Kit Car/Replica Auto Insurance
Q: Can I get auto insurance for a kit car that I build myself?
AIS Answer: Kit car insurance, replica insurance, or collector car insurance - whatever you want to call it officially; there is likely coverage available. However, there may be many limitations depending on exactly what type of vehicle it ends up officially being labeled as.
Don’t forget that you’ll need to have any vehicle that is a self assembled road going vehicle to be registered as such with your state. If your state does not allow self assembled vehicles on the road then you may be out of luck. Definitely contact your local DMV regarding the on road use of a self assembled vehicle, ideally before you start building.
Once you’ve managed to title and register your fully assembled vehicle with the state, you’ll need to get auto insurance to legally drive it on the roads. The details involved in insuring a kit car are way too tricky to give specifics on because the title of your vehicle will determine what type of vehicle an insurance company will insure it as.
For instance.
Let’s say you’ve assembled a 1960 Porsche 356 Replica (not restored an original, this is a kit car) from the donor body of a VW Beetle. The drivetrain, chassis and motor would all be VW, therefore it’s highly likely that your vehicle would be considered whatever year/make/model the VW was and not the Porsche. Confusing? I agree.
Don’t think this automatically leaves you free and clear on easily obtaining auto insurance just because you’ve titled a vehicle. It may be that you have to insure this vehicle under “classic car insurance”, and classic car insurance has quite a few limitations including daily use, storage, and number of miles driven per year.
Normally I would say speak with a licensed insurance agent regarding your insurance options, but, first it may be smart to check with other people that have successfully built, titled, and insured a self-assembled vehicle or replica. They will have the best insight into this matter. Then, when it comes time to weigh insurance options talk to a licensed insurance agent.
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I know of people trying to get approval for a kit car and it’s hard enough to do that. Now, if you’ve got to car insurance for that it’s probably going to be as tough. It’s not as bad as owning a Ferrari, but, it’s still pretty tough.
I’m looking into getting a 1965 Superformance Shelby Cobra, kind of a kit car but not really. I’d really like to know what my car insurance would be for that. it’s a super fast car, and not very practical…anyone?