Got a vintage car — a 1960s-era Mustang or a gull-wing Mercedes? You could be paying too much to insure it.

Roughly half of collectible-car owners put their vehicles on a standard auto insurance policy, said Ford Heacock III, CEO of Heacock Classic, an insurer of antique and collectible cars.

And that could be costing them money.

Traditional insurance is based on the notion that a car’s value will decrease. But a collectible is likely to appreciate, especially if you’re restoring it.

When buying coverage for a collectible, which is offered by dozens of specialized companies, you and the insurer agree to the replacement value, a price based on your assessment of its value and the price comparables have brought at auction and in collector’s sales. If the car is destroyed, you’ll get that agreed-to value.

And, despite higher replacement costs, premiums are lower for the simple reason that collectible cars are pampered (and driven infrequently).

“At the heart of insuring classic cars is the idea that this is your baby, and you are not going to do anything to hurt it,” said Candysse Miller, executive director of the Insurance Information Network of California and an avowed car buff.

How much cheaper is classic car insurance? The answer varies based on the insurer and vehicle.

A State Farm spokesman said it might cost $470 annually to cover a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro with a traditional policy, with a lot of caveats. (Specifically, the driver had 30 years of experience, multiple discounts and a perfect driving record.)

State Farm would cut that by about 20 percent, to $380, if you mentioned it was a collectible car and you planned to drive it mainly to shows, said State Farm spokesman Bob Devereux.

Heacock’s company would charge about $290, without inquiring about your driving record.

Why? Because State Farm uses dozens of factors to price your policy, while Heacock looks mainly at the car’s value and how it is going to be used. Heacock said that if you’re driving it solely in parades and to and from shows, the chance of getting T-boned or slamming into another driver is slim.

But there are restrictions. Heacock doesn’t cover drivers younger than 30. The car can’t be driven more than 5,000 miles a year, and it must be garaged.

“We’re not looking to insure your second car,” Heacock said. “We’re only interested in insuring cars that are getting some extra attention.”

And the insured car needn’t be an expensive antique. If a car draws enthusiasts and is driven like a collectible, it probably can be insured like one, said Miller of the Insurance Information Network.

The Chevrolet Impala you had in college could qualify, as could Grandma’s Morris Minor or a late-model Ferrari, Lamborghini or Corvette.

This is a highly specialized niche market, Miller noted. Some companies specialize in antiques, some in muscle or race cars, others in classics.

2. Determine the terms of usage. If your insurance company will only cover your classic car on the way to and from car shows, a fun ride to get ice cream may not be covered.



3. Review the garaging requirements. Many policies require classic cars to be garaged within a structure. If you park your vehicle in an open driveway, you need to have the garaging clause amended to make sure your car is adequately covered.


4. Calculate the deductible. Depending on the plan you choose, your classic car insurance policy may not have a deductible. If you do have a deductible, talk with your agent to see if it can be removed.



5. Shop around for the best price. If the previous steps have yielded the coverage you want for your classic car, the only thing left to do is to get the coverages for the best price possible.

For those that don’t know I’m releasing a VIN decoder for modern vehicles that will be available initially for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  The app will allow you to enter a VIN and decode the informationed contained in it to reveal facts about the vehicle.  It’s also tied into the CARFAX vehicle history service to provide detailed reports on any vehicle made after 1981.

My question to the general audience is if there is any interest in a similar app for classic and collector vehicles.  It would be a database of information specifically on the classic car market, designed for collectors, auction-goers, and general car show fans.  Let me know what you think…

VIN Hunter (http://www.vinhunter.com) is launching a new iPhone VIN decoder and vehicle history app.  This thing looks awesome, I’ve been playing with it for several days.  Easy to use and able to lookup over 150,000 vehicle models!  Check CARFAX reports and stolen vehicle lists.  A great tool for anyone shopping for a car or truck.

Ask ‘em to make a classic car version!

The sound of the engine draws men to these powerful machines. Many men have wanted a muscle car at some point in their lives due to the appeal of a fast accelerating, horsepower heavy, and good looking speed machine. Many of these cars are available from classic hot rods of old to the current production speed machines. Despite the high fuel consumption and cost of maintaining these wonderful machines many men still dream of owning one. At first the costs that come to mind are all the obvious ones. Owning a muscle car can involve a substantial initial investment, a large repair and maintenance bill, and very high fuel costs as the power does come at the cost of burned fuel, tires, and brakes.

But perhaps one of the more expensive and vital elements of owning a muscle car is to get the appropriate level of muscle car insurance. This insurance is typically more expensive than with other cars due to the inherently hiring risk of having a faster car but if you have a good driving record it can be very affordable. For modern day muscle cars you can get a quote quickly online but if you have a specialty or older muscle car you will most likely have to work directly with an insurance agent as the variables that go into your rate or many. Make sure to point out your occupation or any other qualification you have that may help reduce your rate.

Owning a classic car whether it is an antique cruiser or a prized muscle car it is most likely your pride and joy. Owning and maintaining such a vehicle is a labor of love and a major investment of your time, money, passion, and effort. As such it is absolutely critical that you have the appropriate classic or muscle car insurance. There are many variations on muscle car insurance over insurance for a regular car. Unlike a regular car which is easily replaced an appraised an antique or muscle car is often very rare and thus placing an appropriate value on it is difficult. In addition the standard insurance rates adjustment rules don’t necessarily apply.

Not every old car is a classic and working one on one with your insurance company is critical. Given the unique nature of your investment it means you can’t just go to a big insurers website and get a quote. You will need to work with an agent to gather all the specifics pertaining to your classic muscle care and will also need to take into consideration what if any compensation you will want in case anything should happen to your car. Although it won’t necessarily be cheap, having the right level of insurance is important should tragedy strike.

The most frequent personal injury reported by a vehicle occupant in an accident is whiplash. During sudden deceleration of a car, the upper body of a passenger is slammed backwards very quickly and forcefully, causing various amounts of injury and pain in the neck, back, and/or shoulders.
Many accident victims do not know that they experienced whiplash. Sometimes symptoms can take a few days to appear. Minor injuries included tenderness of the back, arms, shoulders, neck and stiffness of these areas. Serious injuries can be of the mental variety, such as problems focusing and memory impairments.
In less problematic whiplash cases, discomfort goes away in a few days, but symptoms been known to last for months after an accident and some damages may even be permanent.
Too often whiplash victims do not even know that they might be eligible to receive compensation for their medical bills and suffering. If the wreck was not your fault and you believe you should get money for your troubles, contact an attorney for help. Most often these kinds of cases require no fee to be paid to the attorney if they do not win the case. This way, there is no monetary risk for you. If they do win they will get a cut of your money, but by doing this you are guaranteed not to loose any money.

A Burton man of 52 called the police on February 15 and reported that he had met an accident that supposedly occurred near Bristol and Fenton roads. The police found the man with bloodshot eyes and there was smell of alcohol too. The man also changed his statement about the vehicle and later on he was found guilty of driving while intoxicated and that too on a suspended driving license. The man was in the intention of grabbing the money of insurance claim but had to end up in the jail. There are some muscle car owners that try to claim muscle car insurance companies by reporting fraud accidents too.

There was another report of hit and run case when a Flint man reported the police that a day before he had parked his car in the parking lot of Center Road Business and found several scratches on it. There was one more report from a woman who had left her purse on the passenger seat of a locked car and when she returned the window was shattered and the purse was missing. The purse contained credit card, gasoline card, a checkbook, social security card and her driver’s license card too. However the damage to the car was predicted at $250.

Furthermore a man who reported of an accident was arrested because he was driving intoxicated and had previous records of license suspension and was arrested before for driving intoxicated too. Another man was arrested from East Court Street retail business after a complaint from an employee of being cheated and the man admitted of fraud up to $2,500. There were other similar cases reported in latest Burton police records.

The research I’ve done indicates there are several top firms offering something called “stated value” insurance, which means you as a car owner gets to dictate the value of your classic car.  This means that unlike your Camry when it gets involved in an accident you’ll actually be able to make sure your muscle car has enough coverage to get the repairs it requires to get it back into original shape.

Regular insurance only covers a vehicle up to it’s “blue book” value.  Your muscle car might have a value much higher than this insurance industry standard by getting your vehicle covered with stated value insurance you can rest assured that in the event of an accident or severe damage your investment is protected.

My car is a perfect example of this.  It’s old yet very rare; only forty examples of it exist in the world today.  While an insurance adjuster might look up it’s price as $4,000 I know the vehicle is worth at least ten times that.  My classic car insurance is definitely worth the cost.

Sites like Classic Car Insurance Reviews covers all the major classic car insurance companies out there.  They’ll give you a good overview of the policies and costs.  It’s a good place to start any collector car insurance research.

I had a friend recently who was involved in a huge crash with his Mustang.  He ended up paying through the nose for the right kind of repairs.  He’s since gotten on the bandwagon with me about the importance of specialty car insurance.  It’s funny, he talks like it was always his idea!

In the times we are in as well as our economy right now there are numerous people driving without insurance for there car. Experts say by 2010 there will more drivers in the U.S alone that will be driving without auto insurance. The laws and insurance officials are try to enforce this but it will just get worse before better. Even back in 2003 there was a slight decrease of this issue up till 2007. The increase will become in number of motorists without insurance in the near future. There is not much most of us can do but try to live and make the money for our living expenses over trying to get auto insurance for our cars. As the consequences of this action will virtually hit hard to most. Economically this will make a downturn and show how everyone is being affected by our economy right now.

Recently in Muscle Shoals the police Capt. Dale Garret had put this in terms that if it comes down to someone wanting to eat or going out to buy car insurance; they will chose to eat. Surveys are showing that five states now have the highest number of uninsured motorists two years ago were all in New Mexico which followed by southern states Mississippi and so on. The lowest was shown in places like Massachusetts, Maine, and few other east coast states as well as one Midwest state. Unemployment rate has also been a main factor for all this to with most not having car insurance.

The problem will get worse as they say before it gets better and most folks just have insurance have uninsured motorist coverage which just protects them if they hit someone else. This also could increase premiums for those who do have insurance for there cars.