Auto Insurance For Older Cars (2024)

FAQs

What is the best car insurance for older cars? ›

Hagerty, Grundy, American Collectors, American Modern and Heaco*ck provide the best car insurance for old cars. These companies are the best options for classic car insurance because of their fair rates, accessibility and experience in the industry.

The older a car gets, the harder it may be to source these parts for repair, which can also drive up the cost of car insurance for older cars. Additionally, older cars may not have as many safety features as newer cars, which might increase the cost of auto insurance and reduce available discounts.

According to ValuePenguin, if your vehicle is 10 years old or older, you may be paying too much for insurance if you have comprehensive or collision coverage. The average cost of comprehensive coverage is $134 per year, and the average cost of collision insurance is $290 per year.

How much car insurance do I need for an older car? The only insurance you usually need is liability coverage and, in some states, personal injury protection. Full coverage is often recommended, but it becomes much less valuable financially with an older car.

A Third-Party Car Insurance Policy is mandatory, be it a new or old car. But you can consider buying the Comprehensive Insurance Policy for your old car as it provides all-round coverage for your car.

For one, if you're in an accident, repair costs for an older car tend to be higher because the parts are more scarce. That's one major reason your insurance company might charge a higher premium anticipating higher repair costs in the event of an accident.

For example, you might want to drop comprehensive coverage if: You park your car in the garage and protect it from animals, falling objects, and severe weather. You plan to replace your car next time it needs big repairs. Your car is worth less than the deductible on your comprehensive coverage.

Generally speaking, the newer the car the cheaper it will be to insure. Cars aged 5 years and less are cheaper to insure than cars aged between 5 and 10 years and beyond. This is because more modern cars are often cheaper to repair, and mechanics are more likely to be able to find parts.

While the rule for older cars was to drop comprehensive coverage after six years or 100,000 miles, modern cars last longer and cost more to repair. Most experts now recommend keeping comprehensive insurance on your car if 10 percent of the car's market value minus the deductible exceeds the premium cost.

A standard rule of thumb in the car insurance sphere is if your annual collision insurance cost surpasses 10% of your vehicle's value, you might contemplate whether to drop collision coverage.

Should you keep full coverage on a paid-off car? ›

Once you've paid your vehicle off, you're no longer subject to any insurance requirements other than your state's minimums. If you want to drop some types of coverage to save money, that's up to you. Either way, have your insurer remove the lender as a lienholder on your policy.

Collision coverage pays for damages to your vehicle that are the result of a collision with another vehicle or a road hazard. Comprehensive coverage pays for other damages to your vehicle such as theft, vandalism, animal damage, falling tree branches and other environmental damage.

Among widely available large companies, State Farm has the cheapest full-coverage and liability-only insurance rates for older cars. Full coverage includes liability, uninsured motorist, collision and comprehensive (comp) coverage. A liability-only policy is the same policy without collision and comp.

In general, auto insurance for older cars may be cheaper than insuring newer vehicles of the same make and model if the used car is cheaper to repair or replace. A car depreciates in value over time, which lowers the maximum amount an insurance company would have to pay in the event of an accident.

Chances are you have some experience with these types of coverage on your everyday vehicles. So, what makes classic car insurance different, and possibly less expensive? It's all about risk and usage. With most classic and collector cars, the risk to the insurance company is lower, so the rate is correspondingly lower.

Experienced drivers are less likely to have accident claims, which means they cost less to insure. At Progressive, the average premium per driver tends to decrease significantly from 19-34 and then stabilize or decrease slightly from 34-75. At age 75, the average premium begins trending upward.

When insuring a classic daily driver, consider getting comprehensive auto coverage and collision auto coverage on top of your state's required liability auto coverage to more fully protect the vehicle. You may also want to add optional roadside assistance coverage in case your classic breaks down on the road.