Insurance: Strictly by the book or a little leeway?
Discussion
I have a feeling the answer is by the book but here goes....
Bought a brand new Mazda CX-5 for around 30K in Sep 2021. Unfortunately, I bought it in Ukraine as inlaws are from there and we were going to move there believe it or not. Anyway...
After we got ejected by a certain Vladamir P, we brought the car back to the UK. Huge amount of effort getting it out of Ukraine and that was just the start. In the UK, we had mountains of paperwork, the rear fog lights swapped, the headlight units changed and the speedo replaced. Then we paid for an IVA at a place 2 hours drive away. They don't make it easy and maybe that is why we see so many foreign cars driving around. Anyway, finally we got it registered with a lovely RX71 plate.
Now of course the problem is insurance. I go on to a comparison website and enter all my details correctly, put the car reg in and select the trim that most closely matches the trim name of my car LHD car. I select that the car is LHD and also check the box to say it is an import and a "non-uk spec european import" at that.
How bad would it be to click through to the insurance site and buy what is presented? I have a strong feeling that the right thing would be to telephone (ugh) several specialist insurance companies. After so much s
t with this car including losing its Mazda warranty, adding 3K miles driving across europe, £200 for the IVA, £55 for registration fee, a grand or so for the modifications, £295 pa vehicle tax as classed as a "plg", having to drive a LHD on UK roads etc etc I'm thinking "sod it" and buy some regular insurance. Surely at least the 3rd party legal responsibilities would be covered?
Bought a brand new Mazda CX-5 for around 30K in Sep 2021. Unfortunately, I bought it in Ukraine as inlaws are from there and we were going to move there believe it or not. Anyway...
After we got ejected by a certain Vladamir P, we brought the car back to the UK. Huge amount of effort getting it out of Ukraine and that was just the start. In the UK, we had mountains of paperwork, the rear fog lights swapped, the headlight units changed and the speedo replaced. Then we paid for an IVA at a place 2 hours drive away. They don't make it easy and maybe that is why we see so many foreign cars driving around. Anyway, finally we got it registered with a lovely RX71 plate.
Now of course the problem is insurance. I go on to a comparison website and enter all my details correctly, put the car reg in and select the trim that most closely matches the trim name of my car LHD car. I select that the car is LHD and also check the box to say it is an import and a "non-uk spec european import" at that.
How bad would it be to click through to the insurance site and buy what is presented? I have a strong feeling that the right thing would be to telephone (ugh) several specialist insurance companies. After so much s
t with this car including losing its Mazda warranty, adding 3K miles driving across europe, £200 for the IVA, £55 for registration fee, a grand or so for the modifications, £295 pa vehicle tax as classed as a "plg", having to drive a LHD on UK roads etc etc I'm thinking "sod it" and buy some regular insurance. Surely at least the 3rd party legal responsibilities would be covered?Edited by mike42 on Sunday 23 April 15:49
1) Comparison sites don’t work if you have anything out of the ordinary. That’s why brokers exist.
Call Adrian Flux.
2) Insurance companies will delight in not paying out for any claim if they can. It’s their business to take the premiums & not pay out.
There are some niche examples of mutuals being more rational but the big firms that underwrite 99% of the industry don’t care at all about how honest your mistake was, or how badly injured little Timmy is.
If they can prove you had an aftermarket non declared mod on your car when you had a child run out in front of you they won’t pay out. So you loose your house. (Other horror stories around the camp fire are available, but you get my point).
Personally I would be scrupulously honest with them & suck up the slightly higher premium, the cheaper premium is no cover at all. And could land you in bother.
Call Adrian Flux.
2) Insurance companies will delight in not paying out for any claim if they can. It’s their business to take the premiums & not pay out.
There are some niche examples of mutuals being more rational but the big firms that underwrite 99% of the industry don’t care at all about how honest your mistake was, or how badly injured little Timmy is.
If they can prove you had an aftermarket non declared mod on your car when you had a child run out in front of you they won’t pay out. So you loose your house. (Other horror stories around the camp fire are available, but you get my point).
Personally I would be scrupulously honest with them & suck up the slightly higher premium, the cheaper premium is no cover at all. And could land you in bother.
Sebring440 said:
mike42 said:
I have a feeling the answer is by the book but here goes....
I've read it three times and I still don't know what your question is?So can't offer an "answer".
What he's saying is that he's imported a LHD car into the UK. It now has a UK reg. If he uses that on comparison websites he gets a price, but it's not a true price because the car is different to what the online insurance tool is suggesting.
He's asking if he should take the quote given, rather than get the correct insurance via a broker.
I had the same issue when insuring my Legacy. Online tools come back and offer a price based on a 165bhp version, which is the only petrol version the UK got, circa £160 a year. I ended up using broker who covered JDM cars, for around £350.
As far as the insurance situation is concerned I would be phoning however painful, so they know exactly what they are being asked to cover
As an aside I thought manufacturers playing silly buggers with warranty issues on grey imports had been outlawed a good few years ago. i think it was Honda back in the 90's backed out of a joint civil action by an owners group on the day the case was due to commence, I think it was regarding imported bikes so can't see why cars would be any different
As an aside I thought manufacturers playing silly buggers with warranty issues on grey imports had been outlawed a good few years ago. i think it was Honda back in the 90's backed out of a joint civil action by an owners group on the day the case was due to commence, I think it was regarding imported bikes so can't see why cars would be any different
Stick Legs said:
1) Comparison sites don’t work if you have anything out of the ordinary. That’s why brokers exist.
Call Adrian Flux.
2) Insurance companies will delight in not paying out for any claim if they can. It’s their business to take the premiums & not pay out.
There are some niche examples of mutuals being more rational but the big firms that underwrite 99% of the industry don’t care at all about how honest your mistake was, or how badly injured little Timmy is.
If they can prove you had an aftermarket non declared mod on your car when you had a child run out in front of you they won’t pay out. So you loose your house. (Other horror stories around the camp fire are available, but you get my point).
Personally I would be scrupulously honest with them & suck up the slightly higher premium, the cheaper premium is no cover at all. And could land you in bother.
^^^ This. All day long.Call Adrian Flux.
2) Insurance companies will delight in not paying out for any claim if they can. It’s their business to take the premiums & not pay out.
There are some niche examples of mutuals being more rational but the big firms that underwrite 99% of the industry don’t care at all about how honest your mistake was, or how badly injured little Timmy is.
If they can prove you had an aftermarket non declared mod on your car when you had a child run out in front of you they won’t pay out. So you loose your house. (Other horror stories around the camp fire are available, but you get my point).
Personally I would be scrupulously honest with them & suck up the slightly higher premium, the cheaper premium is no cover at all. And could land you in bother.
Stick Legs said:
1) Comparison sites don’t work if you have anything out of the ordinary. That’s why brokers exist.
Call Adrian Flux.
2) Insurance companies will delight in not paying out for any claim if they can. It’s their business to take the premiums & not pay out.
There are some niche examples of mutuals being more rational but the big firms that underwrite 99% of the industry don’t care at all about how honest your mistake was, or how badly injured little Timmy is.
If they can prove you had an aftermarket non declared mod on your car when you had a child run out in front of you they won’t pay out. So you loose your house. (Other horror stories around the camp fire are available, but you get my point).
Personally I would be scrupulously honest with them & suck up the slightly higher premium, the cheaper premium is no cover at all. And could land you in bother.
You make it sound like the insurance industry is the wild west, when in fact a number of posters on this very forum have had issues which have been resolved without major issue like refused claims and policies.Call Adrian Flux.
2) Insurance companies will delight in not paying out for any claim if they can. It’s their business to take the premiums & not pay out.
There are some niche examples of mutuals being more rational but the big firms that underwrite 99% of the industry don’t care at all about how honest your mistake was, or how badly injured little Timmy is.
If they can prove you had an aftermarket non declared mod on your car when you had a child run out in front of you they won’t pay out. So you loose your house. (Other horror stories around the camp fire are available, but you get my point).
Personally I would be scrupulously honest with them & suck up the slightly higher premium, the cheaper premium is no cover at all. And could land you in bother.
Where innocent non disclosures have been made in general then they get get resolved with either a deduction on payouts or additional premium costs where the insurer would have accepted the altered risk had they known about it. Very few claims are not paid out like you describe in number 2.
Sheepshanks said:
When we got wife’s Tiguan, LV didn’t have the exact trim model but they weren’t bothered, they just picked a similar one.
This isn't totally unusual but not quite on the scale of the issue that the OP may have with a LHD import who should sort this out by phone and speak to a real person to explain rather than use a comparison site.Dashnine said:
Stick Legs said:
2) Insurance companies will delight in not paying out for any claim if they can. It’s their business to take the premiums & not pay out.
There are some niche examples of mutuals being more rational but the big firms that underwrite 99% of the industry don’t care at all about how honest your mistake was, or how badly injured little Timmy is.
If they can prove you had an aftermarket non declared mod on your car when you had a child run out in front of you they won’t pay out. So you loose your house. (Other horror stories around the camp fire are available, but you get my point).
Personally I would be scrupulously honest with them & suck up the slightly higher premium, the cheaper premium is no cover at all. And could land you in bother.
^^^ This. All day long.There are some niche examples of mutuals being more rational but the big firms that underwrite 99% of the industry don’t care at all about how honest your mistake was, or how badly injured little Timmy is.
If they can prove you had an aftermarket non declared mod on your car when you had a child run out in front of you they won’t pay out. So you loose your house. (Other horror stories around the camp fire are available, but you get my point).
Personally I would be scrupulously honest with them & suck up the slightly higher premium, the cheaper premium is no cover at all. And could land you in bother.
Insurance companies are in business to settle claims as fairly as possible. That's how they get a good reputation and grow their business. Aviva (was NU) are not a mutual have been around since 1707. They haven't survived for 316 years by not paying claims. I think word would have got around by now.
Stick Legs said:
2) Insurance companies will delight in not paying out for any claim if they can. It’s their business to take the premiums & not pay out.
There are some niche examples of mutuals being more rational but the big firms that underwrite 99% of the industry don’t care at all about how honest your mistake was, or how badly injured little Timmy is.
If they can prove you had an aftermarket non declared mod on your car when you had a child run out in front of you they won’t pay out. So you loose your house. (Other horror stories around the camp fire are available, but you get my point).
I have always found it easy to comply with the T&CS that I have agreed with and therefore never had any issues claiming. It is essentially their business to pay the huge majority of claims. There is very very little profit on motor lines but if they didn't pay most claims then the combined ratio would be very juicy. They're not.There are some niche examples of mutuals being more rational but the big firms that underwrite 99% of the industry don’t care at all about how honest your mistake was, or how badly injured little Timmy is.
If they can prove you had an aftermarket non declared mod on your car when you had a child run out in front of you they won’t pay out. So you loose your house. (Other horror stories around the camp fire are available, but you get my point).
mike42 said:
I have a feeling the answer is by the book but here goes....
Bought a brand new Mazda CX-5 for around 30K in Sep 2001. Unfortunately, I bought it in Ukraine as inlaws are from there and we were going to move there believe it or not. Anyway...
After we got ejected by a certain Vladamir P, we brought the car back to the UK. Huge amount of effort getting it out of Ukraine and that was just the start. In the UK, we had mountains of paperwork, the rear fog lights swapped, the headlight units changed and the speedo replaced. Then we paid for an IVA at a place 2 hours drive away. They don't make it easy and maybe that is why we see so many foreign cars driving around. Anyway, finally we got it registered with a lovely RX71 plate.
Now of course the problem is insurance. I go on to a comparison website and enter all my details correctly, put the car reg in and select the trim that most closely matches the trim name of my car LHD car. I select that the car is LHD and also check the box to say it is an import and a "non-uk spec european import" at that.
How bad would it be to click through to the insurance site and buy what is presented? I have a strong feeling that the right thing would be to telephone (ugh) several specialist insurance companies. After so much st with this car including losing its Mazda warranty, adding 3K miles driving across europe, £200 for the IVA, £55 for registration fee, a grand or so for the modifications, £295 pa vehicle tax as classed as a "plg", having to drive a LHD on UK roads etc etc I'm thinking "sod it" and buy some regular insurance. Surely at least the 3rd party legal responsibilities would be covered?
Just in case...Bought a brand new Mazda CX-5 for around 30K in Sep 2001. Unfortunately, I bought it in Ukraine as inlaws are from there and we were going to move there believe it or not. Anyway...
After we got ejected by a certain Vladamir P, we brought the car back to the UK. Huge amount of effort getting it out of Ukraine and that was just the start. In the UK, we had mountains of paperwork, the rear fog lights swapped, the headlight units changed and the speedo replaced. Then we paid for an IVA at a place 2 hours drive away. They don't make it easy and maybe that is why we see so many foreign cars driving around. Anyway, finally we got it registered with a lovely RX71 plate.
Now of course the problem is insurance. I go on to a comparison website and enter all my details correctly, put the car reg in and select the trim that most closely matches the trim name of my car LHD car. I select that the car is LHD and also check the box to say it is an import and a "non-uk spec european import" at that.
How bad would it be to click through to the insurance site and buy what is presented? I have a strong feeling that the right thing would be to telephone (ugh) several specialist insurance companies. After so much s
t with this car including losing its Mazda warranty, adding 3K miles driving across europe, £200 for the IVA, £55 for registration fee, a grand or so for the modifications, £295 pa vehicle tax as classed as a "plg", having to drive a LHD on UK roads etc etc I'm thinking "sod it" and buy some regular insurance. Surely at least the 3rd party legal responsibilities would be covered?Two things jump out at me. Firstly a CX-5 bought in 2001. Did you mean 2021? In any event it’s a car that has a value that can either go down or plummet. It’s hardly a piece of motoring exotica. So I wouldn’t worry about extra mileage. The fact it’s LHD will affect the value far more.
Secondly does any of this matter? You’ve lost pretty much everything in Ukraine, your lives have been turned upside down with no end in sight to that. Why does a minor inconvenience with your car matter?
Secondly does any of this matter? You’ve lost pretty much everything in Ukraine, your lives have been turned upside down with no end in sight to that. Why does a minor inconvenience with your car matter?
alscar said:
This isn't totally unusual but not quite on the scale of the issue that the OP may have with a LHD import who should sort this out by phone and speak to a real person to explain rather than use a comparison site.
He said he did select that the car was LHD.You're right though - I certainly wouldn't procede if the description of the trim level didn't match without the insurance company's agreement.
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