Insurance Question / Advice
Discussion
Good evening...currently looking to buy my first Caterham, an R300 when another finally pops up (nearly had one last week but was beaten to it by the owners pal). Anyway I digress, what impact on the insurance will having a company car policy for the last eight years, thus technically meaning I have zero no claims bonus. I am 41, clean license, car would be garaged and I live in very rural Somerset. I would be looking to cap the mileage to about 4000 a year.
Can anyone recommend a decent company as a starting point that will take the above into consideration? I will be looking to join the Lotus 7 club, as reading previous posts some companies do offer discounts for members.
Thanks in advance.
Can anyone recommend a decent company as a starting point that will take the above into consideration? I will be looking to join the Lotus 7 club, as reading previous posts some companies do offer discounts for members.
Thanks in advance.
Wooden one
You will find it is best to get a quote from one of the brokers used to dealing with kit cars. Adrian Flux, REIS, MSM and Adrian Flux are ones regularly mentioned. A quick search on here or blatchat will turn up others.
You will find that ou need to start again with no claims bonuses - although you should get some new starter allowance from some of the insurers.
Steve
You will find it is best to get a quote from one of the brokers used to dealing with kit cars. Adrian Flux, REIS, MSM and Adrian Flux are ones regularly mentioned. A quick search on here or blatchat will turn up others.
You will find that ou need to start again with no claims bonuses - although you should get some new starter allowance from some of the insurers.
Steve
Hi WoodenOne, I'm in Dorset so not far from you, hope we might meet up when you get your car. My recommendation comes from the sharp end to say the least, and my initial situation was not dissimilar to yours - aged 43, first Caterham, a 2004 R300.
Just under a month ago I bought my car but managed to write it off on the way home (long story, that all the PHers are probably bored with by now !). Having asked similar questions on here about insurance I ended up insuring through MSM, Dave Spragg is the top guy there. They're a small family run business and the short story is that having had to call upon Dave under the worst possible circumstances, I could not have asked for more or better help and advice. Cheap insurance is all well and good - it's what happens in a claim that counts.
Dave knows the peculiarities of the marque, how people drive them, what they do to them, etc. When I had the unenviable task of discussing with him how I'd written my car off on day one there was not the slightest bit of "how stupid are you", just complete understanding and support. After some negotiation I have come out of it with a full value payout, despite the engineer initially valuing my car at 2/3 of what I paid for it !
A couple of examples of where other companies fell down, in my limited experience :
Competition Car Insurance quoted me one price then wanted an extra £100 just to allow me to commute - not drive for business use, just to drive to and from work, in the event that I should feel inclined to do so on a nice sunny day. I have a finance job based in one rural location. CCI do include a number trackdays though, as a standard part of the cover, which may be of interest to you.
REIS wouldn't quote me on any car over 140bhp for a first Caterham or similar RWD sports car (an experience shared by others). The fact that I proved this policy to be correct is not wasted on me...
Frank Pickles wouldn't quote me because I play in a band at weekends, although obviously not using the Caterham as I'm a drummer ! They have a strict list of criteria shown on their website and that meant a straight no.
I realise everyone here will have their own reasons why their provider is perfect for them and will have stories of excellent pricing and service, I'm just relating my own experiences. Ultimately, it's a specialist market, try them all. MSM gave me not only the best price (£230, 5000 miles) but unfortunately have also had the opportunity to prove their service, which in my eyes has been outstanding (thanks also to the lovely Jan and Dawn
). Maybe Dave wouldn't want me to advertise this but some of the emails we have exchanged have been far from the standard Mon to Fri 9-5 which is so common in insurance. I'd rather not have got to know him so well, so quickly, but I genuinely feel like I have a friendly contact who knows the ins and outs of Planet Caterham and has passed on some really useful contacts and advice.
As for your specific question, MSM mirrored the NCD from my daily driver policy, not sure what would happen with a company car but it may be if you can prove you have been driving claim free they can do something with that ?
I too was looking at Steve Field's green R300 to replace my crashed one (I see you commented on his thread) so it looks like we both lost the opportunity when he sold it. If you want to chat about first-Caterham buying experiences drop me a line.
Cheers,
Andy
Just under a month ago I bought my car but managed to write it off on the way home (long story, that all the PHers are probably bored with by now !). Having asked similar questions on here about insurance I ended up insuring through MSM, Dave Spragg is the top guy there. They're a small family run business and the short story is that having had to call upon Dave under the worst possible circumstances, I could not have asked for more or better help and advice. Cheap insurance is all well and good - it's what happens in a claim that counts.
Dave knows the peculiarities of the marque, how people drive them, what they do to them, etc. When I had the unenviable task of discussing with him how I'd written my car off on day one there was not the slightest bit of "how stupid are you", just complete understanding and support. After some negotiation I have come out of it with a full value payout, despite the engineer initially valuing my car at 2/3 of what I paid for it !
A couple of examples of where other companies fell down, in my limited experience :
Competition Car Insurance quoted me one price then wanted an extra £100 just to allow me to commute - not drive for business use, just to drive to and from work, in the event that I should feel inclined to do so on a nice sunny day. I have a finance job based in one rural location. CCI do include a number trackdays though, as a standard part of the cover, which may be of interest to you.
REIS wouldn't quote me on any car over 140bhp for a first Caterham or similar RWD sports car (an experience shared by others). The fact that I proved this policy to be correct is not wasted on me...
Frank Pickles wouldn't quote me because I play in a band at weekends, although obviously not using the Caterham as I'm a drummer ! They have a strict list of criteria shown on their website and that meant a straight no.
I realise everyone here will have their own reasons why their provider is perfect for them and will have stories of excellent pricing and service, I'm just relating my own experiences. Ultimately, it's a specialist market, try them all. MSM gave me not only the best price (£230, 5000 miles) but unfortunately have also had the opportunity to prove their service, which in my eyes has been outstanding (thanks also to the lovely Jan and Dawn
). Maybe Dave wouldn't want me to advertise this but some of the emails we have exchanged have been far from the standard Mon to Fri 9-5 which is so common in insurance. I'd rather not have got to know him so well, so quickly, but I genuinely feel like I have a friendly contact who knows the ins and outs of Planet Caterham and has passed on some really useful contacts and advice.As for your specific question, MSM mirrored the NCD from my daily driver policy, not sure what would happen with a company car but it may be if you can prove you have been driving claim free they can do something with that ?
I too was looking at Steve Field's green R300 to replace my crashed one (I see you commented on his thread) so it looks like we both lost the opportunity when he sold it. If you want to chat about first-Caterham buying experiences drop me a line.
Cheers,
Andy
Hi Andy
Good to hear from you and thank you for the information. I did read with interest your previous posts leading up to your big day, and of course the unfortunate demise of your R300. I only contacted MSM about fifteen minutes before your reply, and I have to admit with some trepidation as I knew following your claim to mention 'R300 and first time owner' I was expecting a loud 'sigh'! As yet I'm awaiting a response from them with the price. I shall also call Frank Pickles, they seem another popular choice and as I'm tone deaf this shouldnt cause me too many problems with them! As you point out, price is not the be all but the quality of service if anything unfortunate occurs.
Whilst writing this post MSM have called with what appears a competitive price of £261.75, inclusive of breakdown cover. All they require is a letter from my company to say I have not had any accidents during my employment, seems painless!
Yes I did hear from Steve you were also interested in his car, shame to have missed out. I can see we will be both chasing for the same cars over the coming months...may the best man win
It will be good to meet for a catch up soon as you say you are only down the road.
Cheers
Richard
Good to hear from you and thank you for the information. I did read with interest your previous posts leading up to your big day, and of course the unfortunate demise of your R300. I only contacted MSM about fifteen minutes before your reply, and I have to admit with some trepidation as I knew following your claim to mention 'R300 and first time owner' I was expecting a loud 'sigh'! As yet I'm awaiting a response from them with the price. I shall also call Frank Pickles, they seem another popular choice and as I'm tone deaf this shouldnt cause me too many problems with them! As you point out, price is not the be all but the quality of service if anything unfortunate occurs.
Whilst writing this post MSM have called with what appears a competitive price of £261.75, inclusive of breakdown cover. All they require is a letter from my company to say I have not had any accidents during my employment, seems painless!
Yes I did hear from Steve you were also interested in his car, shame to have missed out. I can see we will be both chasing for the same cars over the coming months...may the best man win
It will be good to meet for a catch up soon as you say you are only down the road.Cheers
Richard
Hi Richard
Decided you didn't need an SV then - been keeping off the pies I guess! Frank Pickles was best for me as they didn't refuse first Caterham being 160bhp and not garaged. Also flexible about increasing mileage once I exceeded my 5000 limit halfway through year. See John has a nice R300 at Millwood but I guess you've already know that.
Good luck with your search - contact me if you want any help.
Decided you didn't need an SV then - been keeping off the pies I guess! Frank Pickles was best for me as they didn't refuse first Caterham being 160bhp and not garaged. Also flexible about increasing mileage once I exceeded my 5000 limit halfway through year. See John has a nice R300 at Millwood but I guess you've already know that.
Good luck with your search - contact me if you want any help.
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