Classic vehicles turn heads, whether they are driving down the road, displayed at a car show, or quietly sitting in your garage at home. Classic vehicles of all types can evoke a sense of nostalgia in car enthusiasts of different ages and backgrounds. Classic vehicles also involve a lot of investment in order to keep them in tip-top shape.

To take care of your classic vehicle, you need to make sure that it’s not only physically taken care of, but financially as well. Having the right kind of automobile insurance to cover your classic vehicle is essential for the continued longevity of your beloved vehicle.

 

Minimize Your Insurance Risk

Insuring your classic vehicle is much different than insuring your regular car. Your general automobile insurance policy isn’t enough to cover your classic vehicle if it is damaged during an accident. Classic vehicles are often expensive to the point of being priceless, so you want to make sure that if something does happen to your car, you are able to replace parts to fix it or have the money to purchase another classic vehicle.

Whether you inherited a classic vehicle that was in fairly good shape or you rebuilt a classic vehicle yourself, the money you’ve put into that vehicle can be more than what you would pay for a more modern car. Another one of the reasons why your classic vehicle shouldn’t be lumped into your regular automobile insurance policy is because that, unlike an ordinary car, a classic vehicle will often retain its value or become more valuable as it ages.

The value of a newer car usually decreases over time. For newer vehicles, the amount an insurance company will pay you in case of an accident decreases as the value of your vehicle decreases. If you do have a classic vehicle, you want to make sure that your car insurance policy will cover your vehicle as it gains value over the years. Additionally, the parts you’ll need to fix and maintain your vehicle might be much more expensive than their modern equivalent. This means repair costs could cost you a pretty penny should your classic vehicle be damaged.

 

Auto Insurance for Classic Vehicles

Classic vehicle insurance policies should include standard liability insurance, collision coverage, and OTC (other-than-collisionive coverage. Your insurance should cover the cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle in case of an accident, rather than just junking it if it is totaled.

North Carolina requires drivers to have both bodily injury liability insurance as well as property damage liability insurance coverage.

• Bodily injury liability insurance is an insurance policy that covers medical expenses for you and others if you cause an accident.
• Property damage liability insurance helps you cover another person’s car or property damage that results from an accident that you caused.

Optional insurance policies in North Carolina include collision insurance and OTC (other-than-collision) car insurance.

• OTC (other-than-collision) car insurance covers your vehicle for damages that don’t occur from a car accident like theft or vandalism. OTC (other-than-collision) insurance allows you to set your deductible to reflect how much money you can pay out of pocket in case of an accident. The higher your deductible, the lower your premium payment will be.
• Collision insurance helps protect your vehicle if you are in an accident that is your fault. You can also choose what your deductible will be for this kind of insurance coverage. Collision insurance is helpful for classic vehicle owners because, as much as we try to take care of ourselves and our vehicles, drivers can make mistakes.

Find the Right Auto Insurance

Some classic vehicle drivers might be worried that insuring their vehicle will be prohibitively expensive; however, your policy premium might actually be cheaper than your regular car insurance for a couple of reasons. As a classic vehicle driver, insurers know that you treat your car with the utmost care.

Classic car drivers typically pose less of an insurance risk than other drivers because they actively drive safely on the roads, don’t usually drive a lot of miles, and regularly maintain their vehicles. All of this minimizes your risk as a driver, and auto insurance companies are likely to give breaks on premium payments for drivers of classic vehicles.

 

To learn more about what kind of insurance you should have for a classic vehicle, contact our team at Protective Agency at (877) 739-9367. Our licensed insurance agents will be happy to answer any questions you have.