanks Anthony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supersportsp Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 The ridiculous price is due to your driving record. Try getting insurance for a STI/Evo/Corvette etc. Haggerty and the specialty companies won't go anywhere near you with a less than solid driving record. They are picky due to the nature of the vehicles they insure. Your credit score, driving record, age and marital status are the single biggest fixed factors. The car is the variable in the equation. Shop around though. When I was 23, single, and with tickets, I bought a new Ducati 900 SS/SP. The very first insurance quote I got from Progressive was $6k per year. I then got one for $4k, then for $2800, and finally I found a company out of Florida who wrote a lot of Ducati policies and did it for $1200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ERNSTEVERYTHING Posted November 7, 2011 Author Share Posted November 7, 2011 The ridiculous price is due to your driving record. Try getting insurance for a STI/Evo/Corvette etc. Haggerty and the specialty companies won't go anywhere near you with a less than solid driving record. They are picky due to the nature of the vehicles they insure. Your credit score, driving record, age and marital status are the single biggest fixed factors. The car is the variable in the equation. Shop around though. When I was 23, single, and with tickets, I bought a new Ducati 900 SS/SP. The very first insurance quote I got from Progressive was $6k per year. I then got one for $4k, then for $2800, and finally I found a company out of Florida who wrote a lot of Ducati policies and did it for $1200. I'm getting there, spent the last few days calling insurance companies, Haggerty told me to call back in a few years..which I found quite amusing.. All I can say is its way cheaper than insuring a car in the Uk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ERNSTEVERYTHING Posted November 7, 2011 Author Share Posted November 7, 2011 Thank you all, for your input, I'm not a big fan of Forums, but I have to say this seems to be one of the most helpful and pleasant forums, I've been on. I found insurance today, through American Southern Home (thank you Klasik 69). $563 a year.. deposit paid..Pick up the superlight next week.:hurray: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoPho Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Congrats Anthony! Let me know if you need any help when you get it Morgan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klasik-69 Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Thank you all, for your input, I'm not a big fan of Forums, but I have to say this seems to be one of the most helpful and pleasant forums, I've been on. I found insurance today, through American Southern Home (thank you Klasik 69). $563 a year.. deposit paid..Pick up the superlight next week.:hurray: Glad to hear it worked out for you. I've been happy with the company but since I haven't had any claims, can't venture too much on their service. Good luck on the superlight. Mine is an 04 superlight R300 with the Zetec 202 HP engine and a real hoot. Top end is a bit disappointing but I'm working on the aerodynamics a little to help that along. The Seven has a Cd of 0.65 or about as good as a UPS delivery van. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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