Fire & Theft coverage while building the car

[FF33rod]

What have you guys done for insurance coverage on all the parts and partially completed vehicle while it is being built. Once the vehicle is registered then insurance is straight forward. However, before that we have $50K+ in parts that could be stolen or damaged by fire. I asked my home insurance if it would be covered, they said no. The were not interested in adding it to my policy for extra cost. My insurance broker is finding that this is the case with all the insurance companies they deal with. Has anyone successfully done this?

Thanks for your help
Steve

[Jim1855]

I use State Farm, no cigar on build insurance. I spoke to Haggerty or one of the other specialty companies at a show, they do have build insurance.

Call around.

Jim

[d_gatorfan]

I used robbin at midwest classics. He increased the value as I added more parts. It included everything needed to satisfy proof of insurance for registration , so when I was ready I didn't need to change anything. Highly recommend.

Dennis

[Clover]

I think that the problem is that the agents are thinking of it as a auto insurance policy as an unfinished car. At it's core, it is property inside your house while you build it. Your home owner's policy should cover the cost to rebuild your house and replace the belongings you have inside the house including the garage. When they insure the house, they determine a value for all of this for their actuarial models. They should easily be able to increase the amount covered by the increase value of your belongings in the house I would think. My guess is that they are simply approaching this wrong and saying that it does not fit their auto coverage.

[CVOBill]

Hagerty covered mine with out a problem. My agent asked for pictures to keep in the file and I updated her with new photos as the car was coming together.

[Papa]

I have coverage for fire and theft through American National Property and Casualty for my invoice value. It costs me $145 every six months. Most home owner policies have caps on contents unless you specifically add increased coverage; things like collectables, jewelry, tools, etc.

[FF33rod]

Most home owner policies have caps on contents unless you specifically add increased coverage; things like collectables, jewelry, tools, etc.

Exactly, so that's what I thought would happen, add something to the policy to cover the proper amount and pay a bit extra but they said no go.

Thanks everyone so far. Interesting that Hagerty covered someone's build - I'll give them a call. I tried them through an online chat yesterday and the answer was negative but maybe chatting with someone in person will yield different results...

[Papa]

Exactly, so that's what I thought would happen, add something to the policy to cover the proper amount and pay a bit extra but they said no go.

Thanks everyone so far. Interesting that Hagerty covered someone's build - I'll give them a call. I tried them through an online chat yesterday and the answer was negative but maybe chatting with someone in person will yield different results...

My coverage is through my auto policy. Keep in mind, that every state has its own rules for insurance, so just because I have coverage in my state doesn't mean you can get the same in yours.

[FF33rod]

My coverage is through my auto policy. Keep in mind, that every state has its own rules for insurance, so just because I have coverage in my state doesn't mean you can get the same in yours.

True that, I'm in Canada which is even more fun. In my Province (British Columbia) the auto insurance is government run (recipe for disaster) and you must get a minimum of a "basic" package with them.

Anyway, here's an update - I called Hagerty personally and they say they can do it - different answer than their online chat. So I've pointed my broker in that direction... fingers crossed.

Thanks again everyone, much appreciated

[glastron351]

Sounds like you are finding out the same information I did. Once built your local Vehicle Insurance will cover everything but until then most home owner policies will not. The most I could get added as a rider for was up to 5k for parts which as you know will not cover much in case of a fire or total loss. All that said I found that Hagarty was more than willing to provide coverage during the build process even up here in Canada. Initial cost was about $350cdn for $40k coverage. They ask a few questions buy I was just happy to get insurance during my build.

[ztoolman44]

ICBC Grrrrrrr. They are pretty frustrating but this is all good info I hadn't considered. Which broker firm are you with if you don't mind me asking?