Classic & Collector Car Insurance in Tennessee
Agreed value coverage through Hagerty and other specialty carriers - from an independent Franklin agency where the guy quoting your policy actually goes to Cars & Coffee.
Your daily-driver policy doesn't understand your classic
Standard auto insurance has one job: pay you what a car is worth on the used market, minus depreciation. That logic works fine for a three-year-old SUV. It falls apart completely for a '69 Camaro you spent six years restoring - because to a standard valuation service, that car is just an old Camaro. If the worst happens, the check reflects what an algorithm thinks, not what the car actually is, what's in it, or what it would take to replace it.
Collector car insurance exists to fix exactly this - and it usually costs less than people expect. Here's how it works.
The three ways insurers value a car & the only one collectors should accept
Actual Cash Value
Chris started this journey with a laptop and a dream to make life simpler for all of us.
Who Offers This Coverage: Standard auto policies
Client Happiness Lead
You 'state' a number for premium purposes - but most stated value policies pay the LOWER of the stated amount or ACV. The number on your policy is a ceiling, not a promise.
Who Offers This Coverage: Some standard carriers
Creative Storyteller
You and the insurer agree on the car's value when the policy is written. Total loss = that number, period. No depreciation, no post-loss negotiation.
Who Offers This Coverage: Specialists carriers
The trap is stated value. It sounds like agreed value - there's a number, it's on your policy, you paid premium based on it. But read the fine print: most stated value policies pay the lower of stated amount or actual cash value at the time of loss. The number protects the insurer, not you.
Agreed value flips that. You document the car (photos, receipts, appraisal if warranted), you and the carrier agree on what it's worth, and that's what a covered total loss pays. As your car appreciates, you update the agreed value at renewal. This is the foundation of every policy we write through Hagerty.
The deal you're making: lower rates for limited use
Collector policies are priced the way they are because the car isn't commuting to Cool Springs every morning. In exchange, carriers set usage expectations - and it's better to understand them before you buy than during a claim:
• Pleasure use, not daily driving. Cruise-ins, club events, shows, weekend drives, the occasional ice cream run - all fine. Commuting to work or the daily school run - not what the policy is for.
• Mileage: many collector policies today offer flexible or even unlimited pleasure-use mileage (Hagerty generally doesn't impose a hard cap) - but usage type still matters. [VERIFY current carrier terms at quote]
• You need a daily driver. Carriers expect every licensed driver in the household to have a regular-use vehicle insured separately - the collector car can't be anyone's only car.
If your situation is unusual - you drive the classic more than most, or it pulls occasional daily duty - tell us. There's usually a right way to write it; there's never a good way to discover a usage problem mid-claim.
Where it sleeps matters
Most collector carriers expect the car to live in a locked, enclosed structure - a private garage, a storage unit, a pole barn, a proper storage facility. A carport or a driveway sometimes won't qualify.
This isn't bureaucracy; it's why the rates are what they are. Garaged cars don't get hailed on (which, in Middle Tennessee, is worth taking seriously), don't get stolen off the street, and don't get door-dinged at Kroger. If you're between garages or the collection has outgrown the space, ask us - storage arrangements are a conversation, not an automatic no.
Yes, we can insure the project. And the resto-mod. And the LS swap.
Two situations regular insurance handles badly and collector coverage handles well:
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A car under restoration isn't worthless - you've got money in the shell, the parts on the shelves, and every hour of progress. Collector carriers can write 'vehicle under restoration' coverage that protects the car at its current stage and steps up as the build progresses. The time to insure the project is when it rolls into your garage, not when it's finished.
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On a standard policy, undeclared mods are at best not covered and at worst a claim problem. On a collector policy, declared modifications are part of the agreed value - the wheels, the engine work, the interior, the paint. The rule is simple: declare everything, document with receipts and photos, and the value you insured is the value you get.
Bring the build sheet. We're the rare agency that actually wants to see it.
Usually less than you expect - here's why
Collector car premiums are routinely a fraction of what the same owner pays on a daily driver. The reasons are baked into everything above: the car drives limited miles, sleeps in a garage, gets pampered instead of parked at the office, and is owned by exactly the kind of person who waxes it more often than they rev it. Carriers know collector-car owners file fewer claims, and the pricing reflects it.
The honest answer for YOUR car is a quote - it takes a few minutes and it's free. Most owners are pleasantly surprised.
Talk to an agent who knows what an LS swap is
Holt Insurance is a family-owned independent agency in Franklin, insuring Tennessee families since 1946 - and a Hagerty agent, the specialty carrier built by and for collectors. But here's the part that matters when you call: Keith, who handles our collector car coverage, is a car guy. Actually a car guy. The kind who knows why your agreed value needs updating after the paint, why the barn find needs coverage before the first wrench turns, and why 'it's just an old car' is fighting words.
Independent means we can also write your home, daily drivers, umbrella, and the boat - often with multi-policy savings - so the whole picture lives in one place, with one team, and a claims process where we conference the carrier in with you.
Got Questions? We’ve Got Answers
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Coverage where you and the insurer agree on your car's value up front, when the policy is written. If the car is a covered total loss, you're paid that agreed amount - no depreciation, no after-the-fact negotiation. It's the standard for collector cars and the foundation of Hagerty policies.
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There's no single magic age. Traditional classics and antiques qualify easily, but carriers also cover modern collectibles, limited-production performance cars, resto-mods, and future classics. Eligibility is about how the car is used and kept, not just the model year - ask us about yours.
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No - collector policies are for pleasure use, and every driver in the household needs a separately insured daily. That limited-use deal is exactly why the premiums are low. If your usage is in a gray area, tell us and we'll write it the right way.
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On a proper collector policy, yes - declared and documented modifications are built into the agreed value. That's a major difference from standard insurance, where mods are often excluded or capped.
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Yes. Vehicle-under-restoration coverage protects the project at its current stage - shell, parts, and progress - and the value steps up as the build does. Insure it when it arrives, not when it's done.
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For a garaged, limited-use collector car, the premium is often a fraction of a comparable daily-driver policy - but it varies by car, value, and situation, so the real answer is a free quote.
Get your car covered like it deserves
Tell us what's in the garage - classic, collector, project, or resto-mod - and we'll quote agreed value coverage through Hagerty and our other carriers. Ten minutes, no pressure, and yes, we want to see pictures.