Classic car insurance policy. Who do you use?
 

My classic car insurance policy is due for renewal on the Typhoon. I've used Peter Best insurance for the last 3 years but it's time to find someone else as their premium has just gone up every year.

My first year with them my quote was just under £200. The following year after the company had a change of management the premium jumped to £325. Then £340 last year and now I've been quoted £375 on my renewal.

That's just for a 3000 mile limited mileage policy agreed value at £6k.

So time to shop around for better quotes. Would have done it the last 2 years but just didn't have the time.

Any recommended classic car policy insurers out there? Who are you using and how much are you paying if you don't mind saying?

Cheers

When I had my Renault 21 I used Lancaster insurance for my classic policy.

Worth a look.

Hi Rick,
The MG Car Club has an insurance link with Cherished.
we have 3 cars with them now.

just renewed at £116 via comparethemarket with RAC 400 miles annually

400 or 4000 miles ?

Is it all down to postcode with classic car policies too ?

Yu are correct - 4000 miles RAC £116 it's not a classic car policy. I looked at multi car insurance but it still seems to be cheaper to insure each car separately. And yes we live in a postcode that is less expensive for car insurance.

Hi,when I got my V8 I found Lancaster to be competitive,agreed value,annual 3000 mileage,cost me £198.It is under Ageas cover,so maybe go direct to them?
Regards Ry.....

My mini cooper S was with Adrian Flux for over 20 years until they massively under valued it. I switched to Footman James and they were very good.

I have Ageus on both my ZTT V8 and my Jensen, the agreed value of the Jensen is very high and I am still only paying £175 with 5k miles and it kept in a garage.


I always use the local broker because if there is a problem they can sourt it out and I am not spending hours on the phone { we have all been there}, yes there is a small fee but worth every penny in my view. Also a local broker will know who gives the best rates in your area.

I have 4 classics insured with Peter James Insurance inc my new R75. Total cost is about 250 quid with agreed values, unlimited mileage and European breakdown cover. Might be cheaper elsewhere but I've always been happy with them. I believe Peter James was the 'James' in Footman James before he left and set up on his own.

Gosh that's exceptionally cheap. I will try them

Ah, is that right? I'm with Footman James & have five cars on my policy for £400 with unlimited mileage, the European breakdown has been discontinued. I've had the policy for more years than l care to remember, the price has been fairly static over that time & l've had a couple of claims over the years. So far they won't add the 75 to the policy but l'll try again this year as she's twenty years old now. I don't like limited mileage policies & should be down to four cars this year so l might give Peter Best a try.

Just moved my multicar insurance to Lancaster. 3000 miles 13k agreed value MGZT SE V8 plus 1500 miles 7k agreed value on my MGB for £262.
Arranged it last year - think you won't get any intro deal for new customers now with new car insurance laws.

I thought if you went with one of these companies you would not be eligible for a no claims discount.
Rev.

I'm on a Multicar policy alongside my wife's car and we are paying something like £400 for both, think mine is £165 for the year doing 5000 miles a year, not commuting as I'm working from home (2004 Conny CDTI), when I got my renewal through from my previous insurer it was going to be about £400 for my 75 alone!

On my insurance certificate it does say "no claims discount 0%" but still a good price

Once the resto' of my Sunbeam Imp Sport is completed the insurance will go up a bit to reflect the value.

That's the case with mine.

I have another car on a classic policy with agreed value which works well.

I did also have my 75 on a classic policy until recently when I moved to a regular policy. You don't tend to build-up NCB on a classic policy, and unless there are other reasons for going classic such as having many cars or wanting agreed value, then I found getting a fresh quote each year for a regular policy on CompareTheMeerkat was cheaper than keeping the classic policy, even after dropping back to low NCB and also I'm now building up NCB again on this policy which will be useful if I ever change the 75.

Classic cover works well, but does have some disadvantages and worth also looking at regular quotes on-line as some of these can be good value.

I've not looked into Classic vehicle cover as my current comprehensive with Esure is quite reasonable (> £200).
My question however is does qualification for 'Classic' status depend on the actual year of manufacture or on the first year of manufacture of the/a specific model/marque?- I've a Mk2 2004 Contemporary so do I have to wait a couple more years...

I think it depends on the company. I'd also advise to also call them rather than rely on online form filling. Online with Peter Best was something ridiculous around £600!

Lancaster - try them
Peter Best used to be good but don't give competitive quotes to new customers any more sadly.

Just to add that recently I had my Jag damaged by someone leaving there handbrake off when parking and Esure were really quick and helpful.
Hopefully when I come to renew they haven't hiked up my premiums. If so I might be singing a different song.....

That's a funny way of attracting new business, particularly if it's specialist/niche customers you're targeting. Maybe they've caught a 'classic' cold or it's just too risky for underwriters.

It depends on the car you are trying to put on a classic policy. If several of the type have been stolen or total losses especially on an agreed value policy this puts the risk up a lot, several years ago Two Jensens were stolen, one got written off in an accident and one caught fire. My policy went up over 40% for the following year.

With Peter best I allowed my policy to elapse and when I went to renew got a nasty surprise. I think the 75 deals they were offering were in turn underwritten by another company, someone like hiscox insurance. The two companies ended their deal but agreed to continue allowing existing customers to renew benefitting from their very competitive price plus a couple of percent extra each year.
Some insurers are competitive with 2nd car insurance on limited miles without ncb discount. These are not sold as classic policies.

It's always been the case that you don't get NCB with classic policies but at £400 per year for a policy that l've had seven cars on at one point, l've never cared.
On it presently l have my P5B, P6B, two four-pot P6's & my A60 estate.

It's only since l've had the 75 that l've had a separate policy for my daily car. :shrug: