Regular car insurance for a 35 year old car

macplaxton

Hi,

I am trying to get my classic insured, but it's turning out to be a real hassle.

In the UK both my cars (both classics) are insured as main vehicles/unlimited mileage/fully comp/full european breakdown cover - all on a single policy for a mere £98.

Now for the one car I have with me, I'm currently looking at a 10k limit with First Ireland at €525 (TPFT) / €555 (Comp). Alternatively on a regular unrestricted policy €580 (TPFT) / €600 (Comp) - First Ireland through Hibernian. Those prices are using my 8 years UK NCD.

As it is my main and only car (only have access to girlfriend's car as a named driver), I'm looking to find out what companies would be best to call to get a regular (non-classic) policy to have the car insured as a daily driver. I know in the UK a lot of companies will not quote for vehicles in excess of 25/30 years old.

Help!

Cheers,
Rich

ds20prefecture

I believe that First Ireland regular policy (comp) is your best bet. Insurance prices are very high here compared with the UK. What agreed value did you use for the car?

macplaxton

€1000, but in reality it's quite subjective. The car looks like a £500 shed, but it's half-way through a rolling restoration and I've easily spent over £2000 on it (daren't count the receipts).

I understand it being dearer, but I was wondering who out of the regular insurers (if any) touch cars over a certain age, as I've found that in the past it was sometimes cheaper than a specialist policy.

Cheers,
Rich

PS I forgot to add. I was quoted on a normal car policy by AXA €363.

Henry Ford III

I'd be tempted to keep the UK policy tbh.

Might not be entirely legal mind you.

macplaxton

Well the Hibernian quick quote is churning out €531 TPFT / €541 Comp / €551 Comp proctected NCD. So they'll insured oldies.

I would keep the UK insurance, but I'm only supposed to have the vehicle in for 6 months at a time and a 6 month extention (only 35 days EU free) would cost about £140 extra. They would give me an extention for a whole year £262 extra on top of the premium, but that would bring me back round to paying nearly €600. On top of that I'd be paying for MOTs, etc and having to stick it on the boat at least annually.

If I'm resident here for over a year and intending on staying, I'm also supposed to chop in my UK licence for an Irish one exchange. I don't suppose many people do that.

Cheers,
Rich

8~)

Used to be with Hibernian, who were reasonable enough and insured one car as a daily driver. Now with Carole Nash on a classic policy because I have two cars insured, both doing low mileage (one doing 0 miles...!)

Regarding the UK licence - where'd you get the information it has to be traded for an IRL licence after a year's residence?

BTW:
"I would keep the UK insurance, but I'm only supposed to have the vehicle in for 6 months at a time and a 6 month extention (only 35 days EU free) would cost about £140 extra. They would give me an extention for a whole year £262 extra on top of the premium, but that would bring me back round to paying nearly €600. On top of that I'd be paying for MOTs, etc and having to stick it on the boat at least annually."

Congratulations on being responsible. A lot of people pay as little as possible to have a disk on the screen and ignore the fact they may not actually be insured for various reasons.

Rang a guy about a 20 year old Mercedes the other day. First question I had was is it NCTed. Answer: "No, it's on a classic policy and they don't look for the NCT..."

ds20prefecture

Wasn't there something here about Carole Nash's small print meaning your classic was effectively uninsured in normal use?

The policy I got through First Ireland cost me €665 for 10,000miles comprehensive and an agreed value of 15k. My wife & sister are named. I added a second classic for €90.

8~)

Not sure about the CN small print, DS.
I don't think I will reinsure with them though because it seems there is a lot of small print. When I called to enquire about a couple of issues I didn't get clear answers.

Probably go with First Ireland next time around - the deal you got for 665 sounds reasonable.

hi5

€665 seems like a lot to me,about 4 years ago CN were charging about half that,has there been a 100% increase in classic car claims since then?
All other car insurance has gone down in that time.Has anybody questioned these increases?
Did you try the Irish vintage society?

macplaxton

It's looking like I'm going to get an everyday policy with AXA using my maximum NCD from the UK. It will work out around €363 TPFT about €10 more for Comp and €41 more for NCD protection. I may take a classic policy out next year once I've managed to work out the mileage I'm doing here and if I transfer ownership of the girlfriend's car to me and take some insurance out on that as a main driver.

AXA wanted an engineer's report on the vehicle condition every two years, but as it has been recently MOT'd, they'd accept that instead.

The licence information I'd like to get clarification on. I spoke to a supervisor at the Motor Tax office, but it didn't sound right to me. He said I couldn't exchange a category D and if I wanted to exchange C, I'd need a completed medical form. It certainly doesn't work like that in the UK and a valid community licence remains valid until expiry.

Cheers,
Rich

101sean

Been following this with interest. I'm going with AXA on my everyday Land Rover and IVS on my 1975 101. Keeping my UK licence. Should finally get my registration numbers this week nearly 3 months after applying (had no tax for 3 months, chits from VRO office, wouldn't get away with that in UK with all the ANPR cameras )

ds20prefecture

hi5 wrote:

€665 seems like a lot to me,about 4 years ago CN were charging about half that,has there been a 100% increase in classic car claims since then?
All other car insurance has gone down in that time.Has anybody questioned these increases?
Did you try the Irish vintage society?

The cost is because it is my primary car. CN don't insure a classic as a primary car - you must have a policy in your own name. You also must have the car garaged. According to a thread (either here or on Octane) the small print states that it is only covered for theft from your garage between the hours of 9pm and 4am. Also, if you have an accident and someone is fatally injured, CN will only cover damages if that person is between the ages of 17 and 65. Which is just nonsense. How can you have a discriminatory accident?

8~)

I've tried to get a conclusive answer about the UK licence thing but have not succeeded. Main reason I keep mine is that there's no renewal (or fee, rip off!). Other reasons are that I can drive a wider variety of vehicles on the UK licence; the Irish one is more restrictive. Don't wish to sound like a superior foreigner (I'm not) but the fact half the drivers in Ireland have a licence of some description and haven't taken or passed a test makes it all a farce anyway.

The CN policy - 17-65. Sounds a bit odd alright. One of the issues I asked about; if I have my father in law and young child in the car, are they not insured? Could not get a straight answer!

ds20prefecture

I think it also applies if you knock someone down. i.e., only aim for those in the prime of life.

ZV Yoda

On the UK licence thing - I'm Irish but lived in the UK for 3 years. While there, I sat & passed my test (1995). I moved back to Ireland in 1996 & have been driving on the UK licence ever since.

I've never had any probs with insurance on my modern or classic (even though various companies have asked me to send copies over the years).

Also (FWIW), I've had to produce my licence in Ireland a couple of times (speeding / parking ticket). The UK licence has ever been an issue. In fact, one guard was impressed with the fact that I could drive such a wide range of vehicles!

I've also been involved in an accident where I had to claim from my own insurance (Axa at the time). Again, no issue for the UK licence.

As far as I'm aware, according to EU law, there's no requirement for EU citizens to change their licence, although I think there may be an "EU" licence you can get provided you have a full licence from an EU member state.

I got a parking ticket in Dublin about 10 years ago. I was driving the car I brought home from the UK (it was still on UK plates). I lost the parking ticket & when I went in (as a good citizen) to O'Connell St to exaplain my case, I was told to forget about the parking ticket, since there was no way the Gardai could trace my address!! Doubt if this would happen today.

8~)

"I'm Irish but lived in the UK for 3 years. While there, I sat & passed my test (1995). I moved back to Ireland in 1996 & have been driving on the UK licence ever since"

Snap, give or take a year - and I bet there are many more in this position. Recall the economy was lousy in the 80s and early 90s; jobs were scarce and people moved. Then when it started to pick up in the mid 90s, people moved back again.

TigerTim

This probably isn't politically correct. A friend of mine is a delivery driver here in Ireland & has a UK license. He has been caught speeding twice but has got no points on his licence as points don't appear to transfer outside the State. Not sure if that's correct but it's what he told me!!!.

T.

hi5

Me too:) ,but its one of the 10 year creditcard size ones with the photgraph and its due for renewal in 2009,will the DVLA send a UK licence to Ireland with the irish address on it,or am I going to have to surrender it and get a big old floppy Irish thing that wont fit in my wallet?
Could I use a friends address in the UK?

Tiger tim,that is correct,points only on Irish licences(foreign information is not on their computers) but I believe the EU are working on it.

ZV Yoda

Yip- I can confirm (through experience) that the Irish authorities don't generally transfer points to a UK licence.... another reason why I kept the UK one

It is technically possible to do this though - I've been told by 2 (senior) gardai that it's doable - but it takes a lot of paperwork. Your average guard will generally no bother - unless you give them a load of guff!

dollydishmop

macplaxton wrote:

If I'm resident here for over a year and intending on staying, I'm also supposed to chop in my UK licence for an Irish one exchange.

NO NO NO NO...you don't have to do that, it isn't a legal requirement....and (unless the current law changes) ignore, and/or laugh at, any one who suggests you should!

Been living over here 6 years, my partner 7, my HGV classifications are just as legal over here, as is the rest of my licence. And having asked all the relelvent bodies for a definite answer, the recurring theme, was NO I don't have to change my licence.

I still also have the old style paper licence, never bothered to change it for the modern UK photocard jobbie, and apparently I don't have to do this either according to DVLA

macplaxton

Right, back with more info:

RoI points don't get put on a UK licence, but should accumulate on an Irish record which they'll add onto an Irish licence should you ever get one. Instead, (if they can be bothered) they can just send you to court or fine you.

UK licences are valid until expiry. That would be until your 70th birthday for non-vocational licences (A,B) For vocational (C,D) they would need updating with a medical every three years from aged 46.

Although the DVLA stipulate that changes to address MUST notified or be subject to £1000 fine, this DOES NOT apply if you move outside the UK (and they won't accept a non-UK address on the licence anyway)

Paper licences are okay until you need to change them for any reason (e.g. change of address), then you must get a photocard licence.

To hi5, I don't see the problem using a friend's/relative's UK address to relay your renewal.

It'll be a good few years yet before the next EU driving directive gets implemented in member states. If they want to give each other points, there's going to have to be some common agreement on penalties/points. For instance not wearing a seatbelt is not endorsable in the UK, just a £30 fixed penalty or maximum fine of £500.

2cv

I have two licenses, one clean Full Irish license and a belgian license, which shows no address (in Belgium a license isn't accepted as proof of ID, only a passport and an ID card) and most importantly, has no expiry date, it says "permanent". Even if the irish could put points on a foreign license, they wouldn't get far on a belgian one, because Belgium doesn't have a points system.

there is a way you can get an irish license and still keep your original foreign licenses for details send me a message

Dord

So is it possible to insure a classic car on regular car insurance?

I know some companies have restrictions on the age of the car on regular insurance, what companies don't....or are there any?

ds20prefecture

Yes. First Ireland.

3ps

i had my merc on an unlimitied mileage policy (i.e. a normal policy) with First Ireland for 665EUR, but it required an engineers report.

My current car is on a classic policy, 6kmiles/year at 325EUR and no report needed.

Dord

ds20prefecture wrote:

Yes. First Ireland.

I'll give them a call so.

macplaxton

joe robot wrote:

So is it possible to insure a classic car on regular car insurance?

I know some companies have restrictions on the age of the car on regular insurance, what companies don't....or are there any?

As far as I have found for regular[/] policies are:

Insurers:
AXA
Hibernian

Brokers:
First Ireland (underwritten by Hibernian)

Generally in the UK it's 25 years although Norwich Union (owned by Hibernian's parent company Aviva) stretches to 30. Whilst looking at Irish Insurers I found some stipulated as little as 10 years. Some others were 15 or 20.

HTH,
Rich

Dord

I gave First Ireland a call a few minutes ago. They're brokers and they said that the companies they work with generally dont insure anything over 10 years old, some will go to 15.

The girl on the phone start spouting off about how some classics aren't really classics... :mad:

Needless to say, I hung up. :cool:

2cv

achtung jackass wrote:

I gave First Ireland a call a few minutes ago. They're brokers and they said that the companies they work with generally dont insure anything over 10 years old, some will go to 15.

The girl on the phone start spouting off about how some classics aren't really classics... :mad:

Needless to say, I hung up. :cool:

That's a loads of Bull!!! First Ireland provide classic car policies for some of the car clubs in Ireland...

AsphaltRisin'

Get motor trade insurance, I have it and can drive anything i want. anywhere, and any age/mileage per year/make/power/modifications etc.
I'm not a car dealer but family business is in a car related field, so qualify for what is called a "motor trader's policy" from hibernian. My one even covers anyone else who i let drive a car that can be deemed to be legally under my control. just as long as they've got a licence. Dont have to put them on as named driver. Plus it's exactly the same amount of cover when overseas