Insurance cover whilst car is being restored - ?
Discussion
I'm in the process of doing a complete restoration on my classic car and having completely stripped the boodyshell (with the exception of suspension and wheels), have sent the rolling shell off to a small specialist bodyshop to have a number of new panels welding in and then have a bare metal respray.
In the event of something untoward happening - bodyshop burns down, company goes bust, workshop broken into and car stolen etc. my car would [should] be covered by the bodyshop's insurance policy - but what if it had lapsed or certain terms had not been complied with and the insurers refused to pay out?
I assumed that i would be covered by the classic car policy that i have on my car, but having checked with my insurer it isn't!
I then asked my broker who specialises in classic cars if i could change to another insurer so that i was covered. Unfortunately he said none of the comapnies he deals with include such cover, as its down to the bodyshop to have adequately insurance.
Does anyone know of a classic car policy that does include cover when car is undergoing restoration at a business premises?
I would imagine that the bodyshop is responsible for customer's cars whilst it their care, and if something happened and they didn't have suitable insurance then i'd be able to pursue them for any finacial loss i suffer. Fine in theory, but a number of high value classics might easily exceed the net worth of the business owner...................
NB. I've no reason to doubt the integrity of the company doing the work, or that they wouldn't have sufficient insurance cover, if i did i wouldn't have entrusted my car to them. But insurance is there to give peace of mind if the worst were to happen and i prefer to pay a little bit of money for the peace of mind that i won't lose a lot of money if the unthinkable were to happen.
In the event of something untoward happening - bodyshop burns down, company goes bust, workshop broken into and car stolen etc. my car would [should] be covered by the bodyshop's insurance policy - but what if it had lapsed or certain terms had not been complied with and the insurers refused to pay out?
I assumed that i would be covered by the classic car policy that i have on my car, but having checked with my insurer it isn't!
I then asked my broker who specialises in classic cars if i could change to another insurer so that i was covered. Unfortunately he said none of the comapnies he deals with include such cover, as its down to the bodyshop to have adequately insurance.
Does anyone know of a classic car policy that does include cover when car is undergoing restoration at a business premises?
I would imagine that the bodyshop is responsible for customer's cars whilst it their care, and if something happened and they didn't have suitable insurance then i'd be able to pursue them for any finacial loss i suffer. Fine in theory, but a number of high value classics might easily exceed the net worth of the business owner...................
NB. I've no reason to doubt the integrity of the company doing the work, or that they wouldn't have sufficient insurance cover, if i did i wouldn't have entrusted my car to them. But insurance is there to give peace of mind if the worst were to happen and i prefer to pay a little bit of money for the peace of mind that i won't lose a lot of money if the unthinkable were to happen.
100 IAN said:
I'm in the process of doing a complete restoration on my classic car and having completely stripped the boodyshell (with the exception of suspension and wheels), have sent the rolling shell off to a small specialist bodyshop to have a number of new panels welding in and then have a bare metal respray.
In the event of something untoward happening - bodyshop burns down, company goes bust, workshop broken into and car stolen etc. my car would [should] be covered by the bodyshop's insurance policy - but what if it had lapsed or certain terms had not been complied with and the insurers refused to pay out?
I assumed that i would be covered by the classic car policy that i have on my car, but having checked with my insurer it isn't!
I then asked my broker who specialises in classic cars if i could change to another insurer so that i was covered. Unfortunately he said none of the comapnies he deals with include such cover, as its down to the bodyshop to have adequately insurance.
Does anyone know of a classic car policy that does include cover when car is undergoing restoration at a business premises?
I would imagine that the bodyshop is responsible for customer's cars whilst it their care, and if something happened and they didn't have suitable insurance then i'd be able to pursue them for any finacial loss i suffer. Fine in theory, but a number of high value classics might easily exceed the net worth of the business owner...................
NB. I've no reason to doubt the integrity of the company doing the work, or that they wouldn't have sufficient insurance cover, if i did i wouldn't have entrusted my car to them. But insurance is there to give peace of mind if the worst were to happen and i prefer to pay a little bit of money for the peace of mind that i won't lose a lot of money if the unthinkable were to happen.
I've been out of motor insurance for quite a few years but I started my career in that area - it was always possible to 'lay up' a policy, with cover reduced to Fire and Theft only; it may be that classic policies are priced assuming that the car is 'laid up' for part of the year (eg the winter) anyway, so won't offer this as an option. Surely you should be able to just maintain full cover? If the bodyshop burns your insurer can always recover their losses from the repairer! My recommendation would be tao call some more specialist. Have you tried Adrian Flux?In the event of something untoward happening - bodyshop burns down, company goes bust, workshop broken into and car stolen etc. my car would [should] be covered by the bodyshop's insurance policy - but what if it had lapsed or certain terms had not been complied with and the insurers refused to pay out?
I assumed that i would be covered by the classic car policy that i have on my car, but having checked with my insurer it isn't!
I then asked my broker who specialises in classic cars if i could change to another insurer so that i was covered. Unfortunately he said none of the comapnies he deals with include such cover, as its down to the bodyshop to have adequately insurance.
Does anyone know of a classic car policy that does include cover when car is undergoing restoration at a business premises?
I would imagine that the bodyshop is responsible for customer's cars whilst it their care, and if something happened and they didn't have suitable insurance then i'd be able to pursue them for any finacial loss i suffer. Fine in theory, but a number of high value classics might easily exceed the net worth of the business owner...................
NB. I've no reason to doubt the integrity of the company doing the work, or that they wouldn't have sufficient insurance cover, if i did i wouldn't have entrusted my car to them. But insurance is there to give peace of mind if the worst were to happen and i prefer to pay a little bit of money for the peace of mind that i won't lose a lot of money if the unthinkable were to happen.
Any workshop business will have a full motor traders insurance policy,and any claim made while the car is in their care will be met from that policy and not yours.If in doubt check them out.Of course its essential to have your own policy and also essential to agree the value of your car with your insurer,with invoices,photo`s etc as back up.As every one knows no two classics have the same value.A friend of mine lost his classic when the garage business working on the car burnt to the ground!!He had a fight on his hands trying to prove its condition,and value,before the fire as there was nothing left of it.I have a Cherished Car Policy with Towergate Underwriting with an agreed valuation certificate which I increase each year.They asked for photo`s and the history of work done.The car is fully covered 24/7 all year round no matter whether its in winter storage,in bits in the workshop or touring the classic shows in the summer.
I'd hope things have changed in the world of insurance but about 20 years ago the bodyshop I was working at had a customers car stolen from the forecourt/parking area. As I remember it, our traders policy refused to cover the loss as the car was insured by the owner- something about not being able to double insure, so the owner had to claim for the loss on his own policy and our insurers covered his excess and loss of NCB. It was a pretty unhappy result for all of us.
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