Any a110 thefts?

Any a110 thefts?

Author
Discussion

Debbiesd

Original Poster:

78 posts

25 months

Wednesday 20th December 2023
quotequote all
Bit of a random one, I have a few cars, insurance policy that covers them all, however , my insurance company has just notified me that 3 of my cars are no longer covered for theft if parked at my home address between 22.00 -6.00 unless garaged, I can park them anywhere else no issue, the cars being 996.2 GT3, Lancia Integrale evo and my Alpine a110, other cars I own can be parked there no probs , it’s a low insurance risk area ,
I wouldn’t imagine A110 to be a car with a high theft history, as they are rare and not really worth breaking for parts .
Has anyone had anything similar or heard of any thefts , before I question this with them


worldwidewebs

2,363 posts

251 months

Wednesday 20th December 2023
quotequote all
It's a standard clause if you say the car is garaged overnight

CharleyFarley66

50 posts

38 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
quotequote all
"Bit of a random one, I have a few cars, insurance policy that covers them all, however , my insurance company has just notified me that 3 of my cars are no longer covered for theft if parked at my home address between 22.00 -6.00 unless garaged, I can park them anywhere else no issue, the cars being 996.2 GT3, Lancia Integrale evo and my Alpine a110, other cars I own can be parked there no probs , it’s a low insurance risk area ,
I wouldn’t imagine A110 to be a car with a high theft history, as they are rare and not really worth breaking for parts .
Has anyone had anything similar or heard of any thefts , before I question this with them."

Which insurer are you with? You raise a very significant point, especially since your insurer's apparently decided to toughen up its requirements and conditions. The Porsche is understandable as there's a strong market for stolen ones and their parts, and the Lancia's inclusion may simply be because of its rarity value, but like you I'm surprised and concerned that your insurer is also including the Alp. Maybe your insurer will share their assessment of the risk profile of the Alp, and explain their new stance on insuring it for theft.

They'll always ask if the cars in question are garaged or not as part of the risk assessment, but stipulating to an existing customer that certain ones ie. those it presumably regards as the most valuable must now be garaged (between 22:00 and 06:00 hrs) or they're not covered for theft hasn't until now (as far as I'm aware) been standard practice.

That said, theft of higher-end cars is now effectively at an industrial scale, especially with keyless thefts and the ease with which such cars can be stolen in seconds. I've taken all necessary precautions as far as I'm aware ie. an in-car tracker, Faraday pouch for the keys kept well away from the front door, plus an existing camera doorbell, motion sensor lighting etc., because it's parked on my drive (I've no garage anyway), and I've always made a point of my insurer knowing all this. Likewise, I'm not aware of any thefts of Alpines, although the insurers will have far more accurate information - which I hope they'll share with you when questioned so that we can all have a clearer understanding of the Alp's theft/risk profile.

I too had thought/assumed that while it's Range Rovers, Mercs and Porsches (and also Fiestas and Transits!) that are being targetted because there's a strong market for them and their parts in the UK or EMEA, the Alps are of no interest because, as you say, there are far too few of them to be worth the effort, ie. there's no market for stolen Alps or their parts (despite some chronic parts shortages and long waiting times!).

Perhaps your insurer's really looking to keep certain of your cars out of sight from prying eyes on the lookout for potential targets, rather than they're being given additional protection as such. However, thefts I'm aware of (including that of a local Cayman owner) sometimes involve car thieves trying to gain access to the property to find the keys if they can't detect the radio signals from your own keys, so it would seem that garaging them isn't necessarily going to stop determined burglars.

I've been expecting a large increase in the insurance premium come next year, but this relatively new development of an insurer changing its conditions and now insisting on an Alp being garaged is very concerning, especially as far as I'm concerned! This is one thread I'll be watching with much more than a passing interest.

CharleyFarley66

50 posts

38 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
quotequote all
Correction re. 'all necessary precautions': the Ghost 2 immobiliser's install is now booked in for the New Year.

So if they play ball, it'll be interesting to learn more about your insurer's explanation of its new condition re. garaging overnight etc., and indeed my own insurer's relative to both garaging overnight versus fitting the immobiliser; it certainly puts a whole new slant on the term 'fully loaded'.

I've also seen in recent days that JLR's insisting its latest measures are now way better at preventing keyless theft, and given the problems Range Rover owners were having getting cover, JLR's now also offering their own as well.

If the majority of insurers start taking the same line as yours, there's certainly food for thought for Alpine and perhaps Renault Groupe...

Edited by CharleyFarley66 on Thursday 21st December 12:37

jont-

83 posts

90 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
quotequote all
I've had that on most policies where I declare the car garaged overnight.

Colin P

427 posts

144 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
quotequote all
worldwidewebs said:
It's a standard clause if you say the car is garaged overnight
I wouldn't say standard as often it is not endorsed into the policy terms, but it is definitely reasonable if you declare your car as garaged. Where you keep your car affects the premium and terms and as such is a question that needs to be answered honestly (as do all questions you are asked) when you make the proposal - too many people think it is OK to say car is garaged to reduce the premium when it isn't, so not unreasonable for an insurer to write it into the cover.

Whilst 2 of our cars are usually garaged and declared as such I do occasionally evict them for DIY projects/storage etc (wife's car currently in the drive for storage of Xmas consumables biggrin) so I always make sure that the policy does not have this condition.

Last time I specifically queried this point with Admiral, who we have used for our cars for some time, they confirmed that it wasn't a condition and they informed me that they actually charge more for a garaged car than one parked in a drive. Apparently people keep dropping things on them when in the garage.

Edit, as a general note (and general advice from an insurance professional) - even if something is not endorsed onto the policy (such as a car being garaged) but you have deliberately/knowingly/recklessly answered a question incorrectly this entitles an insurer to void a policy anyway - hence why I queried it and made sure that my insurer was aware that occasionally I do not put the cars away. The rules are different if it is inadvertent.

Edited by Colin P on Thursday 21st December 14:04

bcr5784

7,122 posts

146 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
quotequote all
Colin P said:
Last time I specifically queried this point with Admiral, who we have used for our cars for some time, they confirmed that it wasn't a condition and they informed me that they actually charge more for a garaged car than one parked in a drive. Apparently people keep dropping things on them when in the garage.
Like you I have found that premiums were slightly LOWER if I said the car was parked on the drive rather than garaged. I assumed that a (probably very small) percentage of accidents occurred while driving into a garage. Surprizing if this outweighs the cost of the odd theft - but premiums would suggest otherwise.

Debbiesd

Original Poster:

78 posts

25 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
quotequote all
CharleyFarley66 said:
"Bit of a random one, I have a few cars, insurance policy that covers them all, however , my insurance company has just notified me that 3 of my cars are no longer covered for theft if parked at my home address between 22.00 -6.00 unless garaged, I can park them anywhere else no issue, the cars being 996.2 GT3, Lancia Integrale evo and my Alpine a110, other cars I own can be parked there no probs , it’s a low insurance risk area ,
I wouldn’t imagine A110 to be a car with a high theft history, as they are rare and not really worth breaking for parts .
Has anyone had anything similar or heard of any thefts , before I question this with them."

Which insurer are you with? You raise a very significant point, especially since your insurer's apparently decided to toughen up its requirements and conditions. The Porsche is understandable as there's a strong market for stolen ones and their parts, and the Lancia's inclusion may simply be because of its rarity value, but like you I'm surprised and concerned that your insurer is also including the Alp. Maybe your insurer will share their assessment of the risk profile of the Alp, and explain their new stance on insuring it for theft.

They'll always ask if the cars in question are garaged or not as part of the risk assessment, but stipulating to an existing customer that certain ones ie. those it presumably regards as the most valuable must now be garaged (between 22:00 and 06:00 hrs) or they're not covered for theft hasn't until now (as far as I'm aware) been standard practice.

That said, theft of higher-end cars is now effectively at an industrial scale, especially with keyless thefts and the ease with which such cars can be stolen in seconds. I've taken all necessary precautions as far as I'm aware ie. an in-car tracker, Faraday pouch for the keys kept well away from the front door, plus an existing camera doorbell, motion sensor lighting etc., because it's parked on my drive (I've no garage anyway), and I've always made a point of my insurer knowing all this. Likewise, I'm not aware of any thefts of Alpines, although the insurers will have far more accurate information - which I hope they'll share with you when questioned so that we can all have a clearer understanding of the Alp's theft/risk profile.

I too had thought/assumed that while it's Range Rovers, Mercs and Porsches (and also Fiestas and Transits!) that are being targetted because there's a strong market for them and their parts in the UK or EMEA, the Alps are of no interest because, as you say, there are far too few of them to be worth the effort, ie. there's no market for stolen Alps or their parts (despite some chronic parts shortages and long waiting times!).

Perhaps your insurer's really looking to keep certain of your cars out of sight from prying eyes on the lookout for potential targets, rather than they're being given additional protection as such. However, thefts I'm aware of (including that of a local Cayman owner) sometimes involve car thieves trying to gain access to the property to find the keys if they can't detect the radio signals from your own keys, so it would seem that garaging them isn't necessarily going to stop determined burglars.

I've been expecting a large increase in the insurance premium come next year, but this relatively new development of an insurer changing its conditions and now insisting on an Alp being garaged is very concerning, especially as far as I'm concerned! This is one thread I'll be watching with much more than a passing interest.
Yeah it’s a bit odd, I have never declared any of them as being garaged , I’m just fairly sensible and take a bit of ‘self insurance ‘ which keeps the policy costs down, each car is down as agreed value, there is a maximum claim limit in those cars that’s lower than the individual values totalled up as they are prett much never all in the same place at the same time.

I have asked if there was any reason for the clarification , they also confirmed the 3 concerned could be parked outside my sons house half a mile away, at the same time overnight.
I have asked if I can do anything to change this, I plan to garage them all every night but occasionally circumstances work against this.

Sweetlamb

6 posts

1 month

Thursday 2nd May
quotequote all
How is the ghost performing, any problems ?

Sweetlamb

6 posts

1 month

Thursday 2nd May
quotequote all
CharleyFarley66 said:
Correction re. 'all necessary precautions': the Ghost 2 immobiliser's install is now booked in for the New Year.

So if they play ball, it'll be interesting to learn more about your insurer's explanation of its new condition re. garaging overnight etc., and indeed my own insurer's relative to both garaging overnight versus fitting the immobiliser; it certainly puts a whole new slant on the term 'fully loaded'.

I've also seen in recent days that JLR's insisting its latest measures are now way better at preventing keyless theft, and given the problems Range Rover owners were having getting cover, JLR's now also offering their own as well.

If the majority of insurers start taking the same line as yours, there's certainly food for thought for Alpine and perhaps Renault Groupe...

Edited by CharleyFarley66 on Thursday 21st December 12:37
Any problems with the ghost 2. Thanks.

Debbiesd

Original Poster:

78 posts

25 months

Friday 3rd May
quotequote all
I was looking at a ghost, however an installer I know showed me a very simple way to beat it, once the unit has been located so now im having second thoughts....

re insurance , they have now agreed Alpine can be stored on my drive overnight, the GT3 can `occasionally` whatever that means in the insurance world... However the lancia must be garaged, which it is anyway.

im also considering trackers for all 3 cars

Andy665

3,655 posts

229 months

Friday 3rd May
quotequote all
The good old world of insurance where they can simply use any excuse to hike premiums or decline to quote - its an industry that is corrupt as hell and anyone who says there is not an unofficial cartel in operation is very naive

They cite rising repair costs - in my experience that is driven by their own stupidity / laziness - 2 years ago I had a BMW 535d written off, valued at £13k for the sake of a £400 repair, totally illogical but common sense plays no part in the insurance industry

Bought a Megane RS265 Cup a few months ago, had it installed with Thatcham approved Cat 5 immobiliser and tracker (the best you can buy) and informed the insurer, thanks very much that will be an extra £65 please - why????

I approach all insurers and assume two things, they do not tell the truth and they are incompetent, not talking at the front end in terms of brokers etc but back end underwriting, claims management etc is not fit for purpose and a full blown investigation into business practices is long overdue

Debbiesd said:
I was looking at a ghost, however an installer I know showed me a very simple way to beat it, once the unit has been located so now im having second thoughts....

re insurance , they have now agreed Alpine can be stored on my drive overnight, the GT3 can `occasionally` whatever that means in the insurance world... However the lancia must be garaged, which it is anyway.

im also considering trackers for all 3 cars
And thats half the secret, getting it installed properly. My wife has a Velar and installer would not tell me where it had been placed, also took him 2 hours to fit, I have heard some people fitting them in 45 mins - surely a telltale sign of a good v bad install. Had no issues with our Ghost 2 but also got a Scorpion Tracker fitted, having one fitted to the Alpine next week too



Edited by Andy665 on Friday 3rd May 14:19

Colin P

427 posts

144 months

Friday 3rd May
quotequote all
Insurance is a highly competitive industry. Personal Lines motor has lost money every year for a long long time. It is extremely heavily regulated.

Yes, like all industries things happen that shouldn't and there is a range of quality evident between different firms and if you seek out the cheapest possible premium every year then you are most likely to experience this.

You may not understand it, but all your post does is to demonstrate that you do not understand the industry that you are talking about.

Andy665

3,655 posts

229 months

Friday 3rd May
quotequote all
Colin P said:
Insurance is a highly competitive industry. Personal Lines motor has lost money every year for a long long time. It is extremely heavily regulated.

Yes, like all industries things happen that shouldn't and there is a range of quality evident between different firms and if you seek out the cheapest possible premium every year then you are most likely to experience this.

You may not understand it, but all your post does is to demonstrate that you do not understand the industry that you are talking about.
If this is directed at me, then I'm afraid you are wrong, there is a huge amount of laziness and incompetence - all too easy to simply not improve your performance when a much easier solution is to charge the customer more. I am fully aware it is a highly regulated industry but compliance does not equate to business efficiency and performance.

I work in a highly regulated industry sector myself (and one that is as equally competitive as insurance) and know that regulations can be adhered to whilst at the same time delivering a poor service to end customers.

My personal experience of the insurance industry is poor at claims / underwriting level but very good / professional at broker level


Edited by Andy665 on Friday 3rd May 16:15

Colin P

427 posts

144 months

Friday 3rd May
quotequote all
I'm not going to get into a debate with you, life is too short ....... but your latest post about lazyness and incompetence does not equal your first being " its an industry that is corrupt as hell and anyone who says there is not an unofficial cartel in operation is very naive"

You are entitled to your opinion and there will be an element of truth in what you say around varying competency levels, but the same can be said of any industry (and without even knowing what yours is I am sure it could be said of that too).

The usual laws of economics apply, if you are lazy and inept you will go out of business. You will lose business to those that are not. To your original statement, it is not a cartel, there is no collusion and competition law applies just as it does to any other industry. If you simply add price rather than manage costs then you will lose business to those that manage costs instead.

I think we can leave it there.