insurance is only as good as the track record of the company on paying claims - low rates mean nothing if they find ways not to pay a claim - check that out carefully
KBB is not used much anymore, and NADA is the currently most used guide, though nowadays there are other mechanisms for determining value as well - some companies go so far as to use recent sales comps
i have wrestled with this one for quite some time - i came to the conclusion that there was no way to determine a value they would accept, that would truly allow me to replace the car, and at the same time not restrict how i drove, and also provide the liability coverage i wanted
think about this:
you own a porsche - regardless of what we know, others think that means money - that means that whatever your liability coverage, it had better be enough to handle a law suit - insurance companies are not required to fight a claim, nor defend you in court - they are only required to pay a claim up to the maximum liability - you are responsible for everything else, including the court and attorney costs that exceed that amount - in many areas, this is very easy to do - an average court case now costs well over $150k, and often well over $300k - the best i could find in liability coverage for any of the stated value companies was $300k
the cost to replace the vehicle, if you have a rare one, or one that is highly modified could easily exceed what they will agree to - for example, if i were to replace my car, it would cost me at least $50k to duplicate what i have done - i can imagine similar numbers for a garage queen rare color car, as you would have to strip it down to the bare chassis and start over to truly get what you had - if they won't give you that, what's the point?
an escape route for the insurance company is often modifications, as they love to point the finger at the modifications and deny the claim based on that
i originally planned to use this car for weekend wine trips - i strayed from that for the most part, but have every intention of returning it to that use this year - that means a good 1000 mile run for pretty much any trip - that will quickly add up to more than the companies allow
not being allowed on the track is a big problem too - while i don't plan to race this car, i have taken it out on the track, and i can't say that will never happen again
the reality is that these cars are not worth much - these are very inexpensive and disposable cars in most cases - personally, i have chosen to write off the loss if it happens, and buy the car back and part it out, while i build another one - but, everybody's situation and needs are different
the other thing to consider is what other policies you have - for example, i use AAA - i have my homeowners and everything through them - the breaks i get for multiple policies is substantial, and i get better coverage than i can with any of the stated value companies
make a list of what you want in a policy, and then do the homework to determine if any of those companies fit those needs
good luck
