KBB / NADA values vs. Insurance Coverage
 

So i have been looking at the resale value of my SOM WS6 in excellent condition, 19,xxx miles, 1 owner car. I have all the OEM parts in my basement. 30hrs into restoring the paint and it looks like glass. KBB and NADA are in the 12-15k range. I see plenty of clean low mile cars like mine in the 20k range. My only guess is they don't factor in it is a desirable colot, not sure.

I asked my insurance agent years ago if i could insure the car for more than kbb and they replied no. My concern obviously if something happens to the car i am out a lot of money. To the point where i am wondering if cashing out is the smart thing to do. Anyone have ideas or deal with this?

There are companies that have the insurance you seek.
Hagerty, American Collectors, Classicins, Grundy.
I know with Hagerty,you determine the value.

Thanks ill look into that

@FirstYrLS1Z has it correct, as usual. :) A collector-type policy with "agreed value" is what you want for higher coverage. I have this for both of mine through Grundy, and have been a customer of theirs for over 10 years. There are restrictions with this type of coverage though, and those restrictions can vary somewhat from company to company - so you'll want to check those details before deciding which one is best for you.

As for actual value, asking prices only tell you part of the picture. There are lots of dreamers out there, cars that stay for sale sometimes for years and/or end up selling for much less than the initial ask (there's some interesting real-world confirmed purchase/sale data in our "What's it Worth" section regarding these low mileage cars over the last few years).

You can certainly use average asking prices as a partial factor when picking an 'agreed value' insurance amount, but I definitely wouldn't consider the high-end asking prices to be a definitive cash value of your car should you sell it today - nor would "cashing out" solely based on any of this make sense unless you own the car primarily as an investment (which I certainly wouldn't recommend in the first place).

Sure I am not seeing the actual sale price, only what they are listed for, I recognize that. Certainly did not buy it as an investment but would like to be prepared in the event the car is totaled. If I did decide to sell it's not something that I would do because I have to, so I would definitely price it on the high end. If it does not sell for what I want it still has a spot in my garage.

I did get a quote and the insurance price is almost the same as I am paying now through state farm but for higher coverage, so kind of a no brainer to switch.

One of the "agreed value" collector policies would probably be a great option for you then, as long as your situation meets the requirements of the policy.

:nod: I switched my '98 from State Farm to Grundy back in 2008, I was able to get substantially more coverage for about half of the price.

Got another quote and it was $220 cheaper per year than state farm. I would suggest anyone with garage queens to look into this, there are stipulations as said. Must be garage kept and need proof this is not your daily. Some other minor things as well.

Indeed, collector-type insurance policy is definitely the way to go for garage kept vehicles that are driven low miles annually. More coverage with lower premiums due to the stipulations which make for a claim to be far more unlikely to happen. Close friend of mine has this type of policy on his '99 Z28 and '69 SS Camaros. Premium is very reasonably low with above book value coverage.
Good helpful informative thread BrntWS6.

When I checked collector insurance I was surprised how tricky the details were. One company said you could run errands while you were out cruising, but you could only cruise a day or two a week. Another company said you could only drive to car shows and any other stop had to be directly related to the car so grabbing a coffee or enjoying a sunny day was uninsured. A third said do whatever you want as long as your annual mileage was under a set number and you had another car in your name with regular insurance. I ultimately gave up lol

I wouldn't necessarily call it "tricky", there are just some different restrictions depending on the company. You just have to find the one that best suits your intended purpose for the car. Some of them also have a different price structure for cars 25 years and older (antiques) vs. newer models, which is something to keep in mind when comparing rates (for those who might be insuring an older toy in addition to their LS1 car).

I switched my 02 WS6 convertible to collector car insurance. It has an agreed upon value of 21,500. Its 36k miles and get driven about 2k a year. It was about 300 year less the liberty mutual. When I switched insurance my broker recomended I do this to save money and just in case something happened. I would get the money for the car. Otherwise the car was valued at like 9k. It's worth looking into.

Grundy agreed value here. Was less then my BS state Farm policy and I have way better coverage.

I'm with Hagerty. I have no annual mileage limitations and I have an agreed upon value of $16K, but I may need to up that. I was SHOCKED when I switched because I cut my insurance premium by over 1/2, have an agreed upon value if it's ever totaled, and the only conditions Hagerty really requires is that the car is garage kept, and that I have more vehicles than licensed drivers in my household. I have no limitations on when or where I drive my Z28 either. I can take it to work, or out on errands any time I'd like. I've NEVER been asked to verify mileage either. Now truth be told, it's been less than 1K miles per year since I got the collector car policy, but I don't feel restricted or worried in any way to take my Z28 out whenever I'd like. Oh, and just as a base line. I'm mid to late 40's, and I pay $500 per year for my policy.

I can't complain about State Farm, I got over 14k for my wife's 02 Formula with 119k on the clock when she hit a pole. No bs either, they treated us like gold.

Only thing i have found is i can not lower the insurance to just comprehensive with the collector policy when in storage. That was with Grundy, anyone else have that?

Don't get me wrong, I've been doing business with State Farm for about 25 years and they've always treated me like a king when I needed them. I still have them for my daily drivers and have no plans of ever leaving, but they just can't touch the agreed value collector policies in terms of cost vs. coverage amount. With Grundy, it only costs me ~$380/year for $27,500 in coverage on the '98, and it's even cheaper for the '71 (different price scale for antiques 25 years and older) at only about ~$270/year for $37,500 in coverage.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F163867555075

Damn...About the same mileage as mine.

Looks like another dreaming dealer (not to mention their ad has also overstated some of the original WS6 content). Only the very highest level collector examples are bringing that kind of money at this point, and this one simply doesn't qualify for that level based on mileage, modifications and trans type. We've recently seen a 400 mile LS1 Firehawk bring that same kind of money, so I would say that this one is pretty significantly overpriced.

That dealer has several f-body's with similar pricing. The owner also needs to do a better job picking his suspension, ass end is sagging.

Typical way overpriced "classic car" dealer.