Cars That You Can’t Get Insurance For

Ever fantasize about owning a high-performance sports car? Maybe you’re full of nostalgia and want a vintage vehicle. Or perhaps it’s the opposite and not a fancy car you’re eyeing, but rather buying back your totaled vehicle to fix up and drive.

Driving an out-of-the-ordinary vehicle might be a dream come true, but finding insurance for it is one detail that’s often overlooked.

A standard auto insurance policy is simple enough to acquire if you are buying an average car. Buying a car insurance policy for popular vehicles like a Toyota Rav4 or Honda Civic is easy-peasy. You can compare car insurance quotes with multiple insurance companies, find the price and company you like best and buy your policy.

However, for many specialty vehicles—or vehicles with special issues—you can’t buy auto insurance with just any company, if at all. Car insurance companies consider certain vehicles and circumstances unacceptable risks. As a result, they could decline to offer you a policy.

What Makes a Car Hard—or Impossible—to Insure?

There are many reasons why auto insurance companies might find a car ineligible for auto insurance. The main underlying cause for a denial of coverage is easy to understand—the insurance company finds the vehicle too much of a risk to insure.

For instance, maybe the value of the vehicle has been deemed too high. Or the car doesn’t appear to sound for the roadway, or it’s a car that may not sustain much damage without immediately being totaled. On the flip side, it could be a vehicle that could cause too much damage to other cars, which would increase liability claims against the owner.

The cars that are most commonly nearly impossible to insure include:

• Grey market cars, meaning vehicles that are legally imported but not sold in the U.S.
• Modified or altered vehicles
• Custom cars
• Exotic, high-value or high-performance cars
• Antique, classic or rare vehicles
• Exhibition cars
• Vehicles that are too heavy
• Branded title vehicles

Why Can’t I Find Car Insurance for My Car?

The reason insurance companies will deny coverage for certain vehicles all boils down to the risk the car poses or if an insurance company believes the car may be unsafe. Let’s look closer at these cars to see precisely why they’re labeled by many insurance companies as uninsurable.

Grey market cars: These cars are not sold or distributed in the U.S., so they don’t meet our safety or emission standards. Unless they’re 25 years or older, grey-market vehicles must undergo modifications and a rigorous process to be registered, but some states, like California, have extra steps even then.

Most insurance companies deny insurance for any car from the grey market because of the standards issues and also repair parts will undoubtedly be hard to find. However, some insurance providers will accept it if the car is appropriately converted to meet Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency standards. If you’re looking to buy a grey market vehicle, your best bet is to look for a specialty insurance company such as Hagerty.

Altered or modified vehicles: Souping up your car can make it challenging to insure. Substantially modified or altered cars, especially with different suspension systems or lift kits, are frowned upon by insurance companies. Adding a blower, supercharger or turbocharger, changing the engine or drivetrain, or putting on oversized tires also make a vehicle hard to insure. The modifications are typically there to increase the speed and performance of the vehicle, which makes you a faster and riskier driver in the eyes of the insurance company.

Custom cars: Cars that are custom-built (or rebuilt) are unique, and insurance companies don’t want to take on the additional risk that comes with specialized vehicles. This includes replicas, kit cars and limited production vehicles, plus vehicles not registered for street use.

Some companies will insure a car that has custom parts but will put limits on it. For instance, if it has more than $20,000 of custom parts, it could be an unacceptable risk and won’t be insurable.

High-value, exotic or high-performance vehicles: If you’ve saved up for an exotic, high-performance or otherwise mega-expensive vehicle, you can easily exceed the maximum value insurance companies are willing to insure. Many insurers have the ceiling set at $150,000 (new or current actual cash value depending on the insurance provider), but some go lower. We’ve seen car-value thresholds as low as $40,000 to $60,000.

That means you should be sure to find an insurance company willing to take on the risk of an ultra-high payout before buying an ultra-expensive car.

Most companies only limit the type of cars they will insure or list a maximum insurable value. Still, some companies have specific lists of uninsurable vehicles or cars that will only be offered liability insurance (and not comprehensive or collision coverage). Here are some car manufacturers that a few insurance companies see as ineligible risks to take on:

• Aston Martin
• Bentley
• Bugatti
• Elio
• Ferrari
• GEM
• Lamborghini
• Lotus
• Maserati
• Maybach
• McLaren
• Panoz
• Rolls Royce
• Spyker

Tesla and other electric cars have been on such lists, but they’re starting to be accepted in recent years as they become more popular and even mainstream. (Tesla is even branching out into its own Tesla Insurance products.)

Related: Most And Least Expensive Vehicles To Insure

Antique or classic or rare: Antique and classic cars are hard to value since some depreciate a great deal while the worth of others go up significantly. Because of this, a standard private passenger policy doesn’t cover these cars. If your car is old but not very valuable, you may be able to get only liability car insurance. If you have a vintage classic car, look for an agreed-on value policy (just as it sounds you and the insurance company agree on its value and insure it for that amount) with a specialty company.

Related: Best Classic Car Insurance Companies

Exhibition or collectible cars: If you have a car that you’ve built or restored to only show in exhibitions, parades, car shows and is not for general use on the roads, it can be challenging to get insurance. These vehicles typically need a specialized insurance policy, but on the bright side, you should see if a low-mileage discount is available.

The vehicle is too heavy: How much damage your vehicle can do to others is a concern for insurance companies, especially when pricing liability coverage. Insurance companies tend to list a maximum gross vehicle weight of up to 10,000 pounds—or maybe 14,000 with underwriting approval—that they find acceptable. For comparison, most SUVs weigh between 2,000 to 6,000 pounds.

Branded or salvage title vehicles: Vehicles that have been totaled in an accident or for other reasons, such as flood-damaged cars, can end up with a salvage title or other “branded” title of junk, total or flood. State DMVs give out these titles to show the car is not roadworthy or to document that it’s seriously damaged. If a vehicle is repairable, you may be able to fix it up and get a “rebranded” title that shows it’s rebuilt or restored and ready to be back on the road.

Insurance companies aren’t fans of branded titled vehicles because even with a rebuilt title, the safety of the car can be in question, plus its value is uncertain. However, some insurance companies will offer a policy with only liability and not comprehensive and collision for a rebuilt-titled vehicle.

How You Use Your Car Matters

Sometimes it’s not the car itself but how you use it that makes it uninsurable with an ordinary private passenger auto insurance policy. Suppose your car is used for purposes other than personal driving, such as deliveries. In that case, insurance companies start to worry about elevated risks and will want you to have a business-use policy.

If your policy is denied because of the use of the vehicle, ask your insurance company what type of policy you can get. You may just need to add on an endorsement to cover the vehicle adequately. For example, Uber drivers may want rideshare insurance, or you may need to upgrade to a commercial policy if you’re delivering food.

Some uses of a car that can make it unacceptable to insure:

• Commercial use
• Business or artisan use: The definition varies but may include pool cleaning, gardening or landscaping, electricians, plumbers, painting, catering or florists
• Delivery: May include newspaper, mail, courier, package pizza or other food and beverage delivery
• Livery, taxi or limo or other vehicles for hire
• Renting out your car as a short- or long-term rental
• Emergency services or law enforcement
• Snowplowing
• Participating in speed contests or racing

Some insurance companies won’t cover cars with logos or advertising wraps, whether removable or permanent. It’s believed there is a heightened risk since your vehicle may be seen as more of a target for vandalism or be used for business purposes.

And sometimes it’s not the car or use but you or where you are parking your car that makes it difficult to get coverage. For instance, these issues may make you unable to get a policy with some car insurance companies:

• Vehicles not registered and principally garaged in the state it’s insured. Your insurance needs to be from the state your car is in the majority of the time. Exceptions would be for military members and college students.
• Living in your car. Making your car your residence is too much risk for some insurance providers.
  Sometimes you just can’t get certain coverage—such as comprehensive and collision—because the car had its airbag deployed or has previous damage.

How to Get Car Insurance for an Unusual Car

If you get denied coverage with your current auto insurance company, don’t worry yet. You likely can find coverage elsewhere. What is considered too risky for one company may be fine for another. To get a car insurance policy for an unusual vehicle, you may need to:

• Obtain a commercial policy
• Add an endorsement to your existing policy
• Shop and buy from a different car insurance company
• Find a policy from a specialty insurance provider
• Change your coverages to something acceptable

If you’ve started using your vehicle for business use, deliveries or something out of the ordinary, you likely need to upgrade your policy to a business or a specialized policy to be properly insured. If you’re a rideshare driver, some companies require a switch to a business upgrade, and others have an endorsement you need to add to your policy.

Suppose you have a vehicle that is expensive, customized, grey market or special in another way. In that case, you’ll probably need to shop with a specialty insurance company offering special policies for unique or high-value cars. The same is true if the car is an antique or classic car or if you are using it for a risky purpose, such as racing on tracks or showing in exhibitions.

If your vehicle has a rebuilt title, some insurance providers won’t offer you comprehensive or collision coverage, so you may have to settle on having only liability coverage for the car.

In the end, if your car is roadworthy and you can register it, and if you comparison shop with a wide variety of car insurance companies, you’ll likely find an insurance company that’ll work with you. If you’ve been shopping with or insured by smaller, regional companies, they may not offer policies for the specialty car of your dreams or even a Tesla, so expand your search.

Shop with national companies and specialty companies that have built their business on insuring unique, offbeat or unusually expensive vehicles. And even with specialty companies, don’t forget to ask for car insurance discounts to get the best price you can.