Is Your Ride Adequately Protected?

Whether your classic car is currently under restoration or ready for the open road, understanding how to accurately establish its value and to protect your automotive investment is crucial. There’s no worse time than after making a claim to discover the difference between a collector car policy and a standard auto policy which will only cover a percentage of its true value.

On a ’69 GTO, for instance, the paint job alone could range anywhere from $3,000 to $15,0000. Does it have a glass finish? Maybe a little bit of orange peel? Is it all original? How many stages of prepping, polishing, taking off parts and putting them back on would be necessary to bring that paint job back to its original luster? Restoring classic cars is complicated, and there are a lot of factors to take into account when considering proper valuation.

One of the differences between a standard and collector car insurance policy is the difference between “agreed” and “stated value”:

• True collector car policies use agreed value to determine the value of the vehicle. The owner, the insurance agent and the insurance carrier mutually agree on the value of the vehicle before the policy is purchased. In the event of a total loss accident, the insured would receive the predetermined value (less any deductible) for the car.

• Some insurance companies offer stated value policies which place a cap on how much the car is worth. In the event of a total loss, the depreciated cash value of the car is calculated. The insurance company pays whichever amount is less at the time of the loss – and that’s almost always the cash value.

Drew Yogodnik, vice president, Classic Auto Insurance, who has offered agreed value policies as a stand-alone product for over 25 years, said, “What we’ve found is that people trust their agents. The agent has been looking out for them with their standard auto insurance for years, so why not trust them with the collector car coverage as well? What they don’t realize is how inadequately a standard auto policy is going to protect their classic car investment and that there are specialty carriers that can offer a much higher level of protection at a comparable price.” 

So, before you cruise to your next classic car meet, you might want to make sure that your ride is adequately covered under its current policy. If you decide that investigating some other available options make sense, here are the five most important things to consider when shopping for collector car insurance:

1.    Collector Car Specialists

Look for insurance carriers that specialize in collector car coverage to insure the policy will adequately cover the value of the classic car. Niche insurance companies closely track the collector car market value ranges to help accurately determine the guaranteed value when writing the policy. They stay focused on their core, classic car products and many may not even offer standard auto coverage.

2.    Inclusive Product Offering

Servicing a wide range of collector vehicles – from classic and antique cars to modified cars, street rods, muscle cars, fire engines and military cars--is another sign that an insurance company specializes in collector car policies.

3.    The Right Coverage at the Right Price

When and how often a collector car will be driven can vary as much as the makes and models of the cars themselves. Look for a company that will work with its customers to provide tailor-made coverage for their specific mileage needs and usage situations. One-size-fits-all policies won’t provide the flexibility that can make a difference in determining premium rates.

4.    Quality Claims Teams

Look for a company whose associates are collector car people themselves. Passion for the product is something that can’t be taught to a claims adjuster. If they don’t know this industry, the repair process and the differences between the quality of cars, they are just going to be guessing on valuation and repairs. That’s why a claims team that has hands-on experience in the auto repair industry make the best adjustors. That pedigree of decades of experience will provide you with the peace of mind that you’ll want when driving or repairing your classic ride.

5.    Excellent Customer Service

A strong partnership between the insurance agent and the insurance company provides customers with a well-informed and responsive team focused on their specific vehicle. Yogodnik describes it this way, “When you’ve worked with a carrier for a long time, that combined experience allows you to get to the right answers quickly for your clients. We watch trends in restoration and repair so we know what to look for. Having worked together with a specialty carrier partner on hundreds of policies is a huge plus for our customers and insures them of a high level of knowledge and service.”

 Working with specialty collector car insurance carriers and agents will provide you with an accurate and guaranteed valuation of your investment and allows you to establish the specific and appropriate level of protection needed. When it comes to collector car restoration and repair, nothing beats the knowledge of real classic car enthusiasts with decades of hands-on, repair shop experience and a passion for restored, classic rides.



Embrace the Amazon effect.

Your customers have.

We live in the age of the empowered consumer. Customers today expect to have what they want, when they want it and with whatever amount of interaction they want to engage in to get it. Meeting these clearly elevated expectations is now merely table stakes for the insurance industry when it comes to building strong customer relationships. How have people come to expect this level of personalized and convenient service? Look no further than that brown box with the smile on the side at your front door for the answer.

The Amazon Effect

The Amazon Effect, as it’s known, refers to how the retail giant’s use of technology and digital innovation has dramatically changed how customers demand to interact with businesses today. Whether it’s the Amazon platform’s ease of use (i.e., 1-Click Ordering), their proactive customer communication (i.e., regular shipping updates), or their amazingly efficient fulfillment results (i.e., Same-Day Delivery), the company’s logistical achievements have clearly set a new standard in customer service.

For most businesses today, these kinds of digital advancements have raised the bar with regard to their customers’ expectations. Embracing technology has become an absolute necessity for operational efficiency and sustained growth. The insurance industry is no exception. Agencies and carriers are rushing to adapt in order to remain relevant in thisconstantly evolving world. The shift is happening through deliberate capital expenditures, but it’s also happening organically as baby boomers retire and the age demographic of the insurance workforce shifts. A generation of digitally-enabled agents is already interacting in this world with ease because they’ve grown up transacting in it every day.

The bottom line for insurance carriers is that independent agents have options. For example, an agency may work with carriers outside of the American Modern Insurance Group, and that means we’re stacked up against the competition. Consumers and businesses also have options when it comes to the insurance purchase. Wholesalers, independent insurance agencies, captive agencies and digital InsurTechs are all competing for a piece of the pie. Price is one way to gain a competitive edge, but if the ease of doing business isn’t part of the transaction then the price may not matter much.

A human touch is still needed

The ability to access account information with intuitive and sophisticated tools is another price-of-entry benefit that customers have come to expect. But digital platforms have not eliminated the customer’s need to speak to an expert when necessary. Whether it’s evaluating complicated risk scenarios or filing a potentially life-disrupting claim, complex issues often need the expertise and guidance that only a real human interaction can provide. In that way, technology is fast becoming a positive enabler for agents because it frees up time for more valuable interactions with clients. And with the wide adoption of social media, chat, text, and video conferencing tools, those interactions can happen where and when it’s most convenient for the customer.

Advanced data is allowing carriers to underwrite policies that are more accurately tailored to customers’ needs than ever before. But even with a foundation of predictive analytics and customized coverage, a policy is still nothing more than a promise to pay until a claim is actually paid. At the end of the day, the claims process will be the moment of truth in that relationship.

Customers today expect a frictionless claims transaction that will be resolved with the same execution, efficiency and speed as an Amazon purchase. Carriers are embracing technology to speed up the claim process and better utilize adjusters on more complex claims. For example, chatbots can be used to update customers during select periods of the claims process while those with questions can also send a text message to their adjuster for a speedy response. But while there’s no question that technology removes claims processing obstacles and shortens response time, unlike an Amazon order for a new basketball, the claims experience also needs to come with a high degree of humanity. Striking a balance between technology and human empathy is essential in providing the caring customer service that often distressed policyholders require when recovering frompotentially devastating events.

If Amazon has taught us one thing, it’s that simply meeting customers’ expectations isn’tenough. Embracing technology as a positive enabler in order to exceed customers’ expectations is the new norm. Agencies and carriers need to stay ahead of the technology curve, stay relevant to their evolving customer base and continually optimize their operational efficiency. If they don’t, they may risk falling behind quickly.