Insurance

[Guest]

At the risk of jinxing myself ...

I'm insured by NIG through the Pelsall office of SecureDirect (01922
686100). They've had a big long list of modifications from me including
'custom' items (bits I've welded on myself ;-) and I occasionally run
into things and write the other vehicle off :-( I've never had to claim
for damage to my vehicle but have had to have them pay up for a 3rd
parties vehicle.

Each year I expect them to refuse to insure it but they haven't so far
so I keep chopping bits off and welding others on!

Best regards,
Jon.

-----Original Message-----
From: [Email address removed] [mailto:[Email address removed]]
On Behalf Of Peter Browning
Sent: 03 January 2006 17:17
To: [Email address removed]
Subject: Re: [ELCO] Insurance
Update
NFU have now informed me that they will insure me on production of a
written engineers report confirming the quality of the installation AND
confirming that the vehicle handles OK!!! I said OK so long as NFU pay
for the costs involved in getting the report. Needless to say they said
no so I said bye-bye!!
They have just lost =A31000 / year car insurance + =A3800 / year property
insurance!!
I have been insured with them for the past eight years with no problems!
Pete
Julian Voelcker wrote:
Hi Peter,

but they've just turned me
down because of the lifted suspension and bigger tyres.

I didn't have any problems with the suspension lift when I insured with
them a couple of months ago.
--
Regards,
Julian Voelcker
Mobile: 07971 540362
Cirencester, United Kingdom
1994 HDJ80, 2.5" OME Lift

 

[Guest]

Anyone tried Sureterm Direct yet?
http://www.sureterm.co.uk <http://www.sureterm.co.uk/>
Regards,
Marinus

 

[Guest]

[Message Unknown] < <[email protected]>>

 

[Guest]

I've had no problems with Adrian Flux for the last few years, with a
bullbar, snorkel, lifted suspension, bigger tyres etc. Adrian Flux is a
broker, insurer is Equity Red Star at present. Last year they wanted to know
that the car had an electronic immobiliser, but it didn't need to be a
thatcham approved one.
All the best,
Toby
1990 HDJ80
___________________________________________________________
To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new Yahoo! Security Centre. http://uk.security.yahoo.com

 

[Guest]

Thank you all for your suggestions.
Greenlight would not touch me as I use my Prado for work. Their
website looks good though for those of you who have a Cruiser just
for playing at the weekend.
Various others were hopeless but I have managed to get a policy with
Adrian Flux (08700 777 888) for the same amount as last year through
Norwich Union and this was after declaring ALL my mods.
In fact I ended up with two brokers competing for my business and
beat them down from =A31300 to =A31100 to =A3980. Both 'Adrian Flux' and 'A
Quote' (0800 298 2836) offered me a policy for =A3980 which is good
for my 'Industry category' and mileage.
Hope this is of help to any of you stressing or being refused
insuance due to modifications.
Tim Maw

 

[Guest]

Further update
The office manager of the local NFU phoned me this morning. He obviously
realised he was losing a load of business!!
NFU have now agreed to accept my mods, no extra premium and all they
want is a copy of the receipt for the springs and shocks!
How the **** that tells them that (as per their original demand) a)
installation is of good quality and b) the vehicle handles OK I don't know!
Pete

 

[Guest]

Meant to say:
? 295 premium fully comp including business use (includes ful NCB)
Pete
Peter Browning wrote:

 

[Guest]

Pete, =A3295 that is a pretty good figure. What is the excess amount and is full NCB - 65 or 70% - protected NCB ?
Thanks, Gareth.

 

[Guest]

Hi Gareth
It's a multiple vehicle policy with NFU. We have three vehicles all on
the same policy, all sharing 65% NCB, Jeep wrangler, Landcruiser and
Ford Galaxy. We pay ?900 and something a year. All vehicles are covered
for me and SWMBO to drive, all fully comp and all for business use
(excluding the usual H&R etc). The disadvantage of it of course is that
one prang would lose the NCB on all three vehicles. It is a protected
NCB though.
For some reason the cruiser is the cheapest of the three at ?295, the
Galaxy and Wrangler comprising ?700 ish between them..
I don't understand any of it either!
Pete
Gareth Jones wrote:

 

[Guest]

For those who are interested, here are my experiences in trying to get
UK insurance on a modified Landcruiser:
1./ Many insurers won't cover modified vehicles. If you don't tell
them you will succeed in getting an insurance certificate, and are OK
if you get caught speeding and need to show your insurance document or
something, so you are "legal" in that sense. However if you have an
accident and the insurer finds out the vehicle is modified they can
claim the insurance is not valid. Basically this is just an excuse to
not pay out. Insurance companies will do everything they can to not
pay out, or pay the minimum. This could possibly give you financial or
also legal problems later, soo probably better to just admit it's
modified. But then.....
...when you talk (or email) to a broker or insurance company who does
deal with modified vehicles there is a very good chance they do not
understand 4x4s. I gave up counting how many times I tried to explain
what a snorkel is. Also, the insurance game is all about counting
"risk", and they seem to count more mods as more risk. I got one reply
that "only up to 5 modifications are possible"......
So "suspension mods" works better than a list of part numbers. Even
better "off-road mods". That's only one mod then.
If they don't like you the first time you can't call back and explain
it differently, because they already entered you into their database,
so think before you call.
2./ My LC is in good condition and I've spent a lot on the mods, so I
would like an agreed value. I once wrote off an old but perfect
Bentley Turbo R by accidentally taking it off-roading after going
around a roundabout a bit too quick. My first introduction to off-road
driving which I really enjoyed, but a Landcruiser is a more suitable
vehicle. It took me 6 months to get the insurance to pay up, and then
the amount I got was less than two thirds of the real value. I found
out how they valued it: the vehicle inspector who decided it was a
write-off looked in Autotrader for similar vehicles and picked a
middle price. This might work for a nissan micra but does not for
anything low volume or special, like a modified LC. So if you trash
your modified cruiser you cannot expect to get a fair value for it
unless agreed up front. But....
If you try to put a real value on a modified vehicle the insurance
company will increase you risk rating and/or the premium to the point
where they won't insure you. For me, trying to get an agreed value of
GBP 20K was not possible - I figure that is what it would cost to
build another one the same. About GBP 10K is do-able, but.....
.... a company who do agreed value may not cover modified vehicles and
vice-versa.
Again, once you ask for something, if it gets rejected you can't
renegotiate. After being told a company wouldn't cover for an agreed
value of 20K, I asked for 10K instead. I was told that this would not
be possible as I had already disclosed that the value of the car was
higher. I was offering to insure my car fully comprehensive for an
agreed value of half it's real price and they said no. OK........
3./ Residency. I live in the UK part-time and the Netherlands
part-time. I work in the Netherlands, so pay tax in the Netherlands
(unfortunately). As a result of this I am not on the UK electoral
register. Many insurance companies do a credit check which includes
checking the electoral register. I fail sometimes, no way around that
apart from the give the LC to my girlfriend and get her to insure it
instead, or (better) try another company and hope they don't do the
same check. It apears that some do, some don't.
I drive in Europe a lot and would like to be insured there too. The
"green card" insurance thing is different with every company, check
what you are going to get. It varies from one month per year to
unlimited cover.
4./ Insurance brokers may be idiots. Following recommendations by
reputable people including a couple on this list, my first stop was
Farmers Union. Their website directed me to the local office in
Macclesfield. After many conversations with an incompetent sheep in
the Macclesfield office, I was turned down because "they don't do
cover for competition use". When I pointed out that at no point had I
said that I partake in competition in any shape or form, she replied
that she had assumed I did because "I modified it for use off-road".
Despite pointing out the error in her assumption, she was unable to
re-apply because once a reject is always a reject. I tried emailing
through the website to the main office but didn't get a reply.
5./ Belonging to a "club" or even a forum really helps. I guess it
reduces the "risk" rating because the underwriters figure if you
belong to a club you love your vehicle and don't want to trash it or
see it get stolen. Just saying that I belong to the "UK Landcrusier
Club" and the "European LandCruiser Owners" generated appreciative
noises from the broker on the end of the phone.
6./ Limiting your annual mileage helps here too.
7./ Don't protect your no-claims discount. When you sign up they want
you too, as they can charge you more, but when you go to a different
company if they ask you if your no-claims was protected it is better
if it wasn't, as it genuinely means you didn't have any accidents or
claims in the relevant period.
So...
The best broker I found in the UK was Sureterm Direct,
www.sureterm.com. They gave great service and I insured the (modified)
Landcruiser fully comp for two drivers and unlimited European use for
up to 3 months at a time. Annual mileage limit 5k, can be increased
during the period of insurance. No agreed value but if I trash it I
can take off all the modified bits and keep them, which is probably
better than having an agreed value.
Cost: about GBP 350 which would be a bargain if I hadn't spent about
the same amount on phone calls getting it sorted
I'm happy in the end.
Cheers,
--
Andy Haxby
HDJ81 with a mod
NL & UK

 

[Guest]

Some of their charges are extortionate.
I missed a payment on direct debit, as I was changing bank accounts. They
wanted to charge me about =A335 in fees and then about the same again for some
other reason, I was so angry - I forgot what it was.

I've just put a personal plate on the vehicle - they wanted =A350 for a policy
change, which they eventually reduced to =A315.
I guess they'll make similar changes if you move house etc etc.
I'll be phoning NFU and Adrian Flux (far from perfect) when the renewal is
due.
Hope it helps
Andy

 

[Guest]

Hi Andy,
I had no such difficulty with the NFU's Skipton office, having had a very
open conversation about suspension lifts, bull bars and engine tuning.
Maybe you just got speaking to one of those jobsworths!
I do agree however that dealing with insurers can be trying at the best of
times, although it sounds as if you got a competitive quote in the end.
--
Paul Driver
Ilkley, West Yorkshire
[Email address removed]
07718 782828

 

[Guest]

Hi Andrew,
Thanks for the update,
olicy
They did say that changing anything is GBP 50, but then at 350 per
year I guess that's OK for me, the only thing I might want to change
is the annual mileage.
s
NFU was out for me due to the Macclesfield idiot. There was a problem
with Adrian Flux too, can't remember what it was, either European
cover or the modified vehicle thing which was a common issue until I
figured that you need to list a small number of big mods rather than
the details.
All interesting, insurance is a minefield and you never know what
you've got until you try to claim. guilty until proven innocent etc.
Cheers,

 

[Guest]

Hi Paul,
It's a bit of a lottery I think, I just dropped unlucky with the
person who picked up the phone at the time I called. After that you
are in the database.....
I'm happy with the price, but you don't know until you make a claim.
Hopefully that never happens but when it does is the only time you
find out what you bought. My brother built a camper van out of a
transit van, and drove it all around Europe. He can back to the UK to
renew his insurance, and (ironically) had it stolen whilst parked in a
quite village in oxfordshire. All his possessions were in it. When he
made an insurance claim they took months to settle, during which time
he couldn't buy anything else to continue his travels, and when they
finally paid up the value was based on a transit van, not a fully
fitted camper. End of the couple of years off travelling Europe that
had been planned. With another insurer it may have been different.
There is no way of telling...
Cheers,

 

[Guest]

My work car was insured with RAC and I wanted to add a colleague as an
occasional additional driver. No problem they said but of the additional
risk, it would cost and extra =A350 to add him to the policy.
A year later I came to renew the policy and I no longer needed the extra
driver cover. I informed the RAC of the change and fully expected them to
revise-down the premium. Imagine my consternation when they said it would
cost an extra =A350 to remove my colleague from the policy because as a 'more
mature' driver he was helping to keep my renewal premium down.
Many insurers are nothing more than crooks, although I pleased to say that
is not true of all. As well as the NFU I've also get very competitive works
car insurance though Swiftcover.
--
Paul Driver
Ilkley, West Yorkshire
[Email address removed]
07718 782828

 

[Guest]

> and when they finally paid up the value was based on a transit van.
NFU were happy to over insure my vehicle based on the cost of the mods, but
come renewal time I think I'll want to tie them down with photos and extra
detail, ensuring that I get their written confirmation before going ahead
--
Paul Driver
Ilkley, West Yorkshire
[Email address removed]
07718 782828

 

[Guest]

On Wed, Oct 1, 2008 at 10:34 AM, chris coombs
<[Email address removed]> wrote:
Chris,
Not until next year. I have no other bumper yet and am now too busy
getting the LC ready for a desert trip in Egypt.
--
Rgds,
Roman (London, UK)
'92 HDJ80 (auto)

 

[Guest]

I'm in the market for a decent diesel 80 Jon.
How many shekels?
Pete
On Wed, Oct 1, 2008 at 10:43 AM, Jon Wildsmith <[Email address removed]> wrote:
>
> > Roman
> >
> > are you still thinking of selling your Arb front
> > bumper/bull bar - if so how much?
>
> If he isn't I may have an almost brand new one for sale. My wife's 80 got
> a brand new ARB recently but now she wants to sell the 80 and buy ... a
> Rav 4 :-( I was going to sell the car with all the goodies still attached
> but might take them off and sell them seperately if I can find a decent
> second hand standard front bumper.
>
> Jon.
>
> 01 UZJ100
> 93 & 94 HDJ80's
> Stourbridge,
> England.
>
> --
> European Land Cruiser Owners Mailing List
> Further Info: http://www.landcruisers.info/lists/
>