A normal policy pays what your car depreciated to. A collector policy pays the number you agreed.
It is the single most expensive detail in collector car ownership to get wrong, and it is decided by three words buried in a document nobody reads until the worst day. Here is what those words mean.
Three phrases, and only one of them is a promise
Ask any carrier which of these your policy uses. If the answer takes more than one sentence, ask again.
Agreed value
What you wantYou and the insurer settle on a figure before the policy starts, usually backed by photos, receipts and a valuation. If the car is a total loss, that is the figure the claim is settled against. This is what collector policies are for, and it is the only one of the three where you know the number in advance.
Actual cash value
Read carefullyWhat a standard auto policy uses. The car's replacement cost, less depreciation, decided after the loss by the insurer. For a car that has appreciated since you bought it, this is the gap that ruins people — the adjuster is valuing a used vehicle, not a collector one.
Stated value
Read carefullySounds like agreed value and often is not. Many stated-value policies pay the lesser of the stated figure or actual cash value, which means the number you wrote down is a ceiling rather than a promise. If a policy uses this phrase, ask which of the two gets paid on a total loss, and get the answer in writing.
What a collector carrier usually wants to see
Specialist policies are cheaper than standard ones largely because the car is driven less and kept better. That trade shows up as conditions. These are the common ones — they vary by carrier and by state, so confirm the specifics with whoever writes it.
- Another vehicle for daily driving — collector policies generally assume this is not your commuter
- Secured, enclosed storage, and carriers often ask what the building is like
- Limited or declared annual mileage, though flexible and higher-mileage options have become common
- Pleasure use: shows, club events, weekend driving — not commuting or business use
- A driving record and, frequently, a minimum age
What to have ready before you call
Agreed value is agreed, which means it is argued. Turn up with evidence.
A defensible number
Agreed value is a negotiation, and the person with comparable sales in hand does better. Our Value Guide leads with the median of real sold prices rather than the record one.
Check the Value Guide →Photographs that show the car honestly
Insurers want condition documented at the start, and so do you. Wide shots, interior, engine bay, underside, and the flaws as well as the good bits.
Find a photographer →Where it lives
Storage comes up on almost every collector application. If the car is kept somewhere secure and climate-managed, that is worth saying — and worth arranging if it is not.
Find storage →The paper trail
Restoration invoices, service records, provenance and production history all support the number you are asking for. Our model histories are cited, so they can be shown to somebody.
Read the model histories →Hagerty
A specialist collector car insurer, writing agreed-value policies for exactly this kind of car. We are not an agent and we do not sell policies — we point you at them because it is who we would call, and because a specialist underwriter is the difference between an adjuster who understands your car and one who looks it up in a used-car guide. Get your own quotes and compare.
Get a quote from HagertyDisclosure. Fully Sorted is not an insurance agent, broker or carrier, and nothing on this page is insurance advice or a recommendation about your particular situation. We may earn a referral fee if you take out a policy through this link. It costs you nothing, and it does not change what is written above. Coverage, conditions and availability vary by carrier and by state — read the policy and confirm the details with the insurer before you rely on any of it.
Insured, and now it needs everything else. Find a specialist near you.