Laid Up + Agreed Valuations

[Alex225]

Well this is turning into a bit of a pain this year.

Last couple of years I have insured my CLS63 with Adrian Flux on a laid up policy with an agreed valuation. The value according to insurers is ~£8k yet to actually replace it with one with under 20k miles (if I could even find one) would be ~£15k. The policy went up from £270 to £430, despite not actually needing to cover it for being on the road and with 16 years no claims. The agreed valuation part is about £40 on top of the main policy.

Does anyone do similar? The main issue I've got is that being 'only' 17 years old, the last three place I've spoken to won't cover it as it needs to be 20+ years. Just spoke to Lancaster but any other suggestions would be very welcome.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I would suggest getting quotes for a traditional policy rather than a laid up policy. I tend to use all of my cars, however even those I use least are all on a normal policy as it doesn’t cost me any more and offers greater flexibility.

I’ve heard several people reporting that things that have traditionally reduced premiums has in-practice increased premiums, eg parking on a drive rather than the road, TPFT rather than fully comp, etc.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

PS The other things I’ve heard plenty of times is that Adrian Flux are ramping up premiums significantly and that shopping around can deliver a substantial saving relative to AF.

Tray Howden (formerly A Plan) and specifically the Thatcham Branch, they have a history of being able to get good deals on very unusual cars - likely highly modified, very rare, or very low mileage. Link below:

Car Insurance, Home & Van Insurance Thatcham

Howden Thatcham offers home, van and car insurance amongst other insurance products. Speak to your local branch and get a quote today.

www.howdeninsurance.co.uk

 

[Alex225]

Well I had a bit of a result. I went on Gocompare and did the usual comparisons, fully comp, minimal mileage etc. and prices started at £225 which is good. That did lack the agreed valuation though so would have been insured for less than I would have wanted.

So I called up Adrian Flux and spoke to a really decent guy who admitted that renewal was surprisingly expensive for a laid up policy. So he went off for a fully comprehensive quote with 1,500 miles cover. With an excess of £350 which is less than I'd put in on the comparisons, it came down to £212! I can then add the agreed valuation on as an addition which has it's own cost but will cover it for ~£20k depending on what they agree.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Well I had a bit of a result. I went on Gocompare and did the usual comparisons, fully comp, minimal mileage etc. and prices started at £225 which is good. That did lack the agreed valuation though so would have been insured for less than I would have wanted.

So I called up Adrian Flux and spoke to a really decent guy who admitted that renewal was surprisingly expensive for a laid up policy. So he went off for a fully comprehensive quote with 1,500 miles cover. With an excess of £350 which is less than I'd put in on the comparisons, it came down to £212! I can then add the agreed valuation on as an addition which has it's own cost but will cover it for ~£20k depending on what they agree.

Good news. I did think a traditional policy would be less expensive than laid up policy.

 

[Alex225]

Seems daft doesn't it but I'm not entirely shocked. I remember shopping for insurance when I was first driving and looking at TPFT cover as assumed it would be cheaper.

Spoke with one person who said that full comp was more competitive and suggested I try it. It was and yet in the event of a claim they'd technically pay out more.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Seems daft doesn't it but I'm not entirely shocked. I remember shopping for insurance when I was first driving and looking at TPFT cover as assumed it would be cheaper.

Spoke with one person who said that full comp was more competitive and suggested I try it. It was and yet in the event of a claim they'd technically pay out more.

When I first started driving I remember that TPFT was about half the cost of fully comprehensive - so that’s what I opted for for the first year - but that’s a long time ago. Back then the “insurance man” came to your house and worked out the premium - it makes me sound even older than I am!

I don’t think that’s been the case for years though. Five years later I bought my first “proper-ish” sports car and by then TPFT cost more than FC. The insurer suggested that I switch to FC and add someone else (ideally a partner), to reduce the premium. Sure enough doing that reduced the cost significantly.

The other thing they suggested was that rare cars cost less to insure - and if not able to buy a genuinely rare car buy a car which is unusual for someone with similar demographics, ie age, occupation, area, etc. A 17 year old male living in an urban area will pay much more to insure a Ford Fiesta than a Honda Jazz.

The logic being that the insurer will have probably have never settled a claim by a 17 year old male on their Honda Jazz, whereas the same insurer probably settles 50,000 claims every year relating to 17 year old males in their Fiesta, therefore the likelihood of receding a claim from a 17 year old male on a Jazz will be low.

Interesting stuff.