Cranky Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I called my State Farm agent this morning to ask what it would cost to add a Caterham to my insurance. She called her underwriter and came back with the answer that they won't insure it because they consider it a race car. I did some searching here and saw several older references to State Farm insuring Sevens in Texas. Does anyone know what information I need to give to my agent to get them to insure a Caterham? Failing that, what are people's recommendations for insurance? This would be far a car driven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xflow7 Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Others may have your answer re: State Farm, but I'll chime in to say I've been generally very happy with Hagerty. They insure only pleasure/classic/collectible cars and do so on an Agreed Value basis (as opposed to Actual Value, which is what most mainstream auto insurance is). They *will* ask how many miles you will use it and if it's over 3,000/year or so, they won't take you. However, there is no actual limit written into the policy. This basically means that, yes, you are subject to limited use. But if your car club organizes a cross-country rally and you have an accident at the end of the year you're not going to get denied because you happened to break 3k miles that year. My car was heavily damaged in a deer-hunting () accident some years ago and Hagerty came through. The only minor aggravation was that the adjuster that came to look at the car was more familiar with muscle cars and body-on-frame construction so was a bit out of his depth in assessing a Caterham which is closer to aircraft construction. This led to more back-and-forth between the shop and the adjuster/claim representative than might otherwise be the case, but in the end they never balked at the $12k repair bill and it had no effect on my premiums. That, plus my customer service experiences with them have been uniformly positive. When you call them and say you want to insure a lightweight British roadster called a Caterham Seven they respond, "Cool!" rather than "WTF is that?" Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffee break Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 My car is insures thru Heacock Classic. They insures the car with the previous owner. They have the 3000 mile limit also, but I have not been asked to verify my actual mileage. It's not a problem, I'm under 1000 a year so far. I looked at another classic insurer, but their information made it sound like I could only drive to car shows only. My policy allows pleasure driving (the whole point):auto:, so it is a second car. Also, the car must be garaged in a secure location, ie inside. The cost is reasonable. PM for contact info. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seschm1234 Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I have my insurance through USAA. You have to be in the Military, a vet or a child of a vet but if any of those apply…. I gave them the Caterham USA website, they also financed my car. My insurance is very inexpensive and I drive about 2500 per year. Thanks Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 A couple of things about insurance - from someone who operates one. The first thing to remember is that insurance is state based regulation. So the policy terms and conditions and what is underwritten does vary substantially state to state because thats what the states want. Secondly there is a very big difference between an insurance company and a managing general agency (MGA). An insurance company like State Farm, GEICO, Progressive, Farmers, USAA, Liberty, Chubb, Nationwide, etc for the most part will try to treat our cars like regular daily drivers - insured value depreciates at a defined rate. Sevens values are not like that. Also you may be signing up to have repairs done that are substandard for the specialist nature of the vehicle. While State Farm does have some states where you can get agreed value suitable for a seven it is less than half the states in the Union. Chubb Insurance under their masterpiece program will do agreed value consistently provided you have more than one collector car. Lastly, the insurance premium rate filing with the state is designed deliberately to never give you a competitive premium on a classic car compared with a classic car program from an MGA. A managing general agency is an agent who has "branded" a program with a variety of insurance carriers/companies who will insure your cars based on that program. An MGA is NOT an insurance company - their interests may diverge from the insurance carrier. An MGA includes Hagerty, Grundy, Heacock, American Collectors, etc. Always ask who the carrier is behind the program and their credit rating - you want the insurance carrier to be around to pay. Always read the policy very carefully - they have some quirky exclusions that will not be raised in Q&A over the phone. For example - did you know that two of the MGA's above have policies in 10 states that exclude coverage if you drive onto a motor racing or drag racing facility - not to compete but just to park in the grounds and then climb a grand stand to watch or even just to attend a static car show. That said these MGA programs will give best bang for buck for seven insurance. Lastly, there are a number of insurers included in the list above who monitor youtube and certain internet forums for license plates of cars behaving inappropriately outside their policy conditions. If found your policy may not be cancelled but you will certainly get into an awkward discussion when you have to make a claim that may result in a claim denial situation. The odds are low given the volume of cars out there being stupid but why give anyone a reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusaNostra Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I used to have $195.00 yearly from JC Taylor - not until I told them that I upgraded my engine to Honda s2000 and now I'm paying $305.00 a year. Well, atleast I told them the truth...just incase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 State Farm insured my Xflow Caterham for 5 years, ending in 2011,then my Birkin for 2 years, ending in 2013. Must be that state-to-state thing Croc was discussing. I dont have insurance on my current Caterham because it is, as they say, actually a race car. So never driven on the street. Cost was same as my other older cars. I got a price break because didn't (typically) drive over 5,000 miles a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wemtd Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 My 2 cents is to go with an agreed upon value arrangement. You never expect to have an issue (deer hunting or otherwise) but it will make your life easier on the other end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seschm1234 Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I know there is track insurance, do you all buy it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I dont have insurance on my current Caterham because it is, as they say, actually a race car. So never driven on the street. Race car or not - have you got excess liability insurance? What happens if you run over someone in the pits or hit someone on track. You may not care about the car damage but the liability will bankrupt you. I usually buy track insurance for the CSR with Lockton and get my discount from being a BMW club member. Covers the cost of the car but not the liability. I self insure my other track cars as I do not drive hard on track - just out for a nice quiet Sunday drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucky dawg Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 My State Farm agent made a call to a knowledgeable person in the underwriting department and had my CSR policy in less than an hour. No hassles and a fair price. It may have helped that I have been a long time customer with a home and five other cars insured through them, though she now has insured two others local Caterhams and a Noble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucky dawg Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I know there is track insurance, do you all buy it? I buy it. For me the cost of the insurance is tolerable, the cost of replacing the car is not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wemtd Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Race car or not... What happens if you run over someone in the pits or hit someone on track. He's got a good lawyer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xcarguy Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Through the years, I've used Hagerty, Grundy and Heacock. My car and trailer are currrently with Grundy. For track days, I use Lockton. As stated by lucky dawg, the cost is tolerable when you consider the alternative. :ack: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wemtd Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Shane, Have you found any of these folks to be better than others for our cars (or are we still subject to state-specific regulation)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucky dawg Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I believe there are just two companies selling track day insurance, Lockton and http://www.ontrackinsurance.com/index.aspx. They each have slight advantages and disadvantages. Check out both and decide which is a better fit for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xcarguy Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 (edited) Shane, Have you found any of these folks to be better than others for our cars (or are we still subject to state-specific regulation)? When I owned my ERA 289, I was insured with Heacock. The cost was very reasonable and I had no issues. Later on, Heacock began using a different underwriter (can't remember who). I had read some bad reviews concerning the underwriter (not Heacock). I called Heacock and queried them about the underwriter which led to my asking some very detailed questions about my coverage which the Heacock rep was sketchy at best about answering. This, unfortunately gave me 'cause for pause'. It was then that I began shopping other specialty insurance companies. Hagerty was too high. I had been with them in the past, but their premiums for Cobra replicas was way over priced for me; I might could have understood had I been a young pup with a heavy foot and no restraint, but that wasn't the case. Anyway, I had also been with Grundy in the past and settled on them once again. They were the best bang for the buck for me regarding cost and peace of mind. Having said all of this, Hagerty, Heacock and Grundy are all good choices given the circumstances for needing insurance. Again, in all fairness to Heacock, I simply had an uneasiness about their new underwriter, not the company. And . . . having said that . . . Heacock's underwriter (for Arkansas) may not be the same as for another state; just a guess. Now, if Croc will be so kind as to chime in and fix my ignorance. :jester: . . . . . . . :lurk: Edited July 22, 2014 by xcarguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranky Posted July 22, 2014 Author Share Posted July 22, 2014 I entered my info and got a reasonable quote. Then, because I have an almost 15 year old at home, I checked to see what the rate will be when I have a third driver at the house that will not be driving the car. They told me I was declined. :cuss: I'll have to call them tomorrow. I won't be happy if I can't get insurance until the last of my children has left the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucky dawg Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Cranky - Ask if you can get a specific exclusion for your 15 year old. That transfers the risk from the insurance company back to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffee break Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Cranky - Ask if you can get a specific exclusion for your 15 year old. That transfers the risk from the insurance company back to you. At the time I got my policy, my daughter was in the house and under 25. She was excluded, no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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