Print

[Wittsend]

Sorry to disagree, but the idea of optional insurance is fanciful.

I have to agree ^^^

All these notions of how to "get round" not having a decent fully comp policy are a non-sense.
Just pay up and go with one of the main stream insurers.

With your classic car GET AN AGREED VALUE POLICY - make sure you keep an eye out for what similar vehicles (in condition etc.) are selling for. Keep taking plenty of pictures of your vehicle.

The crunch comes when you are involved in an accident or theft as to how quickly the incident is sorted out.

When someone hit the red Fiesta my insurers (LV) had it all sorted in 20 minutes from the actual "hit". Replacement car and damaged car off to a bespoke body shop 
My premium was not affected one way or the other.

You always have the option of using the Insurance Ombudsman if things go wrong/slow.

 

[crumbly65]

Sorry to disagree, but the idea of optional insurance is fanciful.

^^^
I have to agree with this.  It's not only damage to one's vehicle, or another driver's vehicle.  There is also the personal injury dimension.  If you are unfortunate enough to be the accidental cause of some poor soul's death in a vehicle accident, your financial liability could be enormous - well beyond the average earning power of many working people.

Which is why the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board was created (though I'm not sure if it still exists in it's original powerful form).  It was precisely to compensate those unfortunate souls who suffered serious injuries from the activities of uninsured drivers.  Where death or life-changing injuries had occurred, the compensation went to surviving dependants etc etc...

Uninsured drivers presumably being considered criminals through the idea of criminal negligence, in that being in charge of a potentially lethal machine, demands a high degree of responsibility in behaviour, attention and awareness of others.  Being adequately insured demonstrates that degree of responsibility.

[Matt Reeves]

Being adequately insured demonstrates that degree of responsibility.

In theory yes, unfortunately in practice the reality is often very different.

[w3526602]

Hi,

When Barbara's SAAB 900i was side swiped by a supermarket HGV on the M4, her insurers requested details of her cars condition and value, as she was asking for more than their "Big Book of Values", which didn't go back to age of her car.

We provided an appraisal of her cars condition and value from the SAAB specialist who serviced it.

We provided copies of adverts for similar cars listed in magazines and the internet.

We provide a copy of the Classic Care Values pages from one of the monthly classic car magazines.

We provide photos of the car taken prior to the accident.

Their cheque came back by return of post.

602

[w3526602]

or when a unisured drive runs into the back of yours which is also uninsured by yourself   nd with some cars costing over 100k

Hi, 

When I was in my teens (mid-1950s) my cars usual cost between £5 and £10, although one early 1930s Austin 7 cost only £2, it usually was cheaper to pay the "£2 Mitigated Penalty" than pay for a VED disc. This was before MOTs were invented, and DVLC was not even thought of.

I doubt that I could afford any of those particular cars today.

It really, really, hurt to have to pay Prudential £20 for Third Party Only cover for my £35 1931 MG L-type Magna, fitted with a 1936 Vauxhall 10 engine and gearbox. My starting pay in the RAF , in 1958, was six pounds, and two shillings per week, but a bed space, food and clothing were include. In 1967, a married corporal, living out, broke the £20 a week barrier.

602

PS, Also in 1967, we paid £700 to fly our Malaysian mongrel home from Penang, and still have enough for a deposit on a house. Probably because we were living alongside the Australian forces, and MUST appear to be equally well paid. Barbara managed to safe as much as my total salary, if we had been in the UK.

[GlenAnderson]

I have my fleet all on one policy with Footman James. It's a somewhat eclectic mix, the majority of which are classics on agreed value, unlimited mileage and the ability to commute to work if necessary:

Land-Rover 109" @£15K, 3 x BSA Bantams @£2.5K each, Triumph T25SS @£2.5K, Austin Lorry @£5K and a modern 500cc Honda motorcycle at market value.

The premium was £515 last year for all seven. Apparently the classic vehicles are grouped according to type, and additional vehicles of the same type don't add anything to the cost of the premium. Adding a third Bantam and the Triumph last year cost nothing extra. The modern Honda makes up the lion's share of the premium, but insuring it individually is dearer.