Keep your classic car safe and insured.

Classic and vintage cars are great fun to own and to drive. Owning a piece of motoring history can come with potentially high costs to repair and maintenance, meaning that you definitely need the right level of insurance. Here’s everything you need to know about classic car insurance.

What age does a car qualify for classic insurance?

One of the first questions you might have is whether your car even qualifies for vintage auto insurance. You may have an old car, but is it old enough? The general minimum age to qualify for classic car insurance is 15 years old, which is the criteria for HMRC, but it also needs to be valued as worth at least £15,000.

Insurers have different criteria, so you will need to check before applying. When it comes to car tax exemption, a car needs to be 40 years old to qualify, which shows just how varied the definition can be.

Is a classic car cheaper to insure?

You might think that the complications that can come from having an older car would mean that it costs more to insure but often it can be the opposite. This can be a nice surprise when you get your first classic car insurance quote.

Why is this the case? It’s because insurers generally see them as being at a lower risk for getting damaged or being involved in an accident. They often have lower speed limits for one thing and classic car owners tend to take better care of their vehicles than regular drivers, both in terms of upkeep and careful driving.

What is the best way to insure a classic car?

As with any financial service or product, it’s important that you compare classic car insurance offers before choosing one. You should also consider whether you actually need a specific classic car policy, though generally, this is the best option and not just because it often ends up being cheaper than a fully comprehensive standard policy.

The best classic car insurance might not be the cheapest one, of course. Factors to consider include the annual mileage cap. It’s important to make sure this covers your usage of the car because many classic cars will do low mileage. This also ensures that it is insured for an agreed valuation rather than its market value.

The agreed valuation means agreeing up front with the insurer what the value of the car is so that you can get the full value in the event of the car being a total loss. You may need to get assistance from an expert or dealer to work out this value.

Something else to consider is the impact of modifications on your vintage auto insurance as these can risk invalidating the coverage. Where you keep your car will also impact on the insurance, particularly as classic cars might lack modern security features - adding some of these would certainly help lower the costs of your insurance.