I’m an unabashed fan of the Ford Mustang. I’ve owned six Mustangs so far in my life, three of them vintage and the other brand-new daily drivers. I have to say they’ve been my favorite car to own from the standpoint of enjoyable driving. As marketed they’re affordable power and performance all in one neat package.
When it came to insuring my last classic Mustang (sadly now off with another owner) I turned to the Internet to find what offerings were available. I was surprised with the variety and plowed into some deep research. That research eventually turned into this site!
My 1969 Mustang Mach 1 wasn’t a good candidate for traditional car insurance. Companies like Progressive and GEICO have wonderful insurance packages, but they are engineered for cars produced in the past twenty years. Cars that require special care aren’t a good fit for general car insurance companies.
Most importantly I wanted to ensure that any repairs done to my car were done by highly qualified (and specialized, auto insurance companies hate specialists) mechanics and body shops familiar with working with classic cars. Most cars today have body panels designed to be removed quickly and easily. Old cars are more brute force, with the need to weld in replacement panels and do actual metal work.
I also wanted to make sure the car was repaired with either quality replacement parts, or more importantly new old stock (NOS) parts. This would guarantee the value of the car wouldn’t be affected by using substandard parts. With classic Mustangs this is very important as some models, such as the 1969-1970 Boss 429 are both quite rare and very valuable. Their value is intrinsic in the quality of the restoration and parts.
Companies like Hagerty and Grundy understand the needs of classic car owners and have insurance packages geared specifically to such customers. In my case I chose Hagerty, mainly because you were able to sign up for insurance online with a simple process and even print your own insurance cards.
I went to the Hagerty web site, filled in a basic form, and was asked to upload some photographs of the car. Since my car had some modifications (it had a supercharger installed aftermarket) I had to take pictures of these modifications and send them in as well.
Hagerty’s restrictions were quite limited; basically I couldn’t use the car as a daily driver, but otherwise I had no mileage restrictions. I also had to garage the vehicle (duh). I was very impressed with both the coverage and the service. Best of all I had a guarantee that in the case my car was damaged it would be repaired with the best parts available. Not only that, but if the car should be totaled I’d be compensated based on market value, not an insurance rating chart.
So when insuring your classic Mustang make sure to investigate the specialty auto insurance companies. It’s worth the time and effort, and can save you hassles and headaches down the road.
About Richard Brown