JHZR2
Staff member
Originally Posted by grampi
What's a "use rider?"
You realize that Coverage like this is only for cars that are garage-kept and driven on a limited basis, generally for pleasure rides and hobby activities, right?
Pleasure generally means cruising starting and ending at your garage. Hobby activities generally mean to and from a car show.
If your car gets damaged at the Home Depot, McDonald's, supermarket, etc., the onus is on you to show how it related to the accepted uses.
The requirements were relaxing from the time I first got a classic policy to when I got American Collectors, but what AC offers is mileage and use tiers.
An area that was interesting to me was to use my cars for commuting. I have a short, benign commute, alternate DD vehicles, and good parking, but didn't want to lose coverage because of commuting. Because a commute isn't just a commute. It's driving out to lunch, running small errands on the way home, etc.
None of that is pleasure or hobby related in strict interpretation.
So the use tiers, which are essentially cost-added riders that allow increased use (risk). Up to 7500 miles per year.
Let's assume the worst. You are at fault and kill someone, and have a set of grocery and Home Depot bags in your car and a McDonald's cup in your cup holder. You've got a big bill now for liability as well as damage to your vehicle. Any insurance company will have an obligation to represent you but will also look at how to get out of the cash outlay as much as possible.
Now the burden of proof is on you that you were using the car for pleasure and not routine use, chores, shopping, etc. They may cover you, they may not. I'd hate to find out the hard way.
American Collectors freedom tier specifically allows limited general use.
https://americancollectors.com/wp-content/uploads/ACI_Collector_Car_Insurance.pdf
If I was caught in a bad place liability wise, I'd rather have to prove that I only use the car in a limited fashion, and have other DDs to my name, then to have to prove that what I was doing was for pleasure when it clearly wasn't.
Originally Posted by grampi
I just did an online quote with American Collectors and they quoted me $444 a year...I guess what I need to do is get on the phone with these companies and start asking some very specific questions about what is covered and what is not...that is the only way I'm going to find out which company is right for my needs...
You might be less risk averse. I didn't get satisfactory answers from agents and felt that they were always weasel wording to at best give a "may cover" response when I'm signing a contract to protect my fiscal status and need a "will cover". IMO Freedom tiger gave that to me with a bit more surety. But $444 for one vehicle worth $20k seems high unless your driving record is suspect.
My 2c.
What's a "use rider?"
You realize that Coverage like this is only for cars that are garage-kept and driven on a limited basis, generally for pleasure rides and hobby activities, right?
Pleasure generally means cruising starting and ending at your garage. Hobby activities generally mean to and from a car show.
If your car gets damaged at the Home Depot, McDonald's, supermarket, etc., the onus is on you to show how it related to the accepted uses.
The requirements were relaxing from the time I first got a classic policy to when I got American Collectors, but what AC offers is mileage and use tiers.
An area that was interesting to me was to use my cars for commuting. I have a short, benign commute, alternate DD vehicles, and good parking, but didn't want to lose coverage because of commuting. Because a commute isn't just a commute. It's driving out to lunch, running small errands on the way home, etc.
None of that is pleasure or hobby related in strict interpretation.
So the use tiers, which are essentially cost-added riders that allow increased use (risk). Up to 7500 miles per year.
Let's assume the worst. You are at fault and kill someone, and have a set of grocery and Home Depot bags in your car and a McDonald's cup in your cup holder. You've got a big bill now for liability as well as damage to your vehicle. Any insurance company will have an obligation to represent you but will also look at how to get out of the cash outlay as much as possible.
Now the burden of proof is on you that you were using the car for pleasure and not routine use, chores, shopping, etc. They may cover you, they may not. I'd hate to find out the hard way.
American Collectors freedom tier specifically allows limited general use.
https://americancollectors.com/wp-content/uploads/ACI_Collector_Car_Insurance.pdf
If I was caught in a bad place liability wise, I'd rather have to prove that I only use the car in a limited fashion, and have other DDs to my name, then to have to prove that what I was doing was for pleasure when it clearly wasn't.
Originally Posted by grampi
I just did an online quote with American Collectors and they quoted me $444 a year...I guess what I need to do is get on the phone with these companies and start asking some very specific questions about what is covered and what is not...that is the only way I'm going to find out which company is right for my needs...
You might be less risk averse. I didn't get satisfactory answers from agents and felt that they were always weasel wording to at best give a "may cover" response when I'm signing a contract to protect my fiscal status and need a "will cover". IMO Freedom tiger gave that to me with a bit more surety. But $444 for one vehicle worth $20k seems high unless your driving record is suspect.
My 2c.