American Modern Car Insurance Review

American Modern Ratings at a Glance

American Modern offers car insurance for personalized and collectible vehicles. The company offers coverage for specialized vehicles in a niche market. Coverages include:

• Comprehensive coverage
• Collision coverage
• Uninsured motorists coverage
• Property damage coverage
• Bodily injury liability

What exactly is meant by collectible or personalized vehicles? These can include everything from valuable antiques to souped-up race cars. If it’s something out of the ordinary, chances are American Modern insures it. Types of vehicles include:

• Muscle cars
• Classic cars
• Antiques
• Exotics
• Street hot rods
• Custom-built vehicles
• Kit cars
• Race cars
• Monster trucks
• Military vehicles
• Tractors
• Fire engines

Standard policies include:

• Mileage plans: Mileage plans go anywhere from 1,000 to unlimited miles.
• Spare parts: Lost or stolen spare parts are covered for as much as $2,000.
• Towing compensation: Valued at as much as $75 per tow.
• Standard deductibles: Deductibles range anywhere from $0 to $10,000.
• Trip interruption: Get up to $150 per day reimbursement for transportation expenses — including lodging — if your car is disabled more than 50 miles from home.

Optional additional coverage includes nationwide roadside assistance, full safety glass and foreign transport.

Insuring Your Classic Car

What is it exactly that makes a car a classic? By definition, a classic, or antique car, can be one that is 20 years or more older. But just being old doesn’t make it a classic. A rusted-out, beat-up old car at a junkyard is hardly a classic worth keeping.

When insuring your classic car, you need a company that understands your needs. The truth is that when it comes to value, a classic car has more of a perceived dollar amount than a standard one, like out of the Kelly Blue Book. A classic car, depending upon the availability and the condition it's in, is worth a lot more to one person than it is to another. This is why, as far as American Modern Car Insurance is concerned, agreed value is so important. If you leave it to a standardardized blue book value, you’re not going to get what your custom or classic car is really worth.

When insuring your classic car, make sure you set in your contract the value you believe it to have. Total loss value means compensation for what you believe your vehicle is worth and must be set down in writing beforehand. Your classic car has a special value only you understand; let there be no misunderstanding later if you experience loss.

What is Agreed Value?

When insuring a collectable or personalized car, the amount of the insurance is all about agreed value. What this means is not Kelly Blue Book or standard market value. The value of the car is agreed upon by both parties before the contract is signed. In the event of a total loss, the agreed value is the amount that gets paid out. While the standard deductible does apply, there is no depreciation. The agreed value is the amount you get. 

This feature is important to note because other collector car insurance companies go by the standard of the stated value coverage. Stated value coverage is the cash value of the car with a max limit. In case of loss, the insurance carrier pays just the market value, not an agreed upon amount. For classic and collectible cars, this amount can pose a problem as the value of the car is often indeterminable.

American Modern Car Insurance offers customer service 24/7 via phone, live chat or the company’s customer center page. Filing a claim is quick and easy, and you can pay your bill online. If you’re looking to change your policy or account information, the company offers different ways to do so by either calling the toll-free number, doing it online or talking to your agent.

Customer pricing at American Modern is a little more complex than just getting the cheapest rates. In fact, if it’s rock-bottom prices you’re looking for and that alone, you’ve come to the wrong place. 

When it comes to customer pricing, think about not just just how much you’re going to pay, but what you get in return. Agreed value means you get what you think your classic or customized vehicle is worth. Once you and the insurance carrier have agreed upon the value of your vehicle, in the case of total loss, that’s what you’re going to get. When it comes to customer pricing, think value, not cheapness.

If you have a tractor or a fire engine you need to insure, you can’t call GEICO. A 1962 Mercedes 280 SL isn’t your everyday average car. You need an insurance company that understands the exact value of your classic or personalized vehicle. 

While American Modern functions just like a regular insurance company in that it pays out for accidents and stolen vehicles, it’s the types of vehicles it specializes in that sets it apart. The company insures a lot more than just cars. Vehicles other than cars include:

• Snow mobiles
• Motorcycles
• Mobile homes
• Boats
• ATVs and UTVs
• Yachts
• Golf carts

If it's specialized or out of the ordinary, chances are American Modern insures it.

American Modern has one of the most comprehensive websites in the business, as well as being informative and easy to use. The customer center page not only gives you the option of making your payments online, by phone or check, you can manage your account, change policy details and make a claim. 

With insurance, every state is different. Whether you live in Texas or California, Hawaii or Alaska, American Modern keeps you up to date with posts from varying state insurance departments. 

American Modern Insurance vs. Competitors

American Modern Insurance isn’t your typical car insurance company. Besides offering agreed value policies, the company specializes in vehicles that standard insurance companies wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole. Imagine insuring a $500,000 Isotta Fraschini like the one in the movie Sunset Boulevard. Or a crane used to move space rockets into place. Your typical car insurance company wouldn’t even know where to start.

Overall, American Modern and its specialized plans rate a strong five. Classic and collectible cars are a niche market that need that special touch. More than anything else, however, is the company’s agreed value approach. It’s hard to put a dollar amount on how important it is that you, the policyholder, get exactly what your special vehicle is worth in case of total loss. Having to count on the market value at the time of your claim can only make your losses even worse.

Frequently Asked Questions