My Insurance Experience.
Discussion
As my claim for injuries & loss of earnings is a long way from being settled, the Police are likely to take action, I was going to wait to write about my recent insurance claim. Recent threads on insurance have spurred me into action though.
For those new to the forum my HSV was written off in Dec.05.
I was insured with N-U (NOT N-U Direct) via a broker. It is essential to shop around brokers to get a good price for N-U cover. As an example, I have a friend who is a mananger of a large Insurance Broker, even if he gave up all their commission he was not able to get close to the c.£700 premium that I paid via Bennetts.
The reason for choosing N-U was based on their claims procedure that I have experienced in the past & that of two friends who also claimed whilst with N-U. It's paperless & relatively hassle free & they are known to be on the generous side!
N-U have a policy of returning the claimant to the position that they were in prior to the accident. Now this is only really relevant if the car is written off & it is a rare/hard to replace vehicle.
My HSV had various mods. including being Supercharged. The costs of these mods & the labour cost to fit them would be c.£20k.
It's just not possible to go out & find an identical vehicle to replace it. Remember though that N-U have an obligation to do just that.
My car was assessed by a very competent & enthusiatistic inspector. He did a fair amount of research into HSV's & I was able to supply him with copies of the numerous press articles on the car.
To cut to the point, we agreed on a sum of £45,000 as a settlement figure for the HSV. This was based mainly on a replacement car & then the mods. to bring it up to the spec. of the crashed HSV.
I'm glad I was with N-U even though I could have saved c.£100 by using other insurers.
N-U were informed of all the mods. so that was never an issue either.
I'm gutted to have lost my HSV, but not as gutted as I would have been if I'd only got c.£20k.
So cheapest isn't always the best!
>> Edited by A57 HSV on Tuesday 28th February 11:52
For those new to the forum my HSV was written off in Dec.05.
I was insured with N-U (NOT N-U Direct) via a broker. It is essential to shop around brokers to get a good price for N-U cover. As an example, I have a friend who is a mananger of a large Insurance Broker, even if he gave up all their commission he was not able to get close to the c.£700 premium that I paid via Bennetts.
The reason for choosing N-U was based on their claims procedure that I have experienced in the past & that of two friends who also claimed whilst with N-U. It's paperless & relatively hassle free & they are known to be on the generous side!
N-U have a policy of returning the claimant to the position that they were in prior to the accident. Now this is only really relevant if the car is written off & it is a rare/hard to replace vehicle.
My HSV had various mods. including being Supercharged. The costs of these mods & the labour cost to fit them would be c.£20k.
It's just not possible to go out & find an identical vehicle to replace it. Remember though that N-U have an obligation to do just that.
My car was assessed by a very competent & enthusiatistic inspector. He did a fair amount of research into HSV's & I was able to supply him with copies of the numerous press articles on the car.
To cut to the point, we agreed on a sum of £45,000 as a settlement figure for the HSV. This was based mainly on a replacement car & then the mods. to bring it up to the spec. of the crashed HSV.
I'm glad I was with N-U even though I could have saved c.£100 by using other insurers.
N-U were informed of all the mods. so that was never an issue either.
I'm gutted to have lost my HSV, but not as gutted as I would have been if I'd only got c.£20k.
So cheapest isn't always the best!
>> Edited by A57 HSV on Tuesday 28th February 11:52
I'm opting out of really fast road cars for a while. I fiqure that a break would do me good. I'm aware that I'm lucky to have a clean license, not spent any time at Her Majesty's Pleasure & most importantly still be alive/not seriously injured.
We actually need a go anywhere family car, I'm fed up with crawling along tracks etc. in the Saab & It's a bit small for all our gear & the dog cage etc. So a new Discovery3 is a possibility. That would also be a good vehicle to tow a lightweight (Caterham SV maybe) track/fun car!
Having owned HSV's for over 5 years, a break from them will make me appreciate one even more, if I get another one in the future. I'd love a 4dr R8 Clubsport.
I'll get my 1964 Jensen CV-8 MKll out of hibernation this summer, It's 6.3 Chrysler lump should satisfy my V8 addiction for a while.
Yet to drive a more fun allrounder than my S/C HSV though. I've driven better handling, more luxurious, more comfortable, slightly faster cars, even more fun cars (mental Caterham), but as an allrounder the HSV wins every time.
We actually need a go anywhere family car, I'm fed up with crawling along tracks etc. in the Saab & It's a bit small for all our gear & the dog cage etc. So a new Discovery3 is a possibility. That would also be a good vehicle to tow a lightweight (Caterham SV maybe) track/fun car!
Having owned HSV's for over 5 years, a break from them will make me appreciate one even more, if I get another one in the future. I'd love a 4dr R8 Clubsport.
I'll get my 1964 Jensen CV-8 MKll out of hibernation this summer, It's 6.3 Chrysler lump should satisfy my V8 addiction for a while.
Yet to drive a more fun allrounder than my S/C HSV though. I've driven better handling, more luxurious, more comfortable, slightly faster cars, even more fun cars (mental Caterham), but as an allrounder the HSV wins every time.
No worries, the cheque has been cashed long ago!
My car had various mods. inc. an oil cooler on the diff. Cost of these mods. was c.£20k. maybe a bit more inc. labour costs.
We took a figure of £20k for a good base vehicle & then added £25k for all the mods. & Sat. Nav. etc.
Remember it's not the retail value that N-U are interested in, the assesor new that £30k would easily buy a S/C example if/when one came up for sale. It's the position your were in before the accident that counts.
My car was the HSV(UK) press car, had an immaculate history & was well documented in the motoring press. In reality, you'd never able to exactly replicate it, how many grey storm mica VX's with less than 36k miles are there for sale at the moment?
I'm not sure that there is even another VX in the U.K in that colour (Paul will know).
So why should I settle for something less than I had before.
Greg, a VT GTS-R is a different car, even if it has a similar bhp to my ex-car to answer your question.
This is exactly the reason I chose N-U as my HSV insurers, they are always on your side, provided of course that you have been straight with them.
We agreed on a figure of £45k after 3 discussions on the phone, a relatively painless process & the assesor was very helpful indeed. He knew that the car couldn't be exactly replaced & wanted to give me a satisfactory deal.
I've heard plenty of horror stories about "cheap" insurance co.s wriggling their way out of claims.
With a car as rare as the HSV, I was happy to pay approx. £100 more to be insured with N-U, but remember the premiums vary wildly from broker to broker.
As I said cheapest isn't always the best, unless you can guarantee that you will never claim!
>> Edited by A57 HSV on Wednesday 1st March 14:23
My car had various mods. inc. an oil cooler on the diff. Cost of these mods. was c.£20k. maybe a bit more inc. labour costs.
We took a figure of £20k for a good base vehicle & then added £25k for all the mods. & Sat. Nav. etc.
Remember it's not the retail value that N-U are interested in, the assesor new that £30k would easily buy a S/C example if/when one came up for sale. It's the position your were in before the accident that counts.
My car was the HSV(UK) press car, had an immaculate history & was well documented in the motoring press. In reality, you'd never able to exactly replicate it, how many grey storm mica VX's with less than 36k miles are there for sale at the moment?
I'm not sure that there is even another VX in the U.K in that colour (Paul will know).
So why should I settle for something less than I had before.
Greg, a VT GTS-R is a different car, even if it has a similar bhp to my ex-car to answer your question.
This is exactly the reason I chose N-U as my HSV insurers, they are always on your side, provided of course that you have been straight with them.
We agreed on a figure of £45k after 3 discussions on the phone, a relatively painless process & the assesor was very helpful indeed. He knew that the car couldn't be exactly replaced & wanted to give me a satisfactory deal.
I've heard plenty of horror stories about "cheap" insurance co.s wriggling their way out of claims.
With a car as rare as the HSV, I was happy to pay approx. £100 more to be insured with N-U, but remember the premiums vary wildly from broker to broker.
As I said cheapest isn't always the best, unless you can guarantee that you will never claim!
>> Edited by A57 HSV on Wednesday 1st March 14:23
It was certainly a weird experience sitting in a "convertible" VX. The only photo's I have are on film, not digital as they could be used as evidence. These were taken when the roof was propped back on though. If anyone has a scanner I can post the pics. to them so that they can put them on the site if anyone is interested in seeing them. Not a pretty sight though.
Just remembered that I have some pics. on my phone. I haven't learnt how to download pics. but I guess I could send them to someone's phone who is less of a Ludite than myself!
Just remembered that I have some pics. on my phone. I haven't learnt how to download pics. but I guess I could send them to someone's phone who is less of a Ludite than myself!
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