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J v UK Insurance


Need4Speed
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We've been putting up with all this bollocks about J-Spec being more expensive to insure than UK for too long. Can anyone give me a valid reason for the difference. I've bought parts from my local Toyota dealer with no problems, my chassis no. is on the UK parts computers, the cars are the same, so why the insurance rip-off. Is anybody else interested in approaching the insurance worlsd to rectify this. I can understand Skylines & FTOs having high premiums because they weren't sold here, but Supras were.

 

WE'RE BEEING FLEECED!

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It is out of order really, as you say no real difference in repair or parts costs.

All I can think of is the claim/accident history of J-specs must be higher? I don't think the insurance companies will back down though, it would be better trying to convince one that if they gave J's a fairer deal then they'd make an awfull lot of money.

 

Anyway, just to rub it in I've just renewed my UKTT for £450 with exhaust and wheels declared :D

 

Paul

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The last time I renewed I asked why an import is more expensive to insure when it's no more difficult or expensive to buy parts from a Toyota garage. He said that the insurers were stung by the early imports that were brought in an crashed where parts took months to come in the country and cost a fortune. Most decided to black list them leaving only a couple of companies willing to take the risk and charge what they wanted. Apparently they're becoming less hostile now and in a couple of years the premiums will align....

 

I think that's rubbish myself. I'm sure some sort of deal was struck between UK manufacturers and the insurers to make imports less desirable by making them excessively expensive to insure. There's no justification for it.

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Originally posted by Nick

I think that's rubbish myself. I'm sure some sort of deal was struck between UK manufacturers and the insurers to make imports less desirable by making them excessively expensive to insure. There's no justification for it.

you've hit the nail on the head there m8:(

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Aerotop Dave

 

I'm over 40 so the young driver thing doesn't apply to me:eek:

 

With a few mods to my car it is always over £1000 to insure. There are a lot of people out there who just won't touch personal imports. If it wasn't for imports there wouldn't be enough Supras left for Toyota to stock the parts!

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But that just calls into question the company you're using.

 

You could be paying £600+ more than you need to. That kind of variance indicates that it's vital to shop around.

 

I have my side skirts and alloys declared, admitedly no engine mods, but that doesn't account for the huge difference. Infact, I've just remembered that the lower mileage only took about £50 off (down from 'unrestricted' to 5000 a year). And mine's not even stored in a garage.

 

So why are you paying so much?

 

Insurance can be a minefield, and I know that the only two things that will definitely put the price up no matter who you go with are NOS and fitting a roll cage.

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Originally posted by John Packham

30% power hike and J-spec. I've got 50% NCD though.

 

Can anybody explain why fitting a roll-cage should increase your insurance premium?

 

Yeah, they like any excuse to put your premium up. You dont think that fitting anything extra is gonna save you money do you?! :)

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I have a J-spec and got full no claims, busines use, protected no claims, no mileage limit all for £630 with direct line...could i get this cheaper elsewhere when it comes up for renewal? whats elephant??

Also....just read that mods can whack it up some....i am considering a few mods...will it really go that high?

I maybe better to spend my money on a holiday!!:cool: do i really need an induction kit and exhaust??? :devil:

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Originally posted by John Packham

Can anybody explain why fitting a roll-cage should increase your insurance premium?

 

If you fit a rollcage you're implying that there's a good chance you're going to roll the car. That's usually gonna mean big repair bills and thus big insurance claims.

 

Effectively you're saying 'There's a good chance I'm going to have a crash'.

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I would take a rollcage to mean motorsport use where the insurance wouldn't pay-up anyway. I doubt anybody fits a rollcage because they think they're going to roll the car. The ones I've seen in Supras are just for looks anyway. They certainly wouldn't help in a real roll.

 

As most J-spec Supras are pushing 7 or more years old and have a book value of not a lot over £10k, the insurance companies are going to write off anything major, rollcage or not. And as a UK car has a higher market value, the insurance on a J-spec should actually be less not more. I think I'll try that argument when I renew.

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Guest Sakura

I am a new member looking to get my first Supra soon, but have experience of import insurance with my Mitsu Pajero IC which I have had for 4 years. Never had a problem insuring it with Liverpool Victoria from day 1. When I rang them to check changing my current Shogun Pinin to a Supra (import) I was amazed to find it would be cheaper and I will get a refund. Even more amazed to hear that they are only interested in being notified about engine mods, and any body kit/wheel mods don't count and they don't care!

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Originally posted by John Packham

I would take a rollcage to mean motorsport use where the insurance wouldn't pay-up anyway. I doubt anybody fits a rollcage because they think they're going to roll the car. The ones I've seen in Supras are just for looks anyway. They certainly wouldn't help in a real roll.

Probably motorsport or track days.

Remarkable how many bikes that are binned on a track day find their way to a ditch on a public road close to the race circuit though!

Maybe a bit more difficult with a car, but you see what I'm getting at :)

 

BTW. With Direct Line online quote, UK and Jap cars are the same price. (Or they were last January)

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Originally posted by John Packham

I would take a rollcage to mean motorsport use where the insurance wouldn't pay-up anyway. I doubt anybody fits a rollcage because they think they're going to roll the car. The ones I've seen in Supras are just for looks anyway. They certainly wouldn't help in a real roll.

 

Without wishing to sound rude, that's a daft thing to say. I'm sure there are SOME people who fit a rollcage because they suspect they will roll it. And if you were an insurance man and the person said 'I've fitted a rollcage, but it's just for show' would you believe them?

 

And we're not talking about track use are we - why would someone doing track day use be asking about road use insurance?

 

Think about it - we're talking about road car insurance. When you phone up for a quote and say you've fitted a rollcage, they aren't going to accept that it's just for cosmetic use. A rollcage is there to protect you in a roll - there aren't that many around, they aren't a particularly 'pretty' mod, thus suggesting that someone would only fit one if they did indeed expect to roll the car.

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Originally posted by John Packham

We've been putting up with all this bollocks about J-Spec being more expensive to insure than UK for too long. Can anyone give me a valid reason for the difference. I've bought parts from my local Toyota dealer with no problems, my chassis no. is on the UK parts computers, the cars are the same, so why the insurance rip-off. Is anybody else interested in approaching the insurance worlsd to rectify this. I can understand Skylines & FTOs having high premiums because they weren't sold here, but Supras were.

 

WE'RE BEEING FLEECED!

 

Its tempting to think that there's a conspiracy going on somwhere along the line (as has already been suggested).

 

However, I would say certain imports do remain very good value (early Impreza WRXs), thus are becoming more and more attainable to different types of drivers that perhaps might not treat these cars with the respect they deserve. This leads to an increase in claims, and insurance for all imports becomes more expensive due to the domino effect. But then on the other hand the insurance premiums go up so surely the affect is reversed?!

 

I'm probably being a bit hypocritical here as I'm only 21 myself, but my current premium is in the region of £3k, so I do try to drive carefully so as not to make myself uninsurable altogether.

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I've just remembered that the lower mileage only took about £50 off (down from 'unrestricted' to 5000 a year).

 

:eek: :eek: :eek:

 

when i was getting quotes a few months ago, going from unlimited milage to limited 6000 miles more than halved the premium!!!! (not that i took them up on it in the end with the ban n all, but if you shop around you can save an absolute fortune with ltd milage!!!)

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