The legal requirement for insuring a classic car does not differ to that of insuring an ordinary family saloon. Quite simply, if your classic car is going to be driven on the public road network in the UK you need to have it insured. After all, why should a classic car be treated any differently?
Surely you would want to insure this Rolls Royce?
So, what level of classic car insurance must you have? It must be a minimum of third party cover if it is being driven on the public road system. However, what you must also decide is if that level of cover is adequate to meet your requirements.
After all, third party classic car insurance only provides you with protection for damage that you may cause to another vehicle if you are at fault – not your own car. It will also cover damage to other property and other people but, should you be injured, you will not be covered for yourself.
When you consider how much your classic car is worth is that really a sensible level of cover to choose?
The alternatives are third party fire and theft or fully comprehensive car insurance with the later being the most expensive. The former will cover you for all that is covered under third party plus damage/loss caused to your own vehicle due to fire or theft. The later will also cover you for damage to your own car even if you are at fault in an accident.
The time when you do not need to insure your classic car is should you take it off the road to, for instance, carry out some restoration work in your garage. However, should you be going to do this, you could take out Laid Up cover that will cover your classic car should it be damaged due to a fire during restoration work or should it be stolen. You would need to declare the car SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification).
Hopefully, the above has made things a little clearer about whether you need to insure your classic car.
