Here’s an innovative approach to launching an insurance company: Cover something niche that people prize, cherish, and value almost as much as their kids. And in some cases—say, an owner of a cherry red 1971 Pontiac Firebird with flaming wings on the hood—maybe more so.

That’s the thinking behind OpenRoad, a Dallas-based classic car insurance company that’s officially launching Monday in several Midwest states, with coverage in other states—including Texas—looming “around the bend.”

Targeting owners of both classic and “modern collector vehicles,” OpenRoad, will begin offering coverage Monday in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. The company promises “better prices, superior coverage, and some much-needed relief from skyrocketing insurance costs for many collector vehicle owners.”

The collector vehicle insurer aims to add an additional 12 states including Texas “before the fall,” and ultimately plans to offer coverage “countrywide.”

Eyeing a market of ’40M-plus’ collector vehicles

Richard Hutchinson

“Of the 40 million-plus collector vehicles in the United States, the majority are insured by standard auto insurance generalists,” OpenRoad CEO Richard Hutchinson said in a statement.

“Our program is different as it was designed with specialized coverages and services tailored for the unique needs of auto enthusiast owners,” he added. “We’re proud to offer the auto enthusiast community more choice, comprehensive coverage, and the fair pricing that they deserve.”

Capitalized by Dallas-based majority investor Griffin Highline Capital, OpenRoad said its coverage is underwritten by Richfield, Ohio-based National Interstate Insurance Company, a leading property and casualty insurer focused on the transportation industry.

Targeting the ‘auto enthusiast community’

Justin Moreno

Like drivers everywhere, classic car owners have been hit by insurance increases lately. OpenRoad cites data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that many drivers today are paying 22% more for car insurance than they did “just a year ago,” and notes that 49% of auto insurance customers are “actively shopping for rate relief.”

“It’s shocking to see what U.S. drivers have experienced in terms of rate increases,” Justin Moreno, OpenRoad’s chief marketing and communications officer, said in a statement. “We know that the auto enthusiast community has been affected given most U.S. collector vehicles that are eligible for our program are currently covered by standard auto insurance carriers. Our objective is to show these vehicle owners what the right coverage looks like and provide rates that reflect the special care they give their rides.”

The company says its insurance program “was built from the ground up by a team of collector vehicle and insurance experts, all with the auto enthusiast in mind.” 

Covering everything from muscle cars to antique fire trucks

That 1971 Firebird mentioned above? (And yes, full disclosure, this writer did indeed once own one.) It’s not the only kind of car OpenRoad aims to cover. Its targeted collector vehicles include “antiques, classics, muscle cars, modern sports cars, street rods, replicas, as well as custom cars and trucks.”

“We even provide coverage for antique fire trucks, amphicars, military vehicles, and antique tractors,” the company says on its website.

Offering ‘specialized coverages’

OpenRoad said its insurance program includes “specialized coverages tailored to the unique needs of classic and modern collector vehicle owners, with many protections not available through standard auto insurance programs”. The company’s pricing models are said to also account for the “reduced accident frequency often associated with collector vehicles”— resulting in lower insurance rates for their owners.

Mark VanDam, OpenRoad’s chief underwriting officer, said that when the company developed its program, the team “examined all the contributing factors that were causing these rate hikes.”

“In the process, we identified several opportunities for us to build a better program, one that passed more savings along to our customers and provided the specialized coverages they need,” he added in a statement.

Among other things, OpenRoad says it offers “agreed value coverage” based on a predetermined value, taking into account a vehicle’s rarity, condition, and “historical significance.

You can see OpenRoad’s coverage map and learn more details by visiting its website.

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