Classic insurance - companies & brokers

Prefect_1998

selectamatic wrote: »

First Ireland went on a bit of a solo run a few years ago accepting some 15 year old Mercedes, Audi and BMW cars but they've stopped offering this since about late 2017.

Thats what i was going on.. thought they might give an exception. Basically its a death knell for my e39.

Shame

Marlow

danielle_door wrote: »

Thats what i was going on.. thought they might give an exception. Basically its a death knell for my e39.

Not on a mainstream car like the E39 for sure. It would have been for rarer models, like a Z3 maybe.

/M

macplaxton

metricspaces wrote: »

macplaxton wrote: »

I couldn't add Mrs to Autoline policy unless she had her own main car and own main insurance. As the main car and insurance is mine...not a problem really as she doesn't like driving old cars.

If her policy covers driving other cars then she can drive it under her policy?

Just to clarify:

At present she doesn't have a policy. She is a named driver on my main policy.

Usually it isn't an issue to add a spouse as a named driver (rather than just anyone unrelated). Well it wasn't until I had to deal with the Irish insurance market.

w124man

I got my '99 320SL on my Classic Policy last year but only because I've been with AXA for 15 years plus

Prefect_1998

Marlow wrote: »

Not on a mainstream car like the E39 for sure. It would have been for rarer models, like a Z3 maybe.

/M

I dont think the e39 is mainstream now... the tax killed most them. If the internet declared them the most iconic saloon ever made they should make allowances, insurance wise :-).

Marlow

danielle_door wrote: »

I dont think the e39 is mainstream now... the tax killed most them. If the internet declared them the most iconic saloon ever made they should make allowances, insurance wise :-).

What it is now is a different story. The insurances go by what they were, when they were launched, when they define the age at which it becomes a classic.

/M

brsc2909

Does anyone have any experience insuring something like a vintage LR defender (or vintage 4x4s in general)? passenger vehicle or commercial ?

Marlow

brsc2909 wrote: »

Does anyone have any experience insuring something like a vintage LR defender (or vintage 4x4s in general)? passenger vehicle or commercial ?

It depends a bit of the model.

Caroll Nash will only insure it, if it's a CSW. But they won't insure the ones that were registered commercially previously, like a truck cab.

If it's modified, like my own, then Autoline is your best bet. I have a 1985 110 truck cab with Mazda 3.5l SLTi ... and it started life as a 2 1/4 engine, plus a lot of other modifications. So Autoline was the only insurance that was prepared to quote me.

Evita may be another one, but there are limitations to that policy.

/M

brsc2909

Marlow wrote: »

It depends a bit of the model.

Caroll Nash will only insure it, if it's a CSW. But they won't insure the ones that were registered commercially previously, like a truck cab.

If it's modified, like my own, then Autoline is your best bet. I have a 1985 110 truck cab with Mazda 3.5l SLTi ... and it started life as a 2 1/4 engine, plus a lot of other modifications. So Autoline was the only insurance that was prepared to quote me.

Evita may be another one, but there are limitations to that policy.

/M

Were there any limitations with autoline ? do you mind me asking how much ?

FWIW this is what I'm looking at
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rover-Defender-110-Station-Wagon-Camper-Conversion-200tdi-Fully-restored/333439196306

Marlow

brsc2909 wrote: »

Were there any limitations with autoline ? do you mind me asking how much ?

630 EUR/year, fully comp, 5000 mile limit. No limitations otherwise. But as I said, that's because it's highly modified. The engine isn't the only thing, that's changed.

I have another offroader (not Land Rover) without mods for 170 EUR/year with them.

brsc2909 wrote: »

FWIW this is what I'm looking at
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rover-Defender-110-Station-Wagon-Camper-Conversion-200tdi-Fully-restored/333439196306

That is pretty sweet. And because it's based on a CSW, you won't have any issues finding an insurer for that.

/M

Rows Grower

MrCostington wrote: »

I finally took out my first policy yesterday. Living in Dublin, wanted to be able to commute to work nice days, and don't have a garage but do have underground parking. My experiences:

Liberty - just tried online as have daily with them, website said no

Axa - waiting on a callback

Brophy insurance - €440 fully comp but no commuting

Campion * - no commuting, i ended call there

Autoline - no commuting and need garage, underground no good

Carol Nash - need garage

First Ireland (AIG) ticked all boxes and €310 fully comp, 4,000 miles p/a

FBD - on the advice here I went into the Drumcondra office - ticked all boxes and €200 fully comp, no milage limit as such but he put down 10-15k, so I did it there and then and got my cert there.

* just seen from post above that Campion are brokers for FBD so no idea what they said no commuting. I asked thet question twice in FBD and was told it was ok to do so occasionally.

Not sure if not having a garage would have been a problem is getting TP only, or if living elsewhere.


PS I told the guy in FBD about the advice I've seen here and he was very interested! Gave me few cards to give out at shows so he won't mind me putting his details here - Gavin @ FDB Drumcondra 01 428 2266 and he said should be no problem to arrange over phone

I'll be giving Gavin a ring tomorrow for a quote.

I am with Carole Nash until next week, they wrote to me last week and rang me today.

They want to increase the premium from last year despite no accidents, incidents or penalty points ever in 30 odd years of driving. I am insured to drive commercial, private and vintage.

I was given a written quote of 273 for fully comp and a quote of 167 for third party which in very small print in brackets stated excluding fees, charges and additional products.

The man who rang me today was the epitome of the call center employee from hell, he fully expected me to just confirm renewal over the phone and his attitude got so bad when I didn't that I can only surmise he has already handed in his notice.

I asked him to give me the total cost of third party cover and he said "we don't do third party fire and theft" I said "yeah but I have a written quote from you for third party cover that has hidden extras, what is the total cost to me going to be?"

It took him a few minutes before he came back with a quote that was 5 euro more expensive than fully comp and he wanted to know did I want to go ahead with it. I asked him to repeat the two figures to be sure what I heard was right and he did with the explanation "Yeah, it can happen".

I'm waiting for customer service to reply to my email request for a transcript copy of the call before I decide what my next step will be but I will follow this up until I get a proper explanation.

FirstIn

I think the insurance companies need to be wise. I’ve a Hillman Imp. It’s a proper classic. No way one could use it as a daily driver.

People trying to insure cars as classic , many on limited mileage which is flaunted as they use the cars every day, which are clearly not a classic should be called out and stopped. They jeopardise the real enthusiast.

A simple questionnaire -
Answering YES to these questions.
1: is your car likely to start every morning ?
2: would you feel confident it could drive from Dublin to cork without breaking down?
Answering NO to this
1: do you celebrate arriving at your destination?

Means you should NOT get a classic policy.

I’m being flippant. But seriously. Cars should be proper classics to qualify for classic policies. A second car is a different thing.

Someone will ask ; what do you define as a classic? The insurance companies should publish lists based on rarity , value etc. Another thing. They should ask for proof of miles covered. Easily done for cars post 1980 from NCT certs. (Though of course some will tamper with their speedos!)

henjin

I am on DAY2 trying to find insurance for my freshly imported japanese van 1998 4x4 Toyota Hiace Pick-up Firetruck.
Has 8000Km on the clock...looks like it came out of the factory yesterday and took 10min to get its DOE last week.
And now i am devastated that i cant find insurance for it.
Glad i found this forum here, which gives me some hope for tomorrow.
From the looks of it i have to play "the classic insurance" card with Autoline...even though i would like to have a commercial own goods insurance. Anyhow im 38 of age 8years no claims bonus. Have a commercial insurance with my run around van. I am a named driver on my wifes car and we have a campervan insurance . Any thoughts are much appriciated, thanks.

picture of the truck:
https://ibb.co/4MwGnCm

kaizersoze

henjin wrote: »

I am on DAY2 trying to find insurance for my freshly imported japanese van 1998 4x4 Toyota Hiace Pick-up Firetruck.
Has 8000Km on the clock...looks like it came out of the factory yesterday and took 10min to get its DOE last week.
And now i am devastated that i cant find insurance for it.
Glad i found this forum here, which gives me some hope for tomorrow.
From the looks of it i have to play "the classic insurance" card with Autoline...even though i would like to have a commercial own goods insurance. Anyhow im 38 of age 8years no claims bonus. Have a commercial insurance with my run around van. I am a named driver on my wifes car and we have a campervan insurance . Any thoughts are much appriciated, thanks.

picture of the truck:
https://ibb.co/4MwGnCm

Same as myself. I went with Autoline on my classic as detailed already. They also confirmed that insuring a commercial over 20 years old is no problem but any kind of business use or towing a trailer is prohibited on the policy.

At least you will get it on the road and i found them great to deal with.

Alkers

Has anyone got an autoline policy while only a named driver on another car?
My daily is a motorcycle so I have a policy on that also.
Do the autoline policies accumulate NCB?

macplaxton

Alkers wrote: »

Do the autoline policies accumulate NCB?

No

macplaxton

FirstIn wrote: »

I think the insurance companies need to be wise. I’ve a Hillman Imp. It’s a proper classic. No way one could use it as a daily driver.

People trying to insure cars as classic , many on limited mileage which is flaunted as they use the cars every day, which are clearly not a classic should be called out and stopped. They jeopardise the real enthusiast.

A simple questionnaire -
Answering YES to these questions.
1: is your car likely to start every morning ?
2: would you feel confident it could drive from Dublin to cork without breaking down?
Answering NO to this
1: do you celebrate arriving at your destination?

Means you should NOT get a classic policy.

I’m being flippant. But seriously. Cars should be proper classics to qualify for classic policies. A second car is a different thing.

Someone will ask ; what do you define as a classic? The insurance companies should publish lists based on rarity , value etc. Another thing. They should ask for proof of miles covered. Easily done for cars post 1980 from NCT certs. (Though of course some will tamper with their speedos!)

I've used a Hillman Imp as a daily driver - but it was about 30 years ago!

I used to have a UK classic car policy with Footman James - it was unlimited mileage. It was originally 3000 miles or something, but when I put a car over 30 yo onto it, it automatically became unlimited. At the time I was told something like the premium is the same as a 6k limit, but hardly anyone is actually going to be doing megamiles in a plus 30 yo car...That policy didn't even require a main car. It's great when you have a developed and competitive market.

So what's a "proper classic"? I certainly remember when the Hillman Imp wasn't one. What I've seen is this: In the past pretty much anything over 25 years old, could get a limited mileage cherished/classic/collectors policy on it, usually as a second vehicle. Now is a different ball game with the underwriting gods deciding what is and isn't and they're not even coming up with the same answer - and some pretty flaky reasoning.

What's a "real enthusiast"? One could argue that someone that daily drivers a 40+ year old motor is using the thing as it was intended and has balls for keeping up with the maintenance and getting to their destination is the real deal rather than the trailer queen. Horses for courses and there's a place for both.

Titzon Toast

FirstIn wrote: »

I think the insurance companies need to be wise. I’ve a Hillman Imp. It’s a proper classic. No way one could use it as a daily driver.

People trying to insure cars as classic , many on limited mileage which is flaunted as they use the cars every day, which are clearly not a classic should be called out and stopped. They jeopardise the real enthusiast.

A simple questionnaire -
Answering YES to these questions.
1: is your car likely to start every morning ?
2: would you feel confident it could drive from Dublin to cork without breaking down?
Answering NO to this
1: do you celebrate arriving at your destination?

Means you should NOT get a classic policy.

I’m being flippant. But seriously. Cars should be proper classics to qualify for classic policies. A second car is a different thing.

Someone will ask ; what do you define as a classic? The insurance companies should publish lists based on rarity , value etc. Another thing. They should ask for proof of miles covered. Easily done for cars post 1980 from NCT certs. (Though of course some will tamper with their speedos!)

That sounds like a load of nonsense to me. Who are you to judge what is and isn't a "proper classic"?
I think it's a generational thing. People want the cars that were hot when they were growing up.
For me, that's hot hatches, fast Fords and 80s & 90s JDM cars.
Things move on and tastes change.

Rows Grower

Rows Grower wrote: »

I'll be giving Gavin a ring tomorrow for a quote.

I am with Carole Nash until next week, they wrote to me last week and rang me today.

They want to increase the premium from last year despite no accidents, incidents or penalty points ever in 30 odd years of driving. I am insured to drive commercial, private and vintage.

I was given a written quote of 273 for fully comp and a quote of 167 for third party which in very small print in brackets stated excluding fees, charges and additional products.

The man who rang me today was the epitome of the call center employee from hell, he fully expected me to just confirm renewal over the phone and his attitude got so bad when I didn't that I can only surmise he has already handed in his notice.

I asked him to give me the total cost of third party cover and he said "we don't do third party fire and theft" I said "yeah but I have a written quote from you for third party cover that has hidden extras, what is the total cost to me going to be?"

It took him a few minutes before he came back with a quote that was 5 euro more expensive than fully comp and he wanted to know did I want to go ahead with it. I asked him to repeat the two figures to be sure what I heard was right and he did with the explanation "Yeah, it can happen".

I'm waiting for customer service to reply to my email request for a transcript copy of the call before I decide what my next step will be but I will follow this up until I get a proper explanation.

FBD for the win and many thanks MrCostigan.

I didn't get through to the Gavmiester himself but dealt with his colleague Terry who is another man on top of his game and a pleasure to deal with.

FBD beat Carole Nash by 20% on fully comprehensive cover which conveniently covers the car tax for the year.

They also quoted for third party fire and theft which Carole Nash do not.

Carole Nash wanted a whopping 168% of what FBD quoted for third party cover the difference of which would tax the car for two years and leave some change.

henjin

henjin wrote: »

I am on DAY2 trying to find insurance for my freshly imported japanese van 1998 4x4 Toyota Hiace Pick-up Firetruck.
Has 8000Km on the clock...looks like it came out of the factory yesterday and took 10min to get its DOE last week.
And now i am devastated that i cant find insurance for it.
Glad i found this forum here, which gives me some hope for tomorrow.
From the looks of it i have to play "the classic insurance" card with Autoline...even though i would like to have a commercial own goods insurance. Anyhow im 38 of age 8years no claims bonus. Have a commercial insurance with my run around van. I am a named driver on my wifes car and we have a campervan insurance . Any thoughts are much appriciated, thanks.

picture of the truck:
https://ibb.co/4MwGnCm

UPDATE: only insurer that quoted now was Autoline , 410Eur with 5000miles limit private use and cant be driven between 10pm-6am. My own commercial insurance for my daily was accepted. Feels very limited what i can do with this vehicle. In the process writing the governing body Insurance Ireland that i cant get proper insurance...according to a broker they will asign an insurance company that has to insure the vehicle and do a case study...i might not like the price tag...but i try everything! I really wonder how those vintage food trucks are insured for example...

Working class heroes

henjin wrote: »

UPDATE: only insurer that quoted now was Autoline , 410Eur with 5000miles limit private use and cant be driven between 10pm-6am. My own commercial insurance for my daily was accepted. Feels very limited what i can do with this vehicle. In the process writing the governing body Insurance Ireland that i cant get proper insurance...according to a broker they will asign an insurance company that has to insure the vehicle and do a case study...i might not like the price tag...but i try everything! I really wonder how those vintage food trucks are insured for example...

Here’s a suggestion.

Transfer ownership of hiace to wife.
Wife takes out classic insurance on hiace as she already has a main policy.
Wife adds you as a name driver on classic insurance.

deckie27

henjin wrote: »

cant be driven between 10pm-6am...

WOW

first time I heard that one

Dr Dave

Titzon Toast wrote: »

That sounds like a load of nonsense to me. Who are you to judge what is and isn't a "proper classic"?
I think it's a generational thing. People want the cars that were hot when they were growing up.
For me, that's hot hatches, fast Fords and 80s & 90s JDM cars.
Things move on and tastes change.

I agree.
It's whatever you reminisce about and brings joy to you and a smile to your face on a jaunt. Most of the "modern classics" I have in the shed, which I hope will see road sometime, I would drive long distance. Fiat Coupe 20VT. Alfa 916 GTV & Spider, Cinquecento Sporting, Boxy Panda 750cc.
But none of these are on the Carole Nash / Axa Insurance list.

If you want to put restrictions on peoples classics, how about only those who can repair and maintain the cars themselves - true motorists.
Don't think that would go down well, nor should it.

kaizersoze

deckie27 wrote: »

WOW

first time I heard that one

Needs to be garaged overnight. They consider overnight between those hours but they don't mean you cant drive it. Just that it can't be parked in the drive. That's my interpretation of it anyway.

I'm after going through all the policy documents and there is no mention of the garaged overnight restriction but it was detailed on the phone to me.

henjin

henjin wrote: »

I am on DAY2 trying to find insurance for my freshly imported japanese van 1998 4x4 Toyota Hiace Pick-up Firetruck.
Has 8000Km on the clock...looks like it came out of the factory yesterday and took 10min to get its DOE last week.
And now i am devastated that i cant find insurance for it.
Glad i found this forum here, which gives me some hope for tomorrow.
From the looks of it i have to play "the classic insurance" card with Autoline...even though i would like to have a commercial own goods insurance. Anyhow im 38 of age 8years no claims bonus. Have a commercial insurance with my run around van. I am a named driver on my wifes car and we have a campervan insurance . Any thoughts are much appriciated, thanks.

picture of the truck:
https://ibb.co/4MwGnCm

UPDATE NO.2: Just in case it might be of interest to someone one day that will be in the same situation as me. I gladly can say now, that my 22year young japanese import got commercially insured with AXA for the same price as the classical insurance with Autoline...what a relieve..i just got my life back....its worth sometimes to ring an insurance company twice. safe driving everyone!

Titzon Toast

Dr Dave wrote: »

I agree.
It's whatever you reminisce about and brings joy to you and a smile to your face on a jaunt. Most of the "modern classics" I have in the shed, which I hope will see road sometime, I would drive long distance. Fiat Coupe 20VT. Alfa 916 GTV & Spider, Cinquecento Sporting, Boxy Panda 750cc.
But none of these are on the Carole Nash / Axa Insurance list.

If you want to put restrictions on peoples classics, how about only those who can repair and maintain the cars themselves - true motorists.
Don't think that would go down well, nor should it.

Yep, you were right to stash all of those away imho. If I had any decent storage space I'd have loads of 90s cars squirreled away myself.

kadman

Will they ever introduce a multi car policy to cover my daily plus all my classics
under the one policy.............or am i away with the fairies:rolleyes::rolleyes:

macplaxton

kadman wrote: »

Will they ever introduce a multi car policy to cover my daily plus all my classics
under the one policy.............or am i away with the fairies:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Nope, but you could move over the water where they do such a thing :pac:

Dr Dave

macplaxton wrote: »

Nope, but you could move over the water where they do such a thing :pac:

Whats that I hear you say?
Lack of real competition resulting in cartels is it?

macplaxton

You might say so, but I couldn't possibly comment..

Putting aside the absolute cost (because we all know how dirt cheap classic insurance in the UK is, and if you don't, you're better off not knowing). When I had one car on a policy there it was price x. When I later added a second, it happened to be still price x. The ins and outs of the policy, market changes and adding other cars meant that at a later stage it had 5 over 20 yo cars (age range of those 5 being 20 to 43) and was about x + 90%. So over about 15 years we arrive at premium y not quite doubled.

The classic scheme maxed out at 5 vehicles with this insurer (unlimited mileage), but the multicar scheme could take any number. The premium for 6 was about y + 50% with a 10k pool limit (and optionally x + 100% for unlimited miles). Later a 7th car was added along with a 2nd additional driver (~4% + admin). Half way through the year an 8th car was introduced to the pool (but despite being 23 yo wasn't a classic to the underwriting gods) and incurred an additional fee to the end of the policy of another 50% of y. Still very reasonable, still one policy, but relatively hefty that 1/8 of the pool accounts for 1/3 of the cost.

It'd be handy to have that product flexibility here.