<VV> Insurance and Plates

[Vairtec Corporation]

At 10:32 AM 9/11/2010, Ralphsebrell wrote:

>I would like to see a discussion, applicable to Corvairs, of the 
>pros and cons of Classic car insurance vs regular car insurance, and 
>the same about licence plates, regular vs historical.
>This should be interesting what with the varied membership of this list.


Well, aside from being interesting as a result of the varied 
listmembers, there are also the variations that result from each 
state's laws and regulations.

But, speaking generally, classic car insurance is dramatically less 
costly that regular insurance, and comes with significant 
restrictions on the use of the car.  So the question may be, how do 
you wish to use the car?

I insure three Corvairs on a classic car policy for a total annual 
cost of just over $200.  That's $200 for all three cars, not per 
car.  Liability, collision, comprehensive coverage all included.

But the policy specifies restrictions that prevent me from using the 
cars for anything other than shows, cruise nights, club events et al.

I own a fourth Corvair, a Rampside, that because of its practicality 
I want to be able to drive whenever and wherever I wish.  So I added 
it to my regular insurance policy which includes the two modern cars 
driven by my wife and myself.  The cost to add the Rampside was just 
under $600 per year.  Liability only -- no collision or comprehensive 
coverage.  That figure would climb dramatically if I were to add 
collision and comp.

While these dollar figures may help you compare classic insurance 
apples to regular insurance oranges, the amount anyone will pay 
depends highly on where they live, which insurance company they use, 
their personal driving record, and the number of drivers in the family.

I happen to live in a very expensive state for car insurance -- New 
Jersey -- but fortunately I am with what is arguably the state's best 
insurance company (a NJ-only company), there are no accidents or 
tickets on our licenses, and the kids are long since on their own.

There is sooo much you can do to affect what you pay.  On regular 
insurance, you can adjust the coverages (collision deductibles are 
pricey, comprehensive deductibles are cheap.  Most people have the 
same deductibles for both.  Don't do this.  Raise your collision 
deductible and lower your comp deductible, you'll save.)

On classic insurance, you have a choice of "stated value" and "agreed 
value".  There is a very real difference in what this means and there 
is a difference in price.

Now, license plates.  Frankly, there is little sense is discussing 
this, other than the amusement of comparing state-to-state.  What 
happens in one state has no relevance to what applies in your state.

In NJ, we have regular plates, and we have regular vanity plates (pay 
extra to have a plate such as R NADER), and we have regular 
special-cause plates (pay extra to support a specific cause, such as 
cancer research).

We have historic plates, which carry a one-time registration fee and 
are free thereafter.  These carry restrictions similar to the classic 
insurance restrictions, but enforceable by law.  Vehicles with 
historic plates are exempt from any state inspection.  These plates 
too are available in an extra-cost vanity version.

We have several other license plate variations, such as street rod, 
but these others tend to not have any relevance to our Corvairs.

Just think, Ralph, you should be able to see at least 49 other responses!

--Bob Marlow