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Auto Insurance requirement for previous high performance experience

3K views 16 replies 13 participants last post by  dsshap  
#1 ·
I just got screwed here. I did months of research for cars, financing, PPI, insurance, etc. In every one of them there is some 'gotcha' that I have to work through to figure out.

The one today is really screwing me. Hagerty is telling me they won't insure me because I don't have 2 years of ownership of a high-performance vehicles. Today is the first time I am hearing all of this crap.

"Hagerty requires that you have either owned the vehicle we are insuring for at least 2 years or that you have previous ownership of a high performance vehicle, similar to the one we are insuring. All the notes from underwriter indicated that you have no previous experience. "

I watched tons of YouTube videos and read tons of blogs and forum posts and this is the first I am hearing of this crap.

Can anyone provide some guidance?
 
#3 ·
I need a 'Guaranteed Value' policy. Progressive does not underwrite classic car insurance. The use Hagerty for underwriting. So, I am still in the same boat. Excerpt from Progressive's web site...

Better coverage for your classic at lower rates

Your classic isn't just a car. That's why your classic car insurance policy isn't just a standard car insurance policy. Instead, it's a much different policy that's built just for your classic and includes more specialized coverages. And because Hagerty only protects collector vehicles that aren't driven daily, your classic or collector car insurance policy provides better coverage at significantly lower prices than standard auto insurance.


I can get quote from traditional insurers but then I won't have guaranteed value clause. I can go to other classic or exotic car insurers but those rates are high, over $2500 per year. I am angry because when I prepped for all of this i got quotes from Hagerty for ~$1600 per year. Those quotes are completely useless. It doesn't mean anything until it goes to underwriting. I tired Rally and Grundy. A lot of them use Hagerty for underwriting anyway so they are just brokers and don't really insure anything. Hagerty does.
 
#4 ·
Unfortunately that is how Hagerty wants to do it. I talked with another provider with a Guaranteed Value policy and they could not insure me due to other people of my similar demographics and background kept crashing R8's and Lambos under their policy. They told me a 911 would be no issues for them though :ROFLMAO:
 
#5 ·
There are a number of companies that can provide an agreed value policy, but many of them have some stipulation. I remember about that I had the same problem with Hagerty, but I think they wanted me to have 4 years of experience. Another one wouldn't do it because my DD was older than the R8. Another wouldn't do it unless I had 2 cars with them. I ended up going with American National, but it wasn't without headaches. Shop around and talk to the different companies that offer agreed value to see if you can find one that works for you. There may be some limitation, but in 2 years, you could always swap to Hagerty if who you are with is too restrictive.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Yes, Hagerty requires previous high performance car ownership. I believe they will accept any car with a V8 engine. In my case, my car ownership history is as follows:

2005 BMW 545i SMG (V8 engine)
2013 Audi S6 (V8 engine)
2012 Merc S63 AMG (V8 engine)
2020 BMW M5 Comp (V8 engine)

They had no issues with my previous cars qualifying.


My Hagerty policy is expensive, too. $4000 per year with a 3500 mile limit. Car is insured for full MSRP of $230,695.
Clean driving record. No wrecks. No tickets for like 20 years, either.
 
#8 ·
Thank you all. It is reassuring to know this is not atypical. I was just completely caught off-guard and venting.

I am 54yo and live alone. I guess I should have purchased the V8 version of my MB SUV. I am a dumbass for trying to save gas money. LOLOL.

Still working options. Going to revisit Grundy, Rally. Going to try American Natiional, and Berkley classic.
 
#10 ·
Reposting this here from the thread you started Subter...

I got a lot of relevant info to share here. We do need to make sure we are not comparing apples to oranges. I see plenty of prices shared but not the most important part of the equation.

Maybe with NEW car purchases that need insurance you can get a standard insurance policy of varying coverages. You then may want to purchase "GAP" insurance to make sure you are covered if car is totaled in that fist 3-5ish years of ownership of a NEW car.

If you are buying a USED car, the rules are different. You have to look at your specific vehicle and analyze the market factors. You need to determine if your car is a "collector" car or "classic" car meaning it has hit the bottom of its depreciation curve and will stay around that value or increase. If so, you NEED to do an "Agreed Value" policy.

If that used collector car is totaled, the charts and data the insurance company look at won't match what you have into the vehicle. Let me give an example...

20212 Audi r8 GT, 1 of 333
Pretty much fully depreciated and will only rise in value. The Edmunds price says 81-96k. If you are real lucky, the insurance company will give you around that amount. Good luck. Either way, these vehicles are worth 125-150k. So, I just lost 50k if I wreck my vehicle. In 5 years, the car may be worth 200k so I just lost100k+. No thianks.

Point is that for those situations you need to do an Agreed Value policy and those are drastically different in cost, restrictions, etc.

Apples and Oranges
 
#11 ·
Sorry if this comes off the wrong way, but this sounds like you're screaming "fire" and I see no fire.

From what you've said, Hagerty was quoting you $1,600 / year. You've also said you can get a similar policy elsewhere for around $2,500 / year. All of this noise about $900? What will the post look like when you get a $5,000 repair bill for failed A/C?

These are expensive toys - but they're toys, nonetheless. With all due respect, $900 shouldn't cause you grief. If it does, I'd reconsider the purchase. Ideally, the car should be able to melt down into a pile of mush and not impact you in any material way - financially at least, as I think we'd all be emotionally scarred. But it's an expensive toy to operate, maintain, insure, etc. Your insurance bill may be the least of the expenses you face in a given year.

As for the agreed value policies, to each his own - I've had my R8 for over 9 years now, and it's insured with a regular, mainstream insurance policy. I pay a reasonable rate. I also push my deductibles to the max. I'm not interested in insurance paying me $5k or $10k for a fender bender, since your rates are going through the roof afterwards. I'll pay that out of pocket - off the books. And while anything CAN happen, I've never had a fender bender in several decades of driving, no less totaled a car. Yes, it can happen, but I'm not losing sleep over that possibility. If that scenario would cause you to lose sleep, then by all means... buy the agreed value policy for $2,500, $3,000, or whatever it takes to let you sleep at night.
 
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#12 ·
I just got coverage through Haggerty for 2014 R8 V8 . Agreed value, they wanted past vehicle history, experience et. etc. I had recently acquired a 2021 RS7 but did not have long history. Supprisingly there is no mileage limit ??
 
#13 ·
Try Grundy or American Modern, as others have said there are other folks that offer Agreed Value policies. I’ve used both over the past 20+ years, but never filed a claim with either. 2 Good friend's just converted from Hagerty to Grundy because of large price increases with Hagerty.
 
#14 ·
I'm in my first year of having Hagerty and had to jump through hoops to get it. First had to list my previous cars which was no problem but then they pretty much wanted an essay about my involvement in car scene. Went through with it because I heard they were best for guaranteed value which I did for $340K, cost was $4,400
 
#15 ·
this seems totally justified and common sense tbh. these companies have to insure the vehicle during your ownership and driving after all, especailly for a pre-agreed upon value which is going to be higher than book value if they need to pay it out. i'm surprised more insurers dont have some sort of requirement/check like this when insuring high end performance cars
i suppose that would start an infinite recursive loop you'd never be able to enter as a first time performance car buyer if they all at once implemented that