Cheapest liability insurance for my old 1978 Dodge van.

I checked out AARPs Hartford offer, and it was better than my local agent by far, (for both liability and collision).

You might want to check one of these online insurance brokerages and see if they can help.

Meaningless numbers without knowing the policy limits.

Yes, meaningless for comparisons. Cheapest will of course be the state minimum coverage level, and the OP needs to realize that the value of his vehicle has nothing to do with it since he is talking about liability insurance, not comprehensive. Higher than minimum liability coverage limits typically don't cost much more in premiums and are better if the OP has assets to protect, though if the OP is driving a

1978 van that may not be an issue.

Since you are a veteran, you should qualify for very good insurance through USAA. Their liability coverage is cheap and their claims folks are good.

--scott

If you have no accidents and no tickets, try GEICO for a low online quote. I pay $106 for six months of coverage with the minimum limits of liability policy on a 1989 Chevy. Corsica

GEICO is evil.

nate

Nate Nagel wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news2.newsguy.com:

But they have that cute gecko in their ads...

(I hated the caveman though.)

A few years ago, I phoned that Geico toll free number.The guy on the phone quoted a price of about four times what I am paying now.I will check out that USAA thing in the morning.Maybe I can find their toll free number (if they have one) online.

That is another thing I like about old vehicles.Low insurance rates and I have a Vintage Truck license plate on my van, I bought that plate when my van turned 25 years old.I don't ever have to buy anymore license plates or a new decal sticker for the plate every year.Old vehicles are money savers. cuhulin

You gotta wonder how they have any money at all to pay out claims, what with the blanket advertising and the radar guns and all.

SWMBO has USAA and is very happy; I pay a little more with State Farm because they have better rates for vintage vehicles than any non-specialty company.

nate

In Illinois the AV (antique vehicle plates, car needs to be 25yrs old) are supposed to be restricted use for parades and taking the vehicle for service. I see people abusing these all the time. I see them used on daily drivers and sunday drivers as people go do various errands... doesn't seem to be enforced. However if I got one for my '73 to save some money I know I would get pulled over the first time I took the car out.

I had an insurance policy with GEICO many decades ago, and they were fine until it came time to make a CLAIM, at which time they treated me like I was garbage.

They made me wait weeks for a $400 payout. I ended up going to their offices, and refusing to leave without a check.

Sign up with GEICO at your own peril.

Nick

My dad chose not to get antique plates for his pickup for this very reason.

nate

snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net wrote in news:16750-47B4B21C-46@storefull-

3254.bay.webtv.net:

Uhhhh you know lib.ins has nothing to do with the value of the van? It is to protect the "other" guy when you nail him, your falt. KB

On a whim, I called Geico for a rate and as soon as I told them I had USAA, they were unable to give me a direct answer on a rate. Their never ending stream of junk mail precludes me from using them as well. USAA has been great for 25 years. Andy

On Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:07:28 -0600, "SRN" wrote:

I went thru the insurance quoting game a few months back. I had State Farm for 36 years but, felt as though I was getting fidded after getting a couple of quotes. Since there are few carriers who wil cover my homeowners because of a fire house that is 0.1 miles too far away, I had to look for some sort of wide coverage. I ended up cutting my annual combined insurance bill by about 65% by putting all of it with Allstate of all companies. Progressive was the next best cost and they now have my motorcycle. The Allstate agent has offered to include full motorcycle coverage for less than $100 per year added to the package which is only $22/yr more than Progressive for liability alone. The bottom line is that it is possible to save some big bucks by shopping around online for insurance along with shopping your local agents just to keep everyone honest. You may be surprised by how competitive some will be since they do have some flexibility on the commission side. As always, you do need to read the coverage carefully. My old coverage with State Farm included 100% glass damage. If my windshield was damaged beyond use by a stone on the freeway, it was covered 100%. The replacement coverage did not have that. I was able to get the coverage included for less than $5/year. You can get what you need if you are willing to read and deal a bit. Make sure you have the coverage you need and nothing you don't.

Lugnut

Progressive is the company which handles my liability insurance for my old van.My liability insurance runs out at the stroke of midnight just before Sunday morning.(kind of cool how they work it like that, no grace period on Sunday) The local office is about four miles from me.They are closed on weekends.I guess I might as well drive on over there and write a check.The next liability insurance (after I pay for it today) bill will be due by August 17,2008.(stroke of midnight)That will give me six more months to look around for something cheaper.If I had an enclosed garage, I think I could maybe get a much cheaper rate from J.C.Taylor insurance company.They handle insurance for classic and vintage vehicles.They require a photo of such vehicles and enclosed garages for vehicles.I can't enclose my house's attatched carport because the electric meter is on the wall of my house inside of the carport. cuhulin

I believe you are 'really' confused by your coverage.

They don't care one way or the other what kind of 'classic' car you have because they are 'NOT' insuring 'it'. They are giving you insurance to cover the 'OTHER' car in case you hit someone.

That is called Liability insurance.

You can go drive into a post and they don't care about the condition of your van, they 'will' pay for a new post though...

To have coverage for 'your' van, you need what is called Collision insurance. Then your van is covered for damages if 'you' hit something.

You need an appraisal for your van for 'comprehensive' coverage or 'fire and theft' and for the situation of 'you' getting hit. Without the appraisal, you get 'book' value for it if hit or stolen or burned or likely less than $500.00.

I know this because I have a 1986 Jeep CJ7. Book value less than $1000.00, real value over $12,000.00.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail > Progressive is the company which handles my liability insurance for my

Very true.

On a related note, the property tax you pay on a vehicle will be based on the book value as well, and if you have a condition that would lower that value, such as high mileage, you can note that to the tax folks and save some money there. I did that with my previous vehicle and saved like $50 in taxes with no more effort than stopping by the tax office for a few minutes.

The big thing is also to look at what is actually covered. Most of the "Classic or vintage" coverage out there does NOT cover normal use of the vehicle. It only covers you if you are in a covered event (parade,show and such) NOT daily driving. Most also have a mileage cap and "sunny day" terms as well. get caught driving outside the limits of the policy and not only will they drop you but the police can get you for driving without insurance. And if it happens that you are involved in an accident and are outside the policy limits,I hope you have a REALLY good lawyer and lot's of money.

Another item to be aware of is that the vehicles age and type also have a big impact on the price of the insurance. As does your location and the accident numbers for your city/county.