Car insurance

[GK5268]

Worth a reminder that if you insure your A7 through RH Specialist Vehicle Insurance that you can add other classic cars to the existing policy.

My 1965 Rover P6's insurance is due early in the New Year and Lancaster sent the quote through (cheaper than last year) but I have never shopped around and this year I thought I would see what RH could do.

I filled an on-line quotation request yesterday and they phoned this afternoon, and the renewal premium was less than a fiver!!! Ok, this is only until the existing policy expires in February, but the annual premium is just slightly more than Lancaster (about £8.00 dearer), BUT Lancaster charge a valuation fee of £18.00 AND a hefty £49.50 arrangement fee, so quite a bit of a saving.

I have all my cars with business use, when the current Rover policy expires, all my classic cars will be under a single policy with RH and cutting out Lancaster's extra charges mean that the savings will effectively give me one car's insurance for free, now that can't be bad!

[Ray White]

I now have my 1926 Dodge Brothers tourer and my 1930 Austin Swallow on the same policy. It make sense.

I must say that RH paid out on a big claim that I made with the Dodge and I was allowed to employ a genuine coach builders to do a proper traditional panel beating job of straightening the rear wing without the usual plastering of filler. It looks fantastic.

Wilkinsons of Derby (I know the owner) are Aston Martin specialists so they know how to do a proper job but they don't come cheap.

[Nick Lettington]

One small caveat on this... be sure to check you have cover for both vehicles. When I ADDED a Series 2 Land Rover, the very helpful person from RH mistakenly cancelled the insurance on my 7, assuming it was a replacement. As I got the new certificate in the post with a lot of other familiar paperwork, I didn't check every detail, so I didn't find out until the next renewal a few months later (though I guess this could happen with any insurer.)

Ultimately my responsibility I know, and I'll not be drawn on whether I drove uninsured for three months or so... Still, a miss is as good as a mile!

[Chris KC]

One small caveat on this... be sure to check you have cover for both vehicles. When I ADDED a Series 2 Land Rover, the very helpful person from RH mistakenly cancelled the insurance on my 7, assuming it was a replacement. As I got the new certificate in the post with a lot of other familiar paperwork, I didn't check every detail, so I didn't find out until the next renewal a few months later (though I guess this could happen with any insurer.)

Ultimately my responsibility I know, and I'll not be drawn on whether I drove uninsured for three months or so... Still, a miss is as good as a mile!

I confess when my papers came through I assumed my policy had renewed on direct debit but I was not entirely correct. After a while you get a stern letter from the motor insurers' database but it may well come too late.

[Steve Jones]

I've had a number of issues with various insurers over the years regarding renewals paid for but not properly actioned. I now always check the Motor Insurance Database after renewal as a matter of course to make sure it says 'insured'.

Steve

[Roger Goldthorpe]

One small caveat on this... be sure to check you have cover for both vehicles. When I ADDED a Series 2 Land Rover, the very helpful person from RH mistakenly cancelled the insurance on my 7, assuming it was a replacement. As I got the new certificate in the post with a lot of other familiar paperwork, I didn't check every detail, so I didn't find out until the next renewal a few months later (though I guess this could happen with any insurer.)

Ultimately my responsibility I know, and I'll not be drawn on whether I drove uninsured for three months or so... Still, a miss is as good as a mile!

I confess when my papers came through I assumed my policy had renewed on direct debit but I was not entirely correct. After a while you get a stern letter from the motor insurers' database but it may well come too late.

My ‘other’ cars tax and insurance are six months apart and the insurance is paid by direct debit. On one occasion all the paperwork came through at the appropriate time so all was fine until I tried to tax the car on line six months later.  DVLA had no record of the car being insured. Call to insure revealed that they had failed to take the payment out of the bank and therefore I was indeed not insured. I should have checked my bank account more carefully but it isn’t always obvious with so many direct debits and standing orders.
 
So be warned it isn’t just ‘the small print’ that one needs to read!
 
Roger

[Austin Carr]

[quote pid='20941' dateline='1545406029']
My ‘other’ cars tax and insurance are six months apart and the insurance is paid by direct debit. On one occasion all the paperwork came through at the appropriate time so all was fine until I tried to tax the car on line six months later.  DVLA had no record of the car being insured. Call to insure revealed that they had failed to take the payment out of the bank and therefore I was indeed not insured. I should have checked my bank account more carefully but it isn’t always obvious with so many direct debits and standing orders.
 
So be warned it isn’t just ‘the small print’ that one needs to read!
 
Roger

[/quote]

That would have been an interesting situation if you had been stopped by the police, with the insurance company failing to take the money but still issuing the certificate.

[Julian Hunt]

I also insure my "modern" car with Richardson Hosken and I have found the recovery service (which forms part of the cover) to be very useful and efficient. Plus it saves on separate cover.

[Reckless Rat]

Be thankful you dont live in Rekkersland where multicar policies are things fairy tales are made from. I do have the RP insured with a specialist and it only costs 44€ but thats for basic 3rd party. There is roadside recovery but only to a repairer, not home. All the "moderns" have to be insued separately. They are all 3rd party with restricted "kilometrage" of 8000km per year. The cheapest is for the C15 van which came in last renewal at 220€

[Roger Goldthorpe]

[quote pid='20941' dateline='1545406029']
My ‘other’ cars tax and insurance are six months apart and the insurance is paid by direct debit. On one occasion all the paperwork came through at the appropriate time so all was fine until I tried to tax the car on line six months later.  DVLA had no record of the car being insured. Call to insure revealed that they had failed to take the payment out of the bank and therefore I was indeed not insured. I should have checked my bank account more carefully but it isn’t always obvious with so many direct debits and standing orders.
 
So be warned it isn’t just ‘the small print’ that one needs to read!
 
Roger

That would have been an interesting situation if you had been stopped by the police, with the insurance company failing to take the money but still issuing the certificate.
[/quote]

There was no insurance certificate issued.
 
The paperwork was the usual 20 pages or so of policy inclusions exclusions etc with the covering letter telling me ‘you have nothing to do your insurance will be automatically renewed on…….’ So I did nothing.
 
The insurers did say that as it was their error they would have stood any claim against me during the time I wasn’t insured. As insurance can’t be backdated they did not make a charge for the period I wasn’t covered.
 
I wonder however if there had been a claim if the insurer would have honoured their word.