Insuring a 426 Hemi Cuda in 1971

[MopSquad]

Using a few references, the insurance companies decided to highly demotivate drivers from purchasing 426 hemi cars in 1971.  The referenced rate was $1500/yr which in today's dollars is just over $9000/year.  I'm sure there are slight variations in that rate specific to the driver, but that is insanely high and obviously the high horsepower cars were targeted.  How could anyone afford to insure those cars back then?  I'm too young to give a personal opinion but I'm curious how drivers in that era managed to keep these cars on the road.

[Racer57]

In 1970 friend who was a senior in HS bought an '70 Chevelle SS454. He drove it for about 6months and then parked it because of insurance was somewhere around $1,000 a year. He still has it and it has less than 10,000 miles. He gets it out once a year and "drives around the block". Still looks like new.

[4 speed fish]

Bought my first 1970 cuda in 1972.I was 18 years old.My insurance was a 1,000 a year for just liability.

[MopSquad]

So I'm seeing real world confirmation.  You really have to love the big block that your driving in order to validate such a big chunk of your budget just for insurance.

[Racer57]

In a way its understandable why the rates were so high.  Think about how much horsepower the muscle cars had back then and the "safety" features they had. After I had my Cuda for awhile, I realized that they were basically throw away cars considering how shabby they were built.

[MopSquad]

The claim data must have been overwhelming to justify the rates.  Beside the increased repair/totaling incidence of the high HP cars, the personal injury liability claims must have been extraordinarily prevalent.  Also, maybe there was an industry vendetta to rid the road of these cars.