Hey, all-

I have talked to several insurance agents and there seems to be a LOT of confusion about how to get your car / truck registered as "collectible", getting cheaper insurance and exemption from emission testing in the process.

Here's what I have learned so far:

most important is the House Bill where they created the definition of "collectible vehicle". It is Arizona Senate House Bill 2357 from the 2005 session. Link can be found here:

Documents For Bill

The nitty-gritty of it is that you can have your vehicle classed as "collectible" if it is older than 15 model years old, and you have special insurance.

Here's where I have been running into confusion with the insurance agents-

The "rules" in HB 2357 say that the insurance has to be a "collectible" policy that restricts mileage and/or use and garrantees that you have another vehicle insured or registered as your primary vehicle.

Through some unstated process, after you obtain your "collectible" insurance, the insurance company notifies the state of Arizona and you are free to register your vehicle and get your tags.

What none of the insurance agents could tell me was HOW they notified the state.

In addition, almost all of the classic car policies I looked at had a common restriction, VEHICLE HAs TO BE KEPT IN A LOCKED GARAGE AT ALL TIMEs, an addition NOT required by Arizona (as far as I could tell, although I can't rule out that there was later legislation that I did not find).

Here's where it gets hairy:

My problem is, my 1975 F150 SuperCab and my 1975 Pontiac Grand Safari Wagon don't FIT in my garage. One at a time, much less together. Since I only drive them occassionally for fun and to go to cruise night, I'd certainly like to get in on the cheap insurance / emission exemption thing.

Also, some of the "collectible" policies did not meet the AZ criteria, in that they did not restrict use or mileage.

I am encouraged by the fact that I can't find ANYWHERE in the AZ rules and regulations saying the vehicle has to be garaged, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will find a policy I can use without having to "bend the truth" about where the vehicle is kept.

My heads still spinning, and it's late, so I will post again when I learn more. Hopefully I can make this a little easier to understand for the next guy.

Thanks,
-Josh

 

i understood perfectly. and i kno EXACTLY what you are talkin about. i plan on getting this insurance on my truck when i start paying for it. but my Truck is a DD and not garaged kept... but you dont tell them that you say its only drivin to shows and cruises and is covored (not like there gonna hunt u down and check, and if they do say you were washing it that day) as for the mileage a little slip on the wire and it unplugs... they cant tell! as far as finding it in documents good luck... i just know a buddy of mine has a 80's Samuri he goes rock climbing in and has it filed under a "collectable" he never drives to car shows... he never washes it he ALWAYS drives it and it sits out in the sun lol. if that helped any

 

Actually they do hunt you down and they do check, and they will impound the vehicle in certian instances. It will also throw a red flag when and if oyu are involved in an accident as the insurance carrier will observe its rights to refuse you claim.

Unpluging the spedometer is consumer and insurance FRAUD. It even carries federal penalties. When you registered it you listed the miles and attested to it under a notary seal. When you sell it you again attest to the correct mileage.

One thing to learn is never admit or advise to violating the law on a open forum.

Your friend is just lucky, it is a matter of odds untill he is observed with the classic plates and made an example of.


Garbz

 

i dunno lol like i said i havent done it yet, going to talk to my uncle who manages an insurance company about it before a final decision. cause i do plan on getting a better economic vehicle for my DD and saving my truck for the resto/show off project. so it wouldnt hurt to look into it

 

my 65 and 66 are insured as a classic antique through State farm... you will need an Appraisal before you get a policy like it. it's an agreed value policy and condition is everything.

if it does not meet there requirements, you will not get one.

 

Bill, I didn't need an appraisal on mine when I got it insured with Hagerty. I sent them pics and told them that I wanted it insured for $50K and they replied back in less than 24 hours and insured it. My Model "A" didn't need an apraisal either. But remember that neither of these vehicles are daily drivers, they sit in a garage and occasionly sit in a hotel parking lot, so that might make a difference. This probably changes from one company to another.
When I reregistered my truck, I marked the box on the form that stated that the mileage shown was not the actual mileage because I changed the speedometer. I would assume that statement will stay with the truck forever.
As far as leaving a vehicle outside covered, if it gets stolen, you will have to file a false police report stating that the vehicle was inside for insurance purpose. I wouldn't want to try that one.

Kevin

 

OK, it REALLY took some digging, but I found a couple of companies that say they will cover my vehicles under a collectable car policy without having a special storage requirement. I am getting quotes back, and then the underwriters at those companies will have the final say based on my pictures.

I talked to a couple more insurance agents today who seemed a little more knowledgeable than the people I talked to yesterday. It sounds like even the big companies sometimes make exceptions, you just have to have the right combination of agent and underwriter. And if someone new reviews your policy later, say when your renewal is up, it is likely to be dropped.

I still don't have a clear picture of what the insurance company does to let the state of AZ know that you are actually eligible for the collectable plates and emissions exemption.

More to follow.

-Josh

 

Grrrrr.... Been back and forth many times on the phone with Allstate and a few other smaller companies, as well as the MVD. What it seems to track back to is that, despite a pretty general definition of "collectible' vehicle insurance in the legislation, the MVD only recognizes "collectible" policies from companies that have been given the right "code" in the MVD computer. Allstate does not qualify, from what the MVD tells me, even though I was about to sign up for a policy with them that met all the requirements.

It looks like you could get a "collectible" policy that is absolutely to the letter of the law per House Bill 2357, and the MVD will not recognize it because it "not in the computer". I have been told outright by people at the MVD over the phone that if the policy does not come from Haggerty or Grundy or a couple of the other big companies, they won't let me register it as collectible. The list was not consistent between several people, either, with the exception of Haggerty and Grundy. Interestingly enough, some of the big companies will sell you a policy without usage or mileage restrictions, which the MVD will apparently accept, which does NOT meet the definition per HB 2357.

It really rubs me the wrong way that you are effectively FORCED to use one of the big insurers... Not sure if it was intentional or not.

Still digging, more to follow. Now I need to track down who enters the "Codes"... And who has the "over-ride" key. Should be interesting slogging.

More to follow.

-Josh

 

Whew! long break from the forums due to life. I was looking over my profile and realized I never did follow up on this thread. I was able to get the truck registered as a classic with:

-A "restricted mileage" policy through one of the mainstream insurers (NOT a classic-car specific insurer)
-A letter of explanation from my insurance agency, telling about the restrictions
-Showing membership in a classic car club
-Bringing a printed copy of the house bill
-AND finding the right management level person at the branch MVD office to sit down with the "button pusher" and explain that yes, they COULD issue me classic tags.

The last item was the most critical. I'm not going to share names on a public forum. I will say I am sure that if I had gone in with an attitude instead of patiently finding the right person and walking it through step by step, I'm sure it would NEVER have happened.

It took a lot of work, but I was able to get it done without lying to my insurance company.

YMMV.

-Josh