General Insurance Information

[KS – 99/9/16] Last night I attended the monthly meeting of our local chapter of the BMWCCA. The guest speaker was a long-time insurance agent. He provided a plethora of interesting and useful information. The information was based on his experience and on that of agents for other companies that he has also checked with. It may not necessarily apply to any specific company or specific situation. Here is what he said:
The insurance company will cover a claim for one accident on a track, even if it occurs in a timed event or even an actual race. (The long-time organizer of track events for our chapter also noted that in his experience, he has never seen an incident in which the insurance company would not cover a claim.) After covering that claim, they will typically either (a) offer you an exclusion from future coverage for track events, if you are a good customer, or (b) drop you. As with any accident, they are also likely to impose a surcharge on your premium to reflect the fact that they paid for a chargeable claim.
In determining the amount of reimbursement when a car is totaled, they will take into account the value of any modifications made to the car, as long as they are street-legal and can be substantiated with receipts. Save those
receipts!
Primary coverage is the insurance on the car, not on the driver. So if you’re using someone else’s car, their insurance is the first one that will be used in the event of an accident. The driver’s insurance may be used for secondary coverage.
For rental cars, your insurance policy typically covers up to 21 days use of a car rented for personal use (not business purposes), but only in the United States and Canada. However, the primary insurance for liability is provided by the rental car company; your insurance policy is typically used only for comprehensive and collision coverage. Thus the extra, optional charges you may get when you rent a car mainly cover the cost of your deductible for these coverages. Secondary coverage is also provided when you charge your rental to a premium credit card (American Express, Gold MasterCard, Gold Visa) but is often only valid if you notify the credit card company within 48 hours of the accident, so don’t forget to do this. When renting a car outside of North America, it’s often a good idea to purchase optional coverage since these secondary coverages are often not valid there.
The longer you carry coverage with your insurance company, the bigger a discount they will give you on your premiums, and the more forgiving they will be (e.g. not increasing your premiums for your first accident).
When determining the premium when writing a new policy, they look at how many accidents and tickets you have had in the previous three years, and how many major accidents and tickets (e.g. DUI) in the previous five years. For premiums on renewing a policy, tickets don’t have any effect on your premiums, only accidents in the previous three years. However, if you lose your license, your policy is revoked so it does affect you.
All insurance claims are filed through a central bureau (Equifax) so if you’re shopping around for insurance, the insurance companies will be aware of any previous claims. They might not know that a claim was for a track event but they will know the amount paid on the claim.
If you incur damage from hitting a pothole or debris on the street and you file a claim, it is considered a chargeable accident. If you incur damage from airborne debris or from hitting an animal, it is considered covered under the comprehensive portion of your insurance. If you have an accident but your insurance company doesn’t pay anything (either you pay for it yourself or another insurance company pays), it is classified as “settled without payment”, which means it doesn’t count against you in determining your driving record.
The average person files an auto insurance claim once every eight to nine years.
The factors that determine your insurance rates are: (1) your driving record, including tickets and accidents (2) your age (3) the location where your car is garaged (or normally kept) (4) the year, make, and model of your car (5) how your car is used, and (6) what coverages you get for your car. As a multiple of the premium paid by a middle-aged person, a teenage male occasional driver pays 2.75 times as much, a teenage male primary driver pays 3.85 times as much, a teenage male primary driver with a good student discount (B average or better) pays 2.90 times as much, a teenage female occasional driver pays 1.85 times as much, a teenage female primary driver pays 2.35 times as much, a teenage female primary driver with a good student discount (B average or better) pays 1.75 times as much. Thus it costs less to include a teenage family member as an occasional driver on the family’s policy than as a primary driver on his/her own policy; however, if he/she has his/her own car, he is automatically considered the primary driver. This is the case whenever the number of cars mandates it – for example, if you have two adults and a teenager, and are insuring three cars, the teenager is automatically considered a primary driver. Unfortunately, this is likely to be applied to NSX owners for whom the NSX is not their daily driver but a second or third car, even if the teenager really IS only an occasional driver.
He mentioned that he has numerous customers (primarily Corvettes) who suspend their liability coverage in the fall (typically November). Their policy is to automatically reinstate coverage on April 15 unless directed otherwise, so that people don’t forget to call them to do so. He also noted that a reinstatement is requested for a day or two (typically on a
mid-winter weekend when the weather is unusually nice), what he does is this. Reinstatements are technically done for a minimum of 30 days. But when a good (long-time) customer calls and requests this, they accept the request and they hold onto it, and only process it if there is a claim. He also noted that this is the kind of service that you can get from a local agent, but is not as typical from companies that usually provide their policies via mail order or telephone and don’t have local agents.

What Companies Are Recommended? What does it cost?

There are MANY variables (year and mileage of car, your age, your sex, your marital stats, your ZIP code, your driving record, etc.) that determine how much you will pay for insurance on a particular car. The only way to find out is to CALL FOR A QUOTE!!!
That being said, here’s what some owners have reported:

HAGERTY Insurance company.
92 NSX insured for $35000, + 67 Barracuda insured for $25000, and a 69 Jag XKE insured for $15000 (under restoration) for $ 810/ year with no deductible. Only catch here is that this is a collector car insurance company and if you drive your car more that 5k per year, they wont insure it.
2008 MDX Tech & 1991 NSX 5 Spd.
6 Month Policy Term is $592.00 for both vehicles, $285.00 for the NSX only per 6 months, as a secondary vehicle
Florida, 2 drivers – 38M & 29F no tickets or addicents
100/300/100 – 100$ deductable, no rental insurance, no stacking, full coverage‘

[KS] Consumer Reports has an excellent evaluation of auto insurance companies every year or so. Most recently it appeared in their January 1997 issue. You should be able to find it in your local library.
Which insurance companies are NSX owners using? There were 34 NSX’s signed up for the track event at NSXPO ’97. The following insurance companies covered three or more of the cars there: State Farm (8), Farmers (4), Allstate (4), USAA (3).
In past surveys we’ve found that most people are paying $900-1,400 per year on their NSX insurance, with a few quotes outside this range (particularly for those living within the city limits of large cities and/or those under 25 years of age).
[DNG] I’m 29, single, and live in the Washington DC area. Insurance agents love those stats. But I’m only paying $81.23/month for my 92′ NSX. Here’s the details:
Allstate Insurance Company. 29 single male with ‘some’ points. I also own a 94 Honda Passport and a 96 Suzuki GSXR-750 (My insurance on my Passport is $30 more than my NSX)
Liability ($100K/$300K/$50K): $19. PIP ($2500): $2.60. Uninsured Motorists: $3 Collision: $31.50 Comprehensive: $25 = Total: $81/ month including discounts
Discounts: Multiple Car:$11 (Honda Passport, Acura NSX). Multiple Policy: $4 (House, Motorcycle). Premier Plus: $26 (Not sure what it is). Passive Restraint: $1. Antilock Brakes: $5.50 = Total Discount: $47.50/month
[KS] At NSXPO ’98, we collected insurance information on 58 registrations in thetrack event. These insurance companies covered the most registrations: State Farm – 13, Allstate – 7, USAA – 5, Farmers – 3, Nationwide – 3
I’ve been very pleased with my State Farm policy, including their coverage of an incident I had some years ago.
[MCS – 99/4/11] I pay $1,095 per year and that’s with a $500 deductible and 250/500K coverage.
[CWI – 99/4/1] I currently pay around $1440 every 6 months for full coverage for my 1991 NSX and a beater ’86 Honda. The NSX is actually not THAT bad insurance wise IMO. A 93 Supra TT would be several hundred more per 6 months than my NSX and Honda for the same coverage.
Here’s an added bonus: Is or was anyone in your family (even 2 generations ago, etc) in the military? USAA, which is consistently rated as one of the best providers in the nation offers insurance to familles with military members. The savings is huge in respect to the other three companies I called. If I remember right, my quotes were:
Allstate >$2200
Farmers >$2500
Geico >$2800
All these were for 6 months. Some personal stats to compare to: 20 years old, single male, Seattle, WA, 2 driving ‘infractions’.
[CWI – 99/6/4] Numbers are based on a 6 month contract. Amounts are generally less than most other insurance carriers (Geico, Farmers, State Farm) possibly due to catergory that I am in and the good rates that USAA provide. Stats: 20 years old, male, single, suburb of Seattle, WA, two speeding tickets.
91 NSX $1,602 (current policy)
92 SC300 1,135
94 Supra NA 1,524
94 Supra TT 1,767
92 300zx NA 1,295
92 300zx TT 1,350
91 300zx NA 1,250
95 NSX 2,200
[GM – 99/6/9] I pay about $1,000 a year on an NSX in Atlanta. When I lived in the northeast the price was lower. My agent says the south has more accidents therefore the increase.
[SA – 99/4/12] I pay $580 per six months for full coverage on my 91 through Farmers. Considering that I store the car for 4-5 months per year, I pay less than $800 to insure the car for the entire year!

The Truth About GEICO

Some things to consider before you consider using Geico insurance

Geico invested heavily into Laser Tech, the leading traffic LIDAR manufacturer

Geico gives away radar and laser units to any police agency that wants to write more tickets

Geico testified before legislatures that we don’t need/deserve certain rights and has canceled policies of people who admitted to owning LEGAL radar detectors

Geico is a founding member of Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that among other things still claims we'd be better off if we kept 55, ignoring the 9th straight year of fatality rate drops.

What Carriers Will NOT Insure An NSX?

[TC] Time for insurance renewal on my NSX. I called Colonel Penn. Turns out they no longer insure the NSX.

What If I Total My Car?

[GC] Always remember, you can purchase the salvage rights to your car from the insurance company for pennies on the dollar. Here’s the deal, negoiate your best replacement value price, add for sales tax, title and license fees, (these are all values in addition to the vehicle value) and then ask your insurance company what they will take to buy your vehicle back at salvage value. Normally it is only 5%-9% of the replacement value. Try it. You may own your old NSX for a fraction of the original cost. I’m in the business, it can work.
Ownership