Insurance (uk)

[dapinky]

Whilst I accept that 'talking about values' can be frowned upon by LEC management, I'll risk the wrath in this case, as it isn't about challenging a percieved valuation by an owner, just that of an interested third party....

.... When I had my own incident last year I was involved in some lengthy emails with various people, including Alan Morgan at Club Lotus.

The final outcome was that an Elan 'value' should start at about £3k for a running original car with an MOT but needing work (not necessarily the selling price, but certainly the 'value').

This should increase (for insurance purposes) at approx 40% - 60% of upgraded parts (not replacement of service items).

A good respray, interior re-trim, etc etc should also come into this.

FSH adds more, as does a good history of 'enthusiasm' - such as being an active member of a club/forum.

As such, I wouldn't think £8k is an unreasonable valuation (and is where mine will be pitched once the respray is completed).....

.... dont forget, many Agreed Valuations like a higher value, as they can charge a bit more for the premium anyway.

[Rusty Wishbone]

Whilst I accept that 'talking about values' can be frowned upon by LEC management, I'll risk the wrath in this case, as it isn't about challenging a percieved valuation by an owner, just that of an interested third party....

I think that you are OK because you are referring to insurance valuations, not how much your car is actually worth or how much it might achieve if marketed.

[SteveB]

Good news, Adrian Flux have amended my agreed valuation back to £8000 after " re examining " my policy. Just proves its always a good idea to question insurance companies decisions.

[Rice crispy]

Just did mine with 2gether again went down to £121 this year about £7 less iirc then remembered I hadn't booked an MOT or service so checked and it expired today. Rang my mechanic who said he was away till week after next so he kindly booked me a MOT with his friend and it passed with a couple of advisories for rear wheel bearings both having play (didn't bother to argue) 1 needs to be replaced as it was noisy and 2 driveshaft gators are leaking slightly. So when my mechanic is back I will get them done. Fortunately I already have the parts in my spares hoard so will cost me labour

[TrevorB]

Just renewed mine with Classic Line and sent off lots of photo's, filled out a valuation form and have agreed new valuation for 'Merlot'. (If anyone wants
to know pm me.)

Also agreed claim for my silly minor scrape. Under 3,000 miles completed in past year despite limit of 5k.

Happy with that

[cliff]

I've been with 2gether for the last year, happy with them but they only offer 30 days European cover. Did a lot of searching around and found this company.

http://www.rhclassicinsurance.co.uk/cla ... rance.html

90 days per trip, not per year like most of them. Price was very good with declared mods. They also quoted me a good price for the GTV so that will be getting swapped as well.

[Rob P]

Looking to try and get my son Matthew insured on the Lotus, he's 22 years old and has a clean driving license, before I go calling loads of Classic insurance companies I thought I'd ask if anyone has been in the same position and found any solution

Thanks

[novacaine]

Adrian flux are pretty good for young drivers. I'm 26 the main driver with a clean license and 8yrs no claims and this years fully comp cost me £339.

[Steve A]

2getherinsurance

KGM@Lloyds
Insured & Spouse
£100 excess
4K per year

£163 including IPT

[Tuga2112]

Got Myself £230 from footman james. added breakdown cover and other extras for a total of a bit over 300, an amazing quote for my standards considering my celica premium last time was £980 and i had a small accident exactly a year ago today.

im 25 without any NCD but 5 years of driving already.

[ashm]

Just renewed with fluxdirect for £130:

- fully comp
- 4k miles
- accrues NCB (lots of specialist policies are apparently not generating NCB nowadays...)
- £150 excess
- parked on driveway

I thought that was quite a good price really.

Adam

[RayD]

Adam,

Presumably you have an agreed value ... its just that when I first got my car I used a second Full NCD to insure it Fully Comp at Liverpool Victoria not realising if it had been written off they would just consider it an old car and pay out accordingly ... I switched to 2gether.

Ray

[tb10]

Dear All,

Just an insurance update for anyone who needs to re-insure soon (based on a Worcestershire postcode):

1991 G Reg N/A Parked on the road - 1500 miles PA:

Adrian Flux - £159.00

Mileage Requested: 1500
Cover: Comprehensive
Use: Social Domestic and Pleasure Only.
EU Cover: 30 Days.
Policy Excess: £150.00


2gether Insurance £145.00

Mileage Requested: 1500
Cover: Comprehensive
Use: Social Domestic and Pleasure Only.
EU Cover: 30 Days.
Policy Excess: £100.00


Classic Line £129.98

Mileage Requested: 1500
Cover: Comprehensive
Use: Social Domestic and Pleasure Only.
EU Cover: 30 Days.
Policy Excess: £250.00

Multi Car with Adrian Flux:

G Reg N/A Parked on the road - 1500 miles PA - Excess £150.00
M reg S2 Parked on the road - 1500 miles PA - Excess £200.00
M reg S2 Parked on the road - 1500 miles PA - Excess £100.00

£355.00 all three

I'd have taken the multi car policy out but the S2's insurance expires in May and they only offered me £40.00 refund if I cancelled so it wasn't worth it I'm also trying to work out why the excess on the cars is different - but it is

Regards


John

[epipete]

Insured yesterday, normal caveats etc, with 2gether for £193.00; a sum I was quite pleased with till the docs arrived today revealing that this includes £40 Broker's fees.

This is my 3rd year with 2gether and I've been quite pleased (though, of course 'the proof of the pudding ...' & I've yet to make any sort of claim!).

Maybe next year I'll do my own hunting.

Pete

[Tuga2112]

anyone insured for 5k or more a year ?

[dapinky]

Joao,

Mine is insured through Peter James - unlimited mileage, full european breakdown recovery as standard, agreed value for cars.

Can't tell you what it would cost for just one car, as I have 3 covered on the same policy, and it was £246 last May.

[dapinky]

Well, now that my fleet has diminished enough to warrant a seperate policy for the elan (the other 2 are on a 'laid up' policy), i thought I'd shop around.

(well, i tried 2 places, and then gave up 'coz I was happy!)

I did an online application with Footman James which was going swimmingly well until i got to the end of the first screen....

...when asked for occupation, it accepted 'retired', but then asked for the business i was employed in.... there was no 'I don't work' type option, so i used my former job and it accepted that...

...then it was okay for a screen or 2, until it got to "Modifications". When you click "Yes" it throws a hissy fit and tells you to contact the office. So I tried putting "No" just to get a quote and everything went well.

At the end, I was happy with a quote of £95 , but it is subject to a £10 "Arrangement fee", so £105 for a 3000 mile policy, car parked on the drive, value £10K.

It is a "Basic Cover" policy with £50 excess and not many frills - all frills are availlable as 'add-ons' which I prefer - why pay for something you don't want - I already have full European breakdown cover, Legal Expences cover, Drive-other-cars cover etc so don't want to have to pay for it again.

But some of the 'Extras' are worth having (to me).

I got 'agreed value' for £10.
I got 'Salvage retention at no cost' (in event of a write-off I get to keep the car, plus get my £10K) for £15.
I got 'Spare parts Cover' for another £15 - covering £2500 of bits either in or on the car, or at home.

So, it was £145 all in - I'm happy with that for a year.

Until I got the email confirmation of the price, which had (in small writing) that the car must be kept in a garage overnight (despite me putting on the application that it would be on the drive).

So I phoned them up to query it and was told that it was a 'get out' clause for those who try to save a couple of quid by claiming that a car is kept in a garage when it isn't - and as long as they're told it is on a driveway, no problem.

I then asked what they considered to be a "Modification" and was told that it was anything which changed the car from standard.... luckilly she had a big bit of paper and a pencil sharpener when I was asked what is different

Even down to the colour of the wheels, they wanted to know! The colour change was listed, but not an issue as it is a Lotus colour availlable on the Elan (not a super-expensive custom candy or flip paint job).

There was no charge for the modifications listed, but if you don't tell them, they can get a bit arsey if it comes to a claim - so for the sake of 20 minutes on the phone, it isn't worth saying it's a standard car kept in the garage - the Underwriters can tell the difference between an enthusiast and a boy-racer and don't penalise you for telling the truth.

[Tuga2112]

I then asked what they considered to be a "Modification" and was told that it was anything which changed the car from standard....

According to that mine is modified as well... meaning i need to have a 20 minute conversation with them. (hate talking to insurance companies)

I assumed the definition of modification was the "tipical" performance upgrade modification

[dapinky]

Joao,

I believe that all (or at least, most) insurance companies are basically honest - and hope that the customers will also be.

Back in the day (oh how I miss the old ways!) we would just visit a local insurance broker and he would get out a huge book, asking various questions (age, licence details, car etc etc) and come up with a couple of options from somewhere in the book that the answers to various questions led him! The questions were fairly basic, and every broker had the same book, so shopping around wasn't what it is these days.

It is an unfortunate consequence of fraudulent claims in the past, coupled with trying to be competetive whilst still making a profit, which leads to the oft-quoted stories about the companies failing to honour a claim. Frequently, the author of such stories fail to mention the fact that they made a 'mistake' or 'ommission' on the application, believing that it "can't make any difference".... and then feeling hard done by when they make a claim which is either diminished or rejected.

I have seen many claims in the past go wrong (usually as a result of a deliberate fraud, as opposed to a genuine mistake), and probably err so far on the side of caution to be considered OCD!

Many people believe that the term 'Modification' only refers to 'Performance Improvement' - but it is actually far more than that - it's anything which may affect any claim in the future (either because your car is now worth more, or possibly because the changes make it more desirable to thieves/attractive to vandals) - and everyone has their own views on it.

Basically, my advice would be to speak to someone in person if your car is anything other than a dead standard vehicle, as it left the factory/dealer.

As I said, by listing everything which was different took a while (so maybe consider having a list in front of you when you phone up), but it didn't affect the premium I paid. The paperwork arrived this morning with the 'Modifications' section having very few details - just staing that the engine, exhaust, interior, bodywork, suspension and brakes had been 'modified' from standard - but i'm happy that in the event of any claim (hopefully not!) I will have a no-quibble experience as they have been told.

That peace of mind is worth a half-hour phone call to a freefone number.

[delboy72]

Hi all,

I have a 1991 Lotus Elan M100, but I use it as my main car. Most classic car insurance companies that I've spoken to require you to have another car that you use for everyday purposes. Can anyone recommend cheap insurance? At the moment I'm with Flux Direct which is around £500.

Thanks very much

Alex