In the past, it was common for specialty insurance companies to have yearly mileage limits. Many of the leading companies now allow unlimited mileage, but limit the type of use to hot rod-oriented events or hobby related purposes. In most cases, allowable use includes everything from Sunday drives to driving across the country or heading to the local cruise. Commuting to work or running errands is not allowed. In fact, most companies require a daily driver vehicle for every driver in the household. And in case you were wondering, virtually every insurance company offering specialty car policies strictly prohibits racing.
All of the companies we spoke with also require that the vehicle be kept in an enclosed and locked private garage, typically at the owner's residence. Carports or public parking areas (such as in a condominium) generally don't qualify. Obviously, this restriction is lifted for long-distance road trips where the car would probably spend a few nights in a hotel parking lot.
We found that most companies have some type of restrictions on driver age. Some companies specify an actual chronological age, such as 25 years. Others will only insure drivers who have a specific number of years of driving experience (for some it's five, for others it's 10). A good driving record, and the records of other drivers in your household might help a young driver get an exception. Driving record is also considered. Where standard insurance underwriters might increase premiums for bad drivers, specialty insurers are more likely to drop coverage.
If these rules seem oppressively strict, remember that this strictness is what helps specialty insurance companies weed out high-risk drivers, so that they can afford to write low-cost agreed value policies for their relatively small customer base.
Car ClassificationsVisit the Web sites of the companies listed at the end of this article and you'll see that some of them divide specialty cars into various categories. Aon, for example, has programs for five car categories: antique, classic, and collectible; street rod; custom/modified; kit car/replicar; and exotic. Generally, though, specialty cars fall into one of two categories: stock original and modified. Insurance for stock original cars (sometimes referred to as antiques or classics) is usually less expensive that coverage for modified cars (sometimes referred to as hot rods or street rods), partly because it's frequently easier to find replacement parts for stock cars, and partly because of the higher risk associated with modified cars.
These definitions are different for an insurance agent than they might be for a car show judge or the guys in your club. For example, a resto rod that has been very mildly modified for appearance or upgraded for safety might still be eligible for lower premiums as a stock original vehicle.
What about low-buck, homebuilt, hot rods? If you guessed that specialty insurance companies don't want anything to do with rods and customs like that, you'd be wrong. The companies we spoke to said they have no problem with that category of car. Insurers don't care about style or beauty; they care a lot about safety and legality. They're not looking for paint, but they definitely need to see seatbelts, headlights, turn signals, a windshield, and brakes at all four wheels. If your rod falls into this category, you may have to answer a few more questions about the details of your car, and the work that went into it-and you might have to submit a few more detailed photographs-but if it's a well-built, legal car, getting it insured should not be a problem.