For the specialty insurance agent, understanding the emotional ties your collector car clients have for their vehicles helps nurture your relationships. Their motivation often has little to do with resell value and everything to do with preserving history, from choosing to restore versus modifying a cherished classic to dealing with a devastating loss. Recognizing the difference allows you to customize a specialty insurance policy to fit your collector client’s specific needs.
Many classic car owners are also driven by memories surrounding certain cars. Whenever they talk about their collections, you’ll notice a sparkle in their eyes and a warmth in their voices. Whether it is a favorite family truck or the muscle car they had in high school, a collector’s desire to safeguard their precious commodity is palpable. Collector clients want an agent who can relate to their priorities. They want a policy that protects their cars whether under renovation or the bright lights of an auto show.
Lessons for the Novice Classic Car Collector
Each collector client’s story is unique. Some are just starting out with a restoration of a beloved car while others have filled their garages to the rafters with four-wheeled automotive art and collectibles. Why each owner collects differs (to show, to build, to remember), but all owners feel the same. They cherish their collector cars. Step into their shoes and consider how you would respond as an agent of a newbie classic collector client while they learn the following lessons.
Do Your Family Proud. Many collectors get their start renovating a family car that is left to rust in a barn waiting to be rescued. Other car enthusiasts just get lucky, like a grandson who receives Grammie’s 1953 pink Lincoln convertible for graduation. A new classic car owner does not realize specialty insurance is more affordable than adding the vehicle to the same policy as a daily driver. Show your clients how they can protect and enjoy their classic car with customized insurance coverage.
Restore or Modify? You Decide. It is an age-old question among collectors. While some enthusiasts are only interested in numbers-matching restorations, others want to take their classic car out for a drive. Clients who are new to specialty insurance may be unaware that they can choose a mileage plan, have protection while working on the car or benefit from agreed value coverage. Asking your collector car clients relevant questions such as How do you plan to use your classic car? or Do you want to restore or modify it? helps you customize their coverage.
Keep Your Classic Safe. For a beginning collector, tire maintenance can be low on the priority list. Experienced collectors know keeping a classic car properly stored and maintained will affect its value down the road. Learning the best way to detail and store a classic is essential. Keeping a collection in a clean, secure off-site location goes a long way to protecting it from the elements, potential damage or worse, theft. Consider a tour through their storage facility so you can make suggestions for improvement.
Sell With Confidence. There comes a time when a classic car collector must part with one of their automotive children. If your client is still new to the classic car world, share these lessons with them, so they experience a mutually beneficial, uncomplicated sale. After the transaction, review their coverage and suggest adjustments.
Classic Auto Insurance – Covering a Total Loss
When a collector client loses a beloved classic car to a total loss, it is devastating for them. Memories are welded into every nut and bolt. Despite this emotional upheaval, classic owners are realists. Trying to rebuild the original car from what is left is frequently not possible. Many collector clients decide to collect on the car’s agreed value and move forward.
If your collector client wants the wreckage, our underwriter, AMIG, works with an insurance auction house to obtain two or three quotes, then derives an average and offers that number to your client. If accepted, the amount is deducted from the agreed value, and we cut a check for the remainder. Your client retains the title on the wreck and can restore it or use it for parts. Classic Auto insures the salvage at the buyback amount until proof of repairs shows an increase in value.
Throughout the entire process, Classic Auto supports your efforts to assist your collector client. It is difficult for a classic collector to lose a vehicle. The time and hard work they invest in making their dream a reality is gone. Remind them that with Classic Auto’s agreed value coverage, they can start creating new dreams to fill their garage … and you are going to be there to witness it.
Learn more about how to fully protect a classic »
The Classic Auto Insurance Difference
As an independent agent, your goal is to find the best protection possible for your collector clients. Saving them money strengthens the loyalty they give you and keeps them coming back. In partnership with Classic Auto Insurance, you can offer the coverage and options a collector wants, tailoring policies to fit their needs and doing it for less than what a standard auto policy might cost. Agent partners also enjoy a minimum commission of 10% for every new and renewed policy. To become a referring agent, contact us today.
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