Classic Car Insurance – Agreed Value Insurance Explained

Posted by pikesan on Dec 2, 2010 in How-To & Tech | 0 comments

Agreed Value Car Insurance – Do it Right

No matter what kind of ride drives your passion, a hot rod, classic car or collector car… or those antique cars that spend most of the time in the garage, we all need a special kind of insurance.  That awful day when you need to actually use your classic car insurance, you better be ready!

I’ll try to help here by answering:

• What is Agreed Value Car Insurance?
• How is Agreed Value Established?
• How does MyRideisMe.com make Agreed Value easy?!

What is Agreed Value Car Insurance?

It’s the leading type of classic car insurance so we should know exactly what it is, right?  I got a little confused when my pops was shopping for insurance for his ’64 Ford Fairlane and ’23 Ford T-Bucket. Another insurance company said, “Just watch out… some insurance companies only say that’s the agreed value…” Is there something tricky going on if the worst happened and my cherished ride gets totaled?
To get the real answer, I went to MyRideisMe.com sponsor and my insurance company, Condon Skelly.

Condon Skelly said:
“Our policies are ‘Agreed Value’ meaning whatever value the insured decides to place on their vehicle and we, the underwriter, agree to, then in the event of a total loss the insured will get that insured value with no depreciating value.”  Pretty simple really… the trick is getting the proper amount of insurance.

How is Agreed Value Established?

“We dont like to under or over insure classic cars. We like to advise clients to insure their cars at the fair market values. If a client is looking to insure over what our sources show we suggest they get an appraisal done on the car. We usually give them a list of what a qualified appraisal should consist of because we’ve received appraisals that don’t give any information! The appraisals will state the inspector has looked at the car and states it’s worth an outrageous value with nothing to substantiate the value.”

This means, don’t pay alot and get nothing… a professional appraisal includes specific details.

In many cases, an appraisal is needed if a radical amount of customization’s been done, but don’t worry… Condon Skelly employs car people that know our parts aren’t available at a local parts house. Replacing even simple things like bumpers and tailights can be a real challenge and cost more.

But sometimes you get lucky!

How does MyRideisMe.com make Agreed Value easy?!

You can use your MyRideisMe.com garage! When I needed insurance for my 1927 Roadster, I needed it within a few days (of course) because my other insurance was expiring and I needed to drive my car.  When I called Condon Skelly and began discussing the agreed value, I simply showed them my garage and that was enough info to establish the agreed value insurance amount.  Piece of cake!  (Click for my garage to see what I mean)

Condon Skelly gave this final advice: “Once an agreed value insurance policy is in effect it is up to the insured to decide when to increase the agreed value to stay with the current market. (see, they get it!) We will advise them they can call us and ask what our price guides are showing.”

To summarize, your classic car insurance is an important decision and you should have all the facts before choosing which company to go with.  Condon Skelly’s made it easy and continues to make it easier.  They can also supply more explanation of the different type of policies out there such as “Actual Cash Value” , “Stated Value” and the Agreed Value policy and more guidance on finding the fair market value of a classic car.

As soon as I can, to follow up on this article, I’ll tell you about what happened to a friend’s T-bucket when he totaled it just a week after switching to Condon Skelly. Until then, read these tips about why I switch classic car insurance.

Condon Skelly is the official classic car insurance company of MyRideisMe.com.