A cardinal sin in the insurance world is risk exposure. And one of the biggest contributors? Undervalued assets. The collector car sector is no different.
Here’s a quick look at why frequent value checks are more important than ever when serving clients in this high-opportunity automotive space.
Why collector car valuations matter
Improperly valued assets are a big driver of your client’s risk exposure. That’s no secret. And what’s true for homes, boats, and daily driver vehicles is also true for collector cars.
Maintaining and (hopefully) appreciating is just one factor that qualifies a vehicle for a collector policy in the first place. If rare and fun cars like Mustangs, Corvettes, and Wranglers don’t hold their worth over time, there would be no need for specialty insurance or Guaranteed Value® coverage.
But here’s the thing: many values are rising today faster than agents (and owners) can keep up.
Consider these examples from the latest Hagerty Price Guide update, covering the first quarter of 2022:
LS5 equipped 1970 Chevelle – up 42 percent
Audi R8 V-10 – up 20 percent on average
Datsun 240Z – up an average of 12 percent
You can’t throw a dead battery without hitting a collector car segment that hasn’t posted gains. In fact, nearly 97 percent of collector vehicle values have gone up in value over the past year. Many by double-digits.
Do your clients realize their car values are going up? And by how much? Maybe not, especially if you’re relying only on annual or semi-annual premium renewals to spark a value change.
The truth is, undervaluation can lead to both risk exposure and to big surprises during claims handling. And nothing sours a client relationship quite like a bad service experience.
Undervaluation can cost you and your client dearly. That’s why frequent valuation checks are so important.
Agents writing with Hagerty have full access to more than 40,000 vehicle values as part of Hagerty Valuation Tools. Let us help you!! Call us to me sure your classic is covered the way it should be!
