Re: Cheapest liability insurance for my old 1978 Dodge van.

Mike Romain wrote:
> 
> 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.

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.