12 replies to this topic

[jane]

Hi Folks,

I need to insure a 1988 mini and I'm looking for advice or experiences of classic car insurance policies and the companies themselves. I've read through a few previous posts, most people seem to be talking about Footman James and that they can be cheap... I'm not necessarily looking for the cheapest policy, rather the most reputable company, (and the one that won’t try to scrap my mini in the event of an accident!!)

Has anyone used Adrian Flux? Or is Footman James the best option? Both quotes are a similar price, but like I said it's not just about cost...

Also, this is probably a silly question, but what are the main benefits of taking out a classic car policy? I understand that you obtain an agreed value for the car, so would this be the main benefit?

TIA

[chrisls]

I've been insured with Footman james, Adrian flux, and now Lancaster.

All three have been fine when getting quotes, paying, changing the policy etc. Only made a non fault claim with footman james which wasn't really an issue.

I don't have a bad word about any of them, but as is usual with these things someone will have had problems with all three...

[Darkscamp]

I'm insured with Peter James Insurance, they specialize in classic policies and will also insure a more modern vehicle if you have a policy with them.

http://www.peterjamesinsurance.co.uk/

I've just payed a £110 renewal which is £10 cheaper than my policy last year

Included in that is;

Fully Comprehensive Cover
Driving other vehicles,
Breakdown cover as standard with 6 callouts
Legal Cover,
Stereo Cover,
Agreed Valuation,
and a couple of other perks i cant remember off the top of my head.

They came in at £130 cheaper than Footman James and i must say that they seem like a very good company who understand all the mods etc that we do to our Classics. All the changes i declared did not affect the premium at all. I found it easier to call them for a quote as they also discussed how dropping my yearly mileage limit by just 1 mile, actually dropped the premuim by £20

[ibrooks]

Avoid Flux like the plague - they've tried to con me twice and I had to involve the ombudsman to get money back on one occasion (on the other occasion I had to threaten to do so). On neither of these occasions had I actually had to make a claim - they either took more than the agreed amount from my card or didn't provide the cover I had asked for. I know other people who have had similar experiences - some got their money back and some were stung. One of my experiences left me at work with an un-insured car on the car-park.

I've been insured with Footman James and had no problems but then I haven't had to claim with them either.

Iain

[jane]

Thanks for the replies.


Can anyone tell me what the main benefit is of having classic insurance as opposed to a normal policy?

Thanks

[Darkscamp]

Agreed valuation is one of the main perks.

They will pay out an agreed value that was arranged at the start of the policy based on current prices, which depending on your mini, could be in the thousands. Where as a normal policy will only pay out what the parkers price guide for a mini states, which i think is about £400

[jane]

A quick question... are Footman James not very good/quick at answering emails? I've emailed them twice now and had no reply... I will of course have to ring them, but it's not really giving me much confidence if they can't reply to an email asking questions about taking out a policy...

[mini_legend]

hey, i'm with them and in the 6 months i've been with them I have emailed them about 4 or 5 times and I have had very prompt replies

Cheers
JK

[AVV IT]

As far as I know Footman James, Adrian Flux and Lancaster are all specialist brokers, they are not underwriting insurance company themselves. Therefore the smoothness of any potential claim will always depend largely upon the particular insurer they have arranged your policy through. For example Footman James provide many of their classic policies through "Equity Red Star", but then I understand that they also use other insurers such as "Highway" too, who are a division of Liverpool Victoria Insurance. It's true that in the modern insurance market some brokers do play a part in handling the preliminary administration involved in claims on the insurers behalf, but ultimately all the decision making and the settlement itself will still always remain with the underwriting insurance company, which of course can vary greatly from insurer to insurer.

Edited by AVV IT, 08 April 2011 - 09:42 PM.

[jane]

I'm having no joy with Footman James at all, I've emailed them twice and no reply! Tried ringing and I can't get through. Having doubt about this company...

[AVV IT]

That's odd I've always found their customer service to be top notch in my dealings with them, but then there have been quite a few threads here recently recommending them for their very competitive premiums, so maybe be they're a bit inundated as the moment??

[Scallywag630]

That's odd I've always found their customer service to be top notch in my dealings with them, but then there have been quite a few threads here recently recommending them for their very competitive premiums, so maybe be they're a bit inundated as the moment??

+1 I'm with them and have had good service always.

[jane]

You could well be right, maybe they're very busy.

Tried Lancaster in the meantime and got an online quote for £103. Quite good how you can select modifications in the quote process too.