Well, here's the story. Has anyone else had this become an issue and is this a standard rule? I was trying to get my truck insurance transferred to a company that specializes in rarely driven antique vehicles. Apparently, if I plan to EVER use my truck as a TRUCK, they won't insure it. Specifically, if I ever wanted to haul mulch or 2x4's (example) from a "big box" home improvement store back to my house, 2 miles away, they would not insure it. They have no problem with me driving it, so long as nothing is in the bed of the truck. Isn't that the point of owning a truck? It didn't seem to matter that I drive it less than 100 miles per year. Am I missing something?

 

That is very common with the companies that specialize in classic/antique vehicles. In many states, if you put classic/antique truck plates on it you are not allowed to haul or tow anything. Also, the companies that specialize in that type of insurance generally have restrictions on how many miles the vehicle can be driven every year. So, if you are planning on using this truck for truck stuff, or just planning on using it as a daily driver, antique vehicle insurance/plates is not the way to go.

 

Very interesting. Also very strange that I am forbidden to put a bale of pine straw in the bed of my truck once a year. What about my spare tire? It's carried in the bed. Wouldn't it be considered cargo? (yes i'm a smarta**) I have the antique tags already, but I don't believe MS has a restriction on mileage or use for individual owned antiques.

 

LOL! I am sure the spare tire is fine since it's part of the original equipment. I sold insurance for almost 10 years. Believe me, you aren't the first person who has tried to save some money by getting classic car insurance, only to find out the insurance companies restrict what you can do with the vehicle. It boils down to a liability issue. Yes, hay isn't that dangerous a load, but other stuff in the back of the truck could fall out an do damage. That risk is not factored into the rates because the premise is that the truck has been "retired" from its duties as a truck and is only used for occasional pleasure drives.

 

I had this same issue when I got my truck a couple years ago. I carried full coverage through State Farm, but it would only cover me to KBB value, which isn't much on a 30+ year old truck. I checked out Hagerty classic car insurance. You carry this policy in addition to your regular insurance.

Hagerty Insurance - Fueling the collector car hobby through insuring and supporting the classics.

I don't remember the specifics, but you were allowed to drive the vehicle as long as it was garaged, and it wasn't your daily driver.

I ended up changing insurance companies last summer (house/cars/motorcycle/etc.) and my new company offered me a "stated value" policy on my truck. They actually allow me to use my truck as a truck, just had to let them look it over and make sure it wasn't a clunker. I think they still have the requirement that it's garaged and they obviously know I've got two other vehicles. I typically put about 5,000 miles on the truck per year. The company is Farm Bureau, not a huge company, but they are pretty big in the midwest.

 

I have antique plates on mine in MS. There's no restrictions with the plates that I have ever been aware of.
My truck hasn't been restored so it's just standard liability insurance for now. I also use Farm Bureau and love them.

 

I was trying to change my insurance over to my local Farm Bureau agent. He already has all my other policies so I got him to quote me on my vehicles too. He was very competitive on my other two vehicles but Farm Bureau's rates on my old truck were WAY more expensive than my current provider. He said he'd shop the rate on my truck for me to Hagerty and a couple others to see if we could get a better rate. He did, but couldn't write it due to what I explained above.

I can understand about a truck being "retired". However, using that logic, it stands to reason that they also wouldn't insure a Corvette since it may be used to accelerate too quickly. Similarly, they wouldn't insure 4x4's if you EVER plan to put it in 4 wheel drive. No convertibles either because you might drive it with the top down. Oh the horror!

I wasn't trying to save money by going the "antique" route. It is an antique and I treat it that way, rarely drive it and enjoy working on it and driving it. I just find it shocking that they won't insure it if I put anything in the bed. That's stupid. When you drive a vehicle 100 miles per year, wouldn't the liability still be SIGNIFICANTLY less than someone who uses their truck as a daily driver? That alone should justify the premium being 1/2 price, regardless of whether I occasionally bring home 4 flats of flowers and 2 bags of mulch for my wife?

 

Had my previous insurance tell me they would not insure my older vehicles example, my 70GS, or 66 Olds, because they were to old and unsafe vehicles.So they refused coverage. So I refused to renew my policy.

 

Are they saying they won't cover any damage caused by the load you're carrying, or they won't cover anything if you have anything loaded?

 

They said they wouldn't insure it at all if I EVER used it to haul anything. Anything. I'm guessing they feel like there is a potential that "a" load may cause damage to the truck on which there is a reduced premium paid, thereby increasing their risk. I disagree. Their premium was about half the cost of standard, everyday driver liability coverage. Only driving 100 miles per year (or even 2,000) should have very little liability for them, even considering that I may be hauling an unsecured, 10lb sack of potatoes; just my opinion.

 

I'm going to check into Grundy Insurance because they state that there is no mileage limit and mines not a daily driver. They don't say anything about using a vehicle, but I'm sure there are restrictions. But, how in the world would they know if you hauled something or not? I didn't put classic plates on my truck because MN states I can't use the truck for anything so I just put regular plates on it. I don't know what Law enforcement would do If I was stopped and had cargo in the back or pulling a trailer and had classic plates.

 

You're not forbidden from doing any of that, there are plenty of other insurance providers out there that will cover your truck and allow you to carry a load. What it comes down to is, it's not a given that they'll insure you, the reason their premiums are so low is because the clientel they insure are minimal liability customers, ones that aren't going to put their vehicles in precarious situations. I insure several vehicles through Hagerty, ranging anywhere from 15-30k in value, all garage kept, all stay under the 6k milage threshold, and abiding by all their rules. At any given time, Hagerty knows my rigs are either in my garage, on a trailer, driving to a show or sitting at that show...with some pleasure driving thrown in there. That makes me a low risk and I reap the benefits...now I'll be rather irritated if they insured someone who was hauling loads of hay and a tire blew and destroyed a bedside and he wanted it replaced, there's a waaaaaaay higher risk of something happen to your rig, than mine...and I wouldn't appreciate my premiums going up because Hagerty didn't 'protect' me from customers like you. Not to mention, they still have standards, just because a rig is old doesn't mean it's worth much at all, you evaluation of condition vs. mine vs. Hagerty's is all probably different. Typically an appraisal will help you out there. Shoot, I have one of my trucks that I put 20k in to, I had it appraised at 25k...and Hagerty still didn't wanna touch it for more than 15k.


Hagerty is their own insurance...you're insurance company would just be a middle man. They have restrictions, mainly garage kept and keep it under 6k a year and it better be secondary transportation. Grundy on the other hand seems to be a little more lax, and I remember when I was insured with them, they had what was a called a 'classic driver' policy. They were more lenient on the miles and use, and condition of the vehicle.

Antique plates and classic/collector insurance is different.


If they refused to insure your vehicles, what policy needed renewing????

 

Just sharing my experience: You have to be very careful with policy terms and types. In my understanding there are ACV (actual crash value) where they pay by KBB value. That does nothing for us. Then you have Stated Value. Here you and company agree on a value that is the maximum value of the vehicle. The problem is that in the event of a loss the company still determines the value of the vehicle at the time of loss. Thus unless you can definitively prove that it is still worth the stated value, they can low ball you. That is what I have with State Farm (whom I am not really happy with). Stated value gives more protection than ACV but less than an Agree Value policy, which is the best. Very few companies write AV policies- there you state what the vehicle is worth, they determine a premium for it. In a loss, then pay the full amount, no subsequent determinations made. Problem- with the exception of Chubb and Son ($$$) only classic car insurance companies write these policies, and they are often very restrictive as you have noticed. The main point to be aware of is that companies often blur the line between Stated Value and Agreed Value, when these are very different policies with very different protection.

 

That's part of my point. The premium isn't all that low. It was only about 1/2 of what it would cost if the truck WAS my daily driver that I used to pull my boat and haul cords of wood. That's not a tremendous savings for the loss of service someone might incur.

That's me. So far, in the 5 years I've owned my truck I have put a total of 350 miles on it. All 350 miles were "pleasure driving".

Mine too. It has a garage bay all to itself (3 walls and a door).

That's completely untrue. Do you think you are any less likely to blow a tire than me? My tires are all brand new, as are the suspension bushings and shocks. You probably drive your rigs more than I do, placing you at higher risk than me. Besides, the flat of pansies in the bed of the truck is the least of the worries in the situation you described.

I easily meet all those conditions. Again, they only refused to cover it because I might one day want to stop by Home Depot for a bag of mulch or a roll of insulation, you know, stuff that won't fit in my daily driver. That type of restriction really surprised me. You better make sure that you never stop by the grocery store on the way home from a car show. If your insurance finds out, you'll get dropped! By the way, we checked Grundy and they had the same conditions on use. I'm sorry, but I don't own vehicles so I can turn them into trailer queens. They are meant to be driven and enjoyed. I find it odd that a company specializing in insurance for antiques has those type of restrictions. It's as if they only want you to look at it occasionally but never actually use it. No thanks guys, I'll keep the insurance that allows me to use it.

 

I put historical plates on mine this year went to dmv they asked me the mileage on vehicle I told them I didnt know current odometer reading, woman at counter conculted with co worker said it didnt matter they just cant drive over 500 miles a year and " show and parade use only" and they dont check them anyways. I decided to get them cause they are good for fifty years only 25 bucks and a month prior saw a truck same year as mine that was plowing snow with historical plates on it. so I said if he can do it I sure as heck can. Sorry to get off topic.