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When you think of a car collection, you probably think of five or 10 cars. Many car collectors pick a favorite make, model, segment, or era and collect a few choice vehicles for their collection. But not celebrities like Jay Leno. With over 300 vehicles, the TV personality’s car collection is legendary and maybe even obsessive. It has gone beyond what one garage could possibly hold.

And the incredible thing is that he keeps all of his cars and motorcycles road-ready. Which begs the question: How much does Jay Leno pay for car insurance on more than 300 vehicles?

The full extent of Jay Leno’s car collection

Celebrity car collector Jay Leno stands next to a 2004 Bentley S2 coupe
Jay Leno with a 2004 Bentley S2 coupe | Paul Harris/Getty Images

Jay Leno has more than 180 cars and over 160 motorcycles in his collection, the duPont Registry reports. And many of them are one-of-a-kind. Leno not only purchases collector’s edition vehicles, but he also restores his own cars, which is part of why the exact number in his collection is always changing. Leno regularly buys, sells, restores, and even gifts cars to ensure his entire collection is appreciated instead of gathering dust.

Some of the most interesting models in his collection include a historical 1915 Hispano-Suiza, a classic 1963 Jaguar E-Type, and a sleek 2011 Rolls-Royce Ghost. Every car has its own personality, history, and unique driving experience. 

So, how much must Jay Leno be paying for car insurance?

Of course, appreciating that unique driving experience means being able to take that collection out on the road. Leno says all of his active collection cars and motorcycles are road-worthy. And with over 300 vehicles in the collection, that insurance bill must be enormous.

YouTuber Ari Cagan had the same thought, so he explored the concept in a recent video. In the video, he goes into detail about what it might take to insure Jay Leno’s car collection and how much it would cost. Cagan looks at the total insurance and registration fees that might be involved.

And after a detailed analysis, he determined that keeping Leno’s collection insured and registered could cost $1.1 million per year.

The collector car insurance exception

Cagan makes a good analysis of what Jay Leno’s cumulative car insurance bill might look like, but he forgets to take collector car insurance into account.

Many of Leno’s cars are historical vehicles that, though functional, are unlikely to be taken on regular or long drives. Insurance companies, such as Hagerty, take collector cars into account with lower-cost insurance. They consider that these cars are less likely to be driven and are often driven more carefully. This significantly reduces the likelihood of damage and, therefore, the cost of insurance.

As a result, Leno’s auto insurance bill is probably lower than the number Cagan theorized. Only those vehicles that are considered modern and commute-worthy are likely to be insured at the full rate. There’s also the possibility that Leno has a special deal on car insurance in bulk or out of consideration that each model in his collection is unlikely to see a daily driver’s road time.

For Jay Leno’s sake, we hope he got his collector cars insured at a lower rate. Even when you have enough money to buy small islands (Celebrity Net Worth puts his net worth at $450 million), it’s always nice to get a good deal on car insurance.

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