Admiral Insurance confusion
Discussion
I've just requested a quote for a 650S from Admiral who I've been with for years. They asked for details of any optional extras fitted to the car and I gave them the full list (carbon parts, sports exchaust, nose lift etc) and they told me they can't insure the car as they cannot insure the nose life (comes under hydraulics). Has anyone else had this issue? Doesn't make sense! Most McLarens have nose lift and I bet lots are insured with them.
Meeko said:
I've just requested a quote for a 650S from Admiral who I've been with for years. They asked for details of any optional extras fitted to the car and I gave them the full list (carbon parts, sports exchaust, nose lift etc) and they told me they can't insure the car as they cannot insure the nose life (comes under hydraulics). Has anyone else had this issue? Doesn't make sense! Most McLarens have nose lift and I bet lots are insured with them.
That's most peculiar.I assume you're insuring for accident damage not a mechanical warranty.
I insured a Superleggera with Admiral for a few years BUT I didn't mention the lift.
I always say (when its true), the car is exactly as it came from the manufacturer or dealer ie I have not modified the car in any way.
My issue with Admiral was getting an agreed value in writing which they wouldn't do. I have now swapped to Lockton for my current car,
Yes, the quote was for regular compreshensive insurance, not mechanical warranty. I explained it left the factory that way and those items were specified at the poiint of sale and installed at the factory. The agent explained she'd spoken with her manager who confirmed they do not insure cars with nose lift. Does that mean if they have insured cars and the lift wasn't disclosed, they wouldn't pay out I wonder (on a technicality)?
Be very very careful with Admiral - their policy is that optional extras are modifications -
"12.Standard parts replacement
Your policy does not cover modifications.
If you make a claim for loss or damage to your vehicle, provided it is economical to do so, we will only pay the cost of
replacing parts needed for your vehicle to meet the manufacturer’s specification along with any optional extras and/
or disability adaptations you have declared"
"Modifications Any changes to your vehicle’s standard specification, including accessories and
additional parts, optional extras and aftermarket alterations, trade related changes
and parts."
emphasis mine
https://www.admiral.com/policyDocs/AD-003-027-Your...
"12.Standard parts replacement
Your policy does not cover modifications.
If you make a claim for loss or damage to your vehicle, provided it is economical to do so, we will only pay the cost of
replacing parts needed for your vehicle to meet the manufacturer’s specification along with any optional extras and/
or disability adaptations you have declared"
"Modifications Any changes to your vehicle’s standard specification, including accessories and
additional parts, optional extras and aftermarket alterations, trade related changes
and parts."
emphasis mine
https://www.admiral.com/policyDocs/AD-003-027-Your...
essayer said:
Be very very careful with Admiral - their policy is that optional extras are modifications -
"12.Standard parts replacement
Your policy does not cover modifications.
If you make a claim for loss or damage to your vehicle, provided it is economical to do so, we will only pay the cost of
replacing parts needed for your vehicle to meet the manufacturer’s specification along with any optional extras and/
or disability adaptations you have declared"
"Modifications Any changes to your vehicle’s standard specification, including accessories and
additional parts, optional extras and aftermarket alterations, trade related changes
and parts."
emphasis mine
https://www.admiral.com/policyDocs/AD-003-027-Your...
I ended up swerving Admiral as during the quote phase they ask for all optional extras fitted and on a Mclaren this is as stated above anything that is paid for over and above the bog standard spec."12.Standard parts replacement
Your policy does not cover modifications.
If you make a claim for loss or damage to your vehicle, provided it is economical to do so, we will only pay the cost of
replacing parts needed for your vehicle to meet the manufacturer’s specification along with any optional extras and/
or disability adaptations you have declared"
"Modifications Any changes to your vehicle’s standard specification, including accessories and
additional parts, optional extras and aftermarket alterations, trade related changes
and parts."
emphasis mine
https://www.admiral.com/policyDocs/AD-003-027-Your...
I found it very wishy washy the way the Admiral rep approached it and it would have been very easy to miss something out eg the satin diamond cut on your declared super lightweight wheels..... I felt that they would possibly use this non declaration to invalidate the policy at some critical stage. Yes they are cheap but I ended up paying more at NFU they just seemed a lot more trustworthy.
I am going through the usual yearly insurance update after swapping to the Mclaren on my current policy with Manning (see thread below), as usual some very helpful pointers on here but decided to swerve Admiral for having to list every factory option.
As with my other thread although people are insuring with Footman James they wouldnt quote me as it wasnt 10 years old, aviva wouldnt even quote, no idea why, so after having secured some other quotes with the recommends i think i will be sticking with Manning, unlimited track days, no need for Tracker activation which all the others required (aplan, lockton etc) and considerably less expensive, although they have just gone up to 15% track excess.
As with my other thread although people are insuring with Footman James they wouldnt quote me as it wasnt 10 years old, aviva wouldnt even quote, no idea why, so after having secured some other quotes with the recommends i think i will be sticking with Manning, unlimited track days, no need for Tracker activation which all the others required (aplan, lockton etc) and considerably less expensive, although they have just gone up to 15% track excess.
Thanks so much for all of your advice as always. I've called so many companies - Aviva also refused to cover it and I'm waiting got calls back from A Plan, Mannings, and NFU. In the meantime I called back Admiral and ran through the quote again (my other car is expiring tomorrow). She confirmed that as the lift is less than 5cm it is covered (under "Suspension - Other" if anyone else has same issue). Am very pleased I persevered as the pricing is very competitive. Thanks again.
I would really recommend to AVOID Admiral group companies for sport/supercars now.
I was insured with them for years but am currently in an ombudsman dispute with them as they refused to pay a theft claim in full as they classify factory fitted options as modifications (contrary to their original T&Cs).
BE VERY CAREFUL. This is a stealthy way to reduce payouts as there is no such thing as a ‘standard’ car. I hope everyone has declared the metallic paint on their car as you guessed it, this is now a ‘modification’ as per Admiral group T&Cs. It’s madness why they are doing this and in such a surreptitious way to be purposefully unclear... it’s like looking up the definition of blue and it says red. My experience also confirms that they 100% use this to adjust payouts in the event of a claim.
You have been warned.
I was insured with them for years but am currently in an ombudsman dispute with them as they refused to pay a theft claim in full as they classify factory fitted options as modifications (contrary to their original T&Cs).
BE VERY CAREFUL. This is a stealthy way to reduce payouts as there is no such thing as a ‘standard’ car. I hope everyone has declared the metallic paint on their car as you guessed it, this is now a ‘modification’ as per Admiral group T&Cs. It’s madness why they are doing this and in such a surreptitious way to be purposefully unclear... it’s like looking up the definition of blue and it says red. My experience also confirms that they 100% use this to adjust payouts in the event of a claim.
You have been warned.
I am with Admiral for our cars which include a Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera and an Aston Martin DB9 GT Volante.
For all the cars, I have ticked every “modification” box that relates to anything optional from the factory and included Remaps (which both cars have). I have even ticked modification boxes for things like Spoilers (which are standard on the SL), dash cams and so forth.
Later this year, the SL will have Swift Lowering springs fitted, which will be declared accordingly.
Based on the declarations I have made, I am satisfied that they would have a very very hard time trying to wriggle out of a payout if the worst happens.
The general advice I would give is be super specific with ANY insurance company and ideally speak on the phone initially to cover all bases and then follow up with an email requesting they acknowledge everything therein.
People don’t realise, you should declare any and all modifications (in some cases factory options, such as with Admiral - they are not the only ones) even stripes, decals, air filter upgrades (K&N etc), window tints or tints to anything (head lamps/tail lamps etc).
Lack of disclosure to any insurance company for anything is foolhardy.
For all the cars, I have ticked every “modification” box that relates to anything optional from the factory and included Remaps (which both cars have). I have even ticked modification boxes for things like Spoilers (which are standard on the SL), dash cams and so forth.
Later this year, the SL will have Swift Lowering springs fitted, which will be declared accordingly.
Based on the declarations I have made, I am satisfied that they would have a very very hard time trying to wriggle out of a payout if the worst happens.
The general advice I would give is be super specific with ANY insurance company and ideally speak on the phone initially to cover all bases and then follow up with an email requesting they acknowledge everything therein.
People don’t realise, you should declare any and all modifications (in some cases factory options, such as with Admiral - they are not the only ones) even stripes, decals, air filter upgrades (K&N etc), window tints or tints to anything (head lamps/tail lamps etc).
Lack of disclosure to any insurance company for anything is foolhardy.
Admiral insurance are a despicable company to deal with, I have my Mercedes E63s and my Lamborghini Huracan Perf on a dual policy with them, I have full NCB on my Merc and 1 year on my Perf as it was bought new March last year, I had no fault claim where some debris came off a van and slightly damaged the PPF wrap on the front of it which I had repaired through the van drivers insurance. Admiral straightaway added £920 to my policy which they then halved to £460 as it was a no fault claim, but they wouldn’t remove the additional £460 from my policy as the believe as I’ve had this incident I would be liable to have another one.
Baring in mind I’ve got 15 years no claims on the Merc and a clean driving license, it seems pretty unlikely but they still won’t take away the addition to my premium…..I know it’s only £460 but it the principle and they’ve seriously pissed me off !!
Baring in mind I’ve got 15 years no claims on the Merc and a clean driving license, it seems pretty unlikely but they still won’t take away the addition to my premium…..I know it’s only £460 but it the principle and they’ve seriously pissed me off !!
rjg1966 said:
Admiral insurance are a despicable company to deal with, I have my Mercedes E63s and my Lamborghini Huracan Perf on a dual policy with them, I have full NCB on my Merc and 1 year on my Perf as it was bought new March last year, I had no fault claim where some debris came off a van and slightly damaged the PPF wrap on the front of it which I had repaired through the van drivers insurance. Admiral straightaway added £920 to my policy which they then halved to £460 as it was a no fault claim, but they wouldn’t remove the additional £460 from my policy as the believe as I’ve had this incident I would be liable to have another one.
Baring in mind I’ve got 15 years no claims on the Merc and a clean driving license, it seems pretty unlikely but they still won’t take away the addition to my premium…..I know it’s only £460 but it the principle and they’ve seriously pissed me off !!
Insurance is a real lottery. It's easy to say its only £460 but if they do that to only 100 customers per year........Baring in mind I’ve got 15 years no claims on the Merc and a clean driving license, it seems pretty unlikely but they still won’t take away the addition to my premium…..I know it’s only £460 but it the principle and they’ve seriously pissed me off !!
I still have 4 vehicles on a multi policy but my Perf is at Lockton.
I have said this before but please make sure you have agreed values in writing with Admiral. They refused on my Superleggera and wouldn't budge from a verbal 'you will get market value in the event of a write off'
The view that an accident (even non fault) makes you more likely to be involved in another accident is pretty standard across the industry - definitely not Admiral specific. How they all deal with it, and how much load they apply obviously varies though.
I'm with Admiral simply because I had very limited options when I bought my current car. Most would not insure it unless it was garaged - and it doesn't fit in my garage. Admiral were the only ones who didn't seem to care, and were the cheapest by far - perhaps that's because they wouldn't pay out if anything happened, but there are plenty of people who have had good results with them.
Mine is due for renewal in about 2 months so will shop around then - value of the car has dropped a bit since I bought it, so perhaps I have more choice now.
I'm with Admiral simply because I had very limited options when I bought my current car. Most would not insure it unless it was garaged - and it doesn't fit in my garage. Admiral were the only ones who didn't seem to care, and were the cheapest by far - perhaps that's because they wouldn't pay out if anything happened, but there are plenty of people who have had good results with them.
Mine is due for renewal in about 2 months so will shop around then - value of the car has dropped a bit since I bought it, so perhaps I have more choice now.
davek_964 said:
The view that an accident (even non fault) makes you more likely to be involved in another accident is pretty standard across the industry - definitely not Admiral specific. How they all deal with it, and how much load they apply obviously varies though.
.
Quite..
I was speaking to a chap a while ago who runs one of the big U.K. general insurance businesses.
I asked him what the one thing I should never do as customer was?
He simply said “claim”.
I think it’s an absolute con, I’ve had a clean licence for well over 10 years, maximum no claims and I’ve barely done 2000 miles in a year in my Perf, my car is also kept in a garage when not in use and I have a gated property in which no one can get in and out of without our say so. If the incident I had was my fault it wouldn’t be an issue and I’d happily pay the increased premium but, surely that should be added to my premium for next year rather than been tagged onto it this year…..it just seems morally wrong and unjustified, my two cars were costing me around £1500 pa to insure and through no fault of my own it’s now £2000, it’s just wrong !!
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