This question crops up on a regular basis so it would be a sensible idea to explore this in a little more detail.

The standard answer would be that you would need to insure your classic car if it is being driven on the public road network or even if it is not being driven but has not been declared SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification). As a minimum you would require third party cover.

The same response would have been given if it had been a modern car so why should it be any different for a classic car? It shouldn’t!

Of course, this leads onto the question as to whether you should ever not bother insuring your classic car. After all, if you have taken it off the road, placed it in your garage with a view to carrying out some restoration work or storing it over the winter months and declared it SORN then legally you do not need to insure it.

However, what would happen if you were carrying out some restoration work and your classic car were badly damaged by fire or if it were stolen whilst you slept soundly? The cost of repairing or replacing the car could be quite substantial and, if that figure were far more than you have in savings, how would you go about repairing the damage or finding and buying another classic car if your stolen vehicle was never seen again?

Well, if you had taken out Laid Up classic car insurance whilst your car was off the road, garaged and declared SORN your classic car insurance company could have paid out towards the cost.

Surely, it would be a sensible course of action to make sure that your classic car is suitably insured to provide you with complete peace of mind against the unforeseen happening.