Those who collect high-end vehicles know just how important it is to have the right insurance policies in place. After all, we’re not talking about cars that cost mere hundreds of thousands of dollars. No, these cars can go for half a million dollars and up, making insurance coverage more about lawsuits, coverage limits, and permitted drivers, and less about fender benders.
Wondering what kind of coverages can best protect your valuable vehicles? Here’s what you need to know.
Cash and Agree Values Matter
How much is a high-end vehicle worth is the main question that insurers want to know the answer to. These vehicles come with values that can change over time, based on the perceived and actual rarity of the car. In order to find out the cash value, you’ll need to produce appraisals, receipts, info about modifications, and more. Even then, the agreed value, which is something that you’ll agree upon with your insurance agent, may be lower than the cash value. This is because the insurance company is wary of insuring the vehicle for the full cash amount, seeing how the market fluctuates.
Why Standard Auto Policies Won’t Work
Typical auto insurance policies are designed for the cars that people drive every day, not for high-end or collectible vehicles. These standard policies not only contain limits that are too low monetarily, but they also have limits on how the vehicle can be modified or specialized before coverage is no longer in place. In contrast, high-end vehicles often are modified, customized, and use special aftermarket parts, making them ineligible for traditional coverage.
Umbrella Policies and What They Need to Cover
Umbrella coverage is an insurance policy that kicks in when your standard liability policy is maxed out. For example, if someone slips and falls on your property, taking out a window and getting badly injured. Your homeowner’s insurance should cover their medical bills and lost wages, but only up to a point. If the injury is bad enough to need more specialized care, your umbrella policy will pick up the slack. The downfall is that your umbrella insurance needs to cover all of your property, including your home, autos, boats, and so on, so the limits must be set high enough to encompass any potential issues.
Another Issue: Permissive Use
Obviously, you don’t want just anyone driving your vehicle, so you only place yourself and maybe your spouse or partner as drivers. This leaves out your family, nanny, and other employees, so if one of them ends up behind the wheel of your extremely expensive and rare car and ends up in an accident, you might not have the coverage that you need.
Finding Policies for Valuable Vehicles
When it comes to finding the right insurance for your vehicles, you need to do look at several crucial things, including the correct value of the car, whether or not the insurance limits are high enough, and that the insurance is specific about who can drive the car. Otherwise, you might end up with an insurance company discrepancy on your hands should a serious accident occur.
Have Questions? Contact Charlotte Insurance
Want to learn more about insurance coverage for your high-end or performance vehicle? Contact Charlotte Insurance. Our agents can explore and explain all available options and put together the insurance coverage plan you need.