Insurance renewal - 42% increase for single 'no blame' claim made by named driver!

[BTB 500]

The insurance is due on the SL shortly, so I rang Elephant to 'disclose' the incident Mrs BTB had in her car earlier in the year (somebody ran into the back of her Audi - all liability accepted by the other party and repairs paid for by their insurance).

"No problem sir" said the man, "but that increases your premium from £355 to £505"

Apparently even a 'no fault' claim indicates that a person drives in areas where accidents are more likely, hence they are an increased risk! "All companies work this way now" he said. Well no they don't, because ten minutes earlier I'd renewed the insurance on the Vito and it made no difference whatsoever there.

So I need to get some more quotes ASAP, have requested one from Adrian Flux via the link here on MBClub ... any other suggestions for a low annual mileage 'modified' (exhaust & wheels) car?

 

[Doodle]

Try A-Plan, they are currently insuring my SL.

Oh, and just had my renewal through on the E-class (not with A-plan). Gone up 50% since last year despite no changes on my part. I think not.

 

[wemorgan]

Direct Line currently insure my modified car. Previously I've also used Footman James.

 

[chrisbin]

Try A-Plan in Bletchley.

 

[300CE]

Could try Peter Best BTB, but i'm not sure they do modified. You could also try Lancaster Insurance as i was with them previously or Express Insurance (i have my bikes insured with them and my SP1 has quite a few mods).

 

[moonloops]

Sky Insurance do an audi scheme

 

[John]

Direct Line currently insure my modified car.

They wouldn't insure mine because mine was modded (cats cut out).

They make this **** up on the fly... like all insurance companies make stuff up it seems. As long as it makes them more money eh...

 

[markjay]

This has been mentioned in other threads... and I personally know of someone who - when approaching a traffic light queue - always brakes hard and at the last minute, and while he has never crashed into the back of the car in front of him, he so far had no less than 17(!) no-fault claims.

On one occasion I was passenger in his car while two other cars crashed into each other and into the back of his....

 

[wemorgan]

They wouldn't insure mine because mine was modded (cats cut out).

That's strange. When I went on their webpage for a quote, it asked whether the car is modified yes/no. When I clicked yes another page appeared with a long list of possible modifications to declare, with a check box beside each option.

 

[vijilants]

Your car would be classed as a classic and to be honest if you want decent money back for it incase something happens it should be insured under a classic policy. Not only will it be far cheaper, it will also be on an agreed valuation and not book price.

Try Peter Best Insurance under their classic policy.....thats who I use and they provide an additional discount to members of the Official Owners club.

 

[moonloops]

They wouldn't insure mine because mine was modded (cats cut out).

They make this **** up on the fly... like all insurance companies make stuff up it seems. As long as it makes them more money eh...

It all depends who's underwriting the policies.

e.g. company A accepts person A's modified car

company A will not quote for type of car person B owns and companies C and D all fail to quote as they don't accept modifications..

 

[SilverSaloon]

Admiral Group.... all increase for non fault claims. avoid them.

My own situation is the same:

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/gene...e-company-charging-me-non-fault-accident.html

 

[jaymanek]

SL will qualify for classic.... I use footman james and tell them im a member of the club..

 

[Doodle]

You could also try Lancaster Insurance

Funnily enough, they're the ones that have just hiked the renewal on the E-class.

 

[ddavidm]

They are criminals.

 

[BTB 500]

Admiral Group.... all increase for non fault claims. avoid them.

Just for a laugh I got quotes from confused.com and gocompare.com, and Admiral were cheapest each time! The two quotes were different but both were less than the best price that Elephant could do this morning.

I don't get any option to add vehicle modifications with Direct Line

Peter Best will only quote online if no modifications and vehicle is at least 26 years old. May give them a call later.

Following up others - many thanks for the suggestions.

 

[vijilants]

J

Peter Best will only quote online if no modifications and vehicle is at least 26 years old. May give them a call later.

Im on a classic policy with them and my car is 13 years old. They do a classic policy for cars over 10 years old so I think whoever you spoke to has misinformed you.

What sort of modifications are we talking about ?

 

[BTB 500]

Im on a classic policy with them and my car is 13 years old. They do a classic policy for cars over 10 years old so I think whoever you spoke to has misinformed you.?

I said they would only quote online for cars at least 26 years old:

Classic Car Quote

The following statements, if acceptable, will allow us to provide a quotation. If the statements cannot be answered ‘YES’ it may still be possible we can insure you but we would have to process this manually via our office. Your details will be taken and transmitted to our office to enable a manual quote to be made.

•Standard vehicles – no modifications
•All drivers have held a full UK or EU licence for at least two years
•A single speeding offence within the last 3 years is acceptable; any other convictions are not
•No fault claims within the last five years.
•Maximum of three named drivers in addition to the proposer
•All drivers must be at least 25 years or older
•All vehicles must be at least 26 years old
•BMW’s restricted to a maximum engine capacity of 2.0L
•Vehicle is used for Social, Domestic & Pleasure use only including commuting to and from one fixed place of work
•Cars must be garaged or parked on the drive – street parking is not permitted
•Mercedes convertibles must be garaged
•Vehicle is not to be used for weddings
•You must have access to another car for everyday use

Peter Best Insurance - Classic Car Insurance

What sort of modifications are we talking about ?

AMG alloys and modified exhaust (AMG rear box, centre muffler removed).

 

[vijilants]

AMG alloys and modified exhaust (AMG rear box, centre muffler removed).

I can't really see those mods being an issue.....do you really have to tell them that the centre muffler has been removed ?

 

[BTB 500]

I can't really see those mods being an issue.....do you really have to tell them that the centre muffler has been removed ?

Legally, yes.

My SL was insured with Direct Line originally - they increased both the premium and the excess when I declared the 17" M-B Ceginus alloys it had when I bought it (I didn't realise originally they were non-standard).

CIS said they would no longer cover my Vito if I changed the wheels on that from the factory ones. They didn't care what the replacement wheels were - it was purely the act of changing them that mattered. I guess there's a statistical link between making mods. and increased risk of a claim (whether theft or accident). Some companies simply don't want to cover 'modified' vehicles - I think confused.com searched 130 insurers today and only 22 gave a quote for the SL. The others all said "Unable to quote due to modifications/adaptations."