Insurance weirdness
Author
Discussion

ghibbett

Original Poster:

1,906 posts

202 months

Wednesday 2nd March 2011
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Was playing the car insurance roulette yesterday when I came across a rather strange anomaly. I was obtaining quotes for an E92 M3 and, with all other things being equal, this is how admiral quoted me:

E92 M3 garaged over night: £1065
E92 M3 sat on the driveway over night: £995
E92 M3 sat on the road over night: £990

Madness! Since when has parking on the street been safer than in a garage? Or have the insurance companies finally cottoned on to the militia-style neighbourhood watch round my way?laugh

rash_decision

1,403 posts

194 months

Wednesday 2nd March 2011
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I was told, albeit some time ago, that some insurance companies were of the opinion that if a car, such as an M3, was in a garage, any potential thief could break into the garage, and then out of sight, have time to disable any security devices. This time wouldn't be available on the street.

Don't know if there's any truth in it?!?!?!

GT03ROB

13,839 posts

238 months

Wednesday 2nd March 2011
quotequote all
ghibbett said:
Was playing the car insurance roulette yesterday when I came across a rather strange anomaly. I was obtaining quotes for an E92 M3 and, with all other things being equal, this is how admiral quoted me:

E92 M3 garaged over night: £1065
E92 M3 sat on the driveway over night: £995
E92 M3 sat on the road over night: £990

Madness! Since when has parking on the street been safer than in a garage? Or have the insurance companies finally cottoned on to the militia-style neighbourhood watch round my way?laugh
Logic is simple.....

....in a garage nobody can see thieves in action as they try to get into car...no alarm will be raised. On the driveway people more likely to see, however likely to still be remote from general public seeing something untoward. On the street people more likely to see something.

illmonkey

19,239 posts

215 months

Wednesday 2nd March 2011
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As above, but I'd say its more to do with a thief sees the car, but maybe doesn't know what house the keys are in. So it'll be forced entry to the car, maybe put the 'amateurs' off?

If someone sees a M3 go into a garage for a week, he knows what house he needs to get into to take it with the keys and there is much less chance of it being found and recovered (as it probably will be in a container within 2 hours). Replacing a car usually costs more than a repair!

CypherP

4,396 posts

209 months

Wednesday 2nd March 2011
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Tit for tat though IMO. It may be more inviting for a thief if left in a garage, but far more likely to be damaged by passers by/keyed/mirrors taken off by passing cars than if it is left on the drive or in the garage.

Logic works in the stolen vehicle situation, but not necessarily for every day accidental damage/hit and runs, which I would imagine cost the insurance companies just as much money.

dave4959

173 posts

209 months

Wednesday 2nd March 2011
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CypherP said:
Tit for tat though IMO. It may be more inviting for a thief if left in a garage, but far more likely to be damaged by passers by/keyed/mirrors taken off by passing cars than if it is left on the drive or in the garage.

Logic works in the stolen vehicle situation, but not necessarily for every day accidental damage/hit and runs, which I would imagine cost the insurance companies just as much money.
If someone took your mirror off/keyed your car, would you claim on the insurance?

AndrewW-G

11,968 posts

234 months

Wednesday 2nd March 2011
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One additional variable is the number of small claims resulting from people having small scrapes and bumps getting cars into and out of tight garages

CypherP

4,396 posts

209 months

Wednesday 2nd March 2011
quotequote all
dave4959 said:
If someone took your mirror off/keyed your car, would you claim on the insurance?
From experience, the last time someone did that in the gym car park, a new mirror, case, motor and hinge cost me a little over £550, and if I hadn't have had some extra cash to pay for it outright, then I would have to. So yes I probably would if the damage was extensive, the excess was low and the policy was protected.

I don't just mean small damage though. What if someone drove into it late at night on a public road, and decided to keep going? Still a job for the insurance company and I'm sure it happens all too often.

ZOLLAR

19,914 posts

190 months

Wednesday 2nd March 2011
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People damage their cars reversing out of the garage (onto garden wall, pedestrians etc) early in the morning in a rush to get to work, if you're parked on the street you can just pull out onto the road.
Its just one of the reasons why its cheaper on the road.

Gwagon111

4,422 posts

178 months

Wednesday 2nd March 2011
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Insurance companies work on statistical models. The model shows that there may be a few claims for minor damage, if the car is left on the street. These don't add up to a single claim for theft / attempted theft of the car, which was targeted,
because the thief knew, in which house the keys were to be found. Meanwhile, in the real world, the insurance company vermin know full well, that Joe public assumes that it will be cheaper to say that the car is kept in a garage, therefore they won't check the other options. After all, what sort of censored would charge more for locking a car in a garage eh? wink. KERRRRRRRCHING more money for the insurance company. If anyone questions it, or discovers the scam, they can get away with quoting the load of old B.S. at the start rolleyes.

Edited by Gwagon111 on Wednesday 2nd March 10:25


Edited by Gwagon111 on Wednesday 2nd March 10:26

thejpster

227 posts

179 months

Wednesday 2nd March 2011
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I just got some quotes over the phone for a Jaguar X300 I'm thinking about. They said they couldn't get any quotes for on-street parking, but driveway parking was fine (although still £630).

ZOLLAR

19,914 posts

190 months

Wednesday 2nd March 2011
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thejpster said:
I just got some quotes over the phone for a Jaguar X300 I'm thinking about. They said they couldn't get any quotes for on-street parking, but driveway parking was fine (although still £630).
Admiral said they wouldn't quote if you park on the road?. confused

Urban Sports

11,321 posts

220 months

Wednesday 2nd March 2011
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I always insure my car as being garaged, I do genuinely religiously put the car in the garage every night.

Does this mean that if I stopped insuring it in the garage and delclared it on my drive or road, and one night put it into my garage and it was stolen, then I wouldn't get paid out?

confused

geeteeaye

2,369 posts

176 months

Wednesday 2nd March 2011
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I hope this applies for very high value cars likely to be stolen with keys only, as the other 99% of cars which aren't, are considerably safer parked away in a locked garage rather than open view for any passing scrote on the road.

Also, if a thief stealing to order is going to the lengths of following a car home to see it parked in a garage and later go back to break in to that house, how does the logic work that he wouldn't follow the car home and watch which house the owner goes into? Assuming that the keys can therefore be obtained in either situation, the garage is still the 'safer' option as he still has to open the locked garage, drive the car off the property and onto the road, assuming there aren't other vehicle(s) on the drive blocking the way out. If the car is parked on-road, he's away in 10 seconds.

The one part I can understand is the thief having time to disable the immobilser etc in the garage, however how often does this actually happen nowadays? Aren't we lead to believe by the insurance companies that vehicles now are almost always stolen with the keys?

nouze

853 posts

194 months

Wednesday 2nd March 2011
quotequote all
geeteeaye said:
if a thief stealing to order is going to the lengths of following a car home to see it parked in a garage and later go back to break in to that house, how does the logic work that he wouldn't follow the car home and watch which house the owner goes into?
Hexactly

geeteeaye said:
the garage is still the 'safer' option as he still has to open the locked garage, drive the car off the property and onto the road (...) If the car is parked on-road, he's away in 10 seconds.
Plus you can come with the flatbed lorry and nick the car off the street within minutes without having to get hold of keys. Try doing same from the garage.

Gwagon111

4,422 posts

178 months

Wednesday 2nd March 2011
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Another reason, for the garage being more expensive, so I'm told, is that people have had their cars nicked when they drive out of the garage, then get out of the car to close the garage door, leaving the car running. I don't believe that either rolleyes.

geeteeaye

2,369 posts

176 months

Wednesday 2nd March 2011
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A lex said:
Lots of people crash their car into their garage.

No garage = no crash in to garage.

TBH with modern security devices I dont see any more risk parking a car on the road than I do in a garage in terms of it getting nicked, although granted the risk of vandalism or theft from the vehicle should be lower.
I've never heard of anyone 'crashing' into their garage, obviously people may have the odd scrape but these aren't going to be insurance claims.

Still don't think this adds up versus having your car keyed or otherwise vandalised/hit and run/broken into on the road.

WRT with modern security no more risk on the road, as has been said a low loader or tow truck can have your car away very quickly if on the road and if the keys are obtained it's easier to make a getaway from the road too.

I'm more annoyed as took out insurance 12 months ago and this was one variable I didn't even think to compare as I religiously garage the car, more for peace of mind.

Futuramic

1,763 posts

222 months

Wednesday 2nd March 2011
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A lex said:
Lots of people crash their car into their garage.

No garage = no crash in to garage.

TBH with modern security devices I dont see any more risk parking a car on the road than I do in a garage in terms of it getting nicked, although granted the risk of vandalism or theft from the vehicle should be lower.
There is more risk attached to parking in the open. No securtiy device can disable a truck with a crane. A new and emerging type of theft involves lifting the entire car with a Hiab and taking it away to be broken up. Similar to the old days of motorbike stealing.

A garage would prevent that.

Corsair7

20,911 posts

264 months

Wednesday 2nd March 2011
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You've got a house with a garage you say....?

Well, how posh, you can afford to pay more then..... smile


(thats what I think they're saying, anyway)

McSam

6,753 posts

192 months

Wednesday 2nd March 2011
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To add some more data to this - if not any opinion on why it is - my quotes just came out thus:

Driveway: £1099.50
On-street: £1089.79
Garaged: £1221.40
Residential parking area: £1117.42 (Whatever one of those is)
Car park, Work car park and Railway car park all the same: £1188.72

So, phenomenally, any random car park is deemed a lower risk than your garage.

The value of the car in question seems to have no moment on this one, since I'm finding the same differences - perhaps even more drastically - as the OP, but my car's worth a grand, rather than fifty.