Pleez Xplayne????

[Alan S]

Whenever we ask the question as to why the the premiums to insure certain cars is as high as it is, the Insurance wallers all sing the same song; price of parts, number of cars of a certain brand/model involved in prangs, resale value, availability of parts, ease to work on, attractiveness to thieves.
Now let's take it apart piece by piece:
Price of parts - most of the cars we own would be well supplied with recycled parts through the wrecking industry which most insurers would insiste were used due to the age of the vehicle.
Number of cars of a certain make/model involved in prangs: Why then is it when we see Damaged vehicle auctions, very few Renaults, Pugs or Cits seem to be there?
Resale value: Below average.
Availability of parts: Refer above as regards the number being wrecked.
Easr to work on: When doing body work, a lot of Froggys are easier than some local stuff & definitely much easier than Jap stuff. A BX and D for example can have doors & wings removed a la FJ Holden bolt on style.
Attractiveness to thieves: Most wouldn't even know how to open the door on one & if they did, who would they sell the bits to?
Volume is used as another excuse but let's face it, things like Proteins and say Holden Camiras would be struggling to match volume these days.
Anyone ever had reasons other than those I've outlined to "justify" the outlandish premiums?
I'm toying with the idea of harrassing some of these Insurance moguls in an attempt to get a better deal for us as I don't believe they can justify the figures quoted.
Any information you can pass on will be most appreciated.

Alan S

 

[Bruce H]

Alan, not a response that helps, but I think it's just market share. Fleece the few Citroenists and other minorities so you can keep you prices ultra-competitive on the possibly volume areas of Commodores and Falcons, etc - the only risk assessment you undertake is how much you can fleece one part of the market to subsidise the other.
Having said that, I still can't understand why it cost less to insure a brand new Xsara than a 12yo BX, particularly when I've seen so many Xsaras in the insurance auctions.

 

[GreenBlood]

Yeah, know where your coming from Alan,

Just had to renew mine XM, D, and in small writing so no one notices Landrover Discovery with a HUGE bullbar shy eek! shy (Denise is looking for a reasonably priced 406TD wagon )

I like the questions like where is vehicle parked (i) Day time
(ii) Night time
Is the car in a locked gararge at night, is it in a fire proof booth, is it in a bomb proof shelter... your suburb is also rated. Like most insurance if there is any remote likelihood that you could make a claim they don't wan't to know you evil

Also noticed on our current renewals a Terrorism Exclusion Endorsement..
**************************************************
We will not pay for death,injury, illness, compensation, loss, damage, expence or loss of profit, which is directly or indirectly caused by or arising from or in connection with any act of terrorism regardless of any other cause or event contributing concurrently or in any other sequence to the loss.
**************************************************

Then goes on to give a defintion of Terrorism.

It occurs to me that I would be better off with TPFT only, but after a couple of recent posts Alan/Craig my luck can only hold for so long.

Can't live with 'em, can't live without em

Cheers
Chris

 

[Alan S]

Bruce & Chris,

I reckon that I've screwed a top deal out of my insurance company by doing a couple of things that to me were common sense based on my experience with Insurance companies from the other side of the desk.
Back in the gold tooth, chains, shades & obligatory fag hanging out the side of the gob tyre kicking days, I had to try to balance a good deal for clients whilst still showing allegiance to the company & the Insurance kick back so I was often told the tricks particularly as it often meant playing two ends to the middle.
If I can get a bit of feed back from owners who have been using a company & getting a good deal, using one that suddenly did a massive price hike and they changed or anyone who's had a good or bad experience with a company or broker, I'd like to hear about it so that I can form a plan of attack & go looking for whoever is most competitive.
I would like to hope that at the end of the day, we might be able to get someone who'll give us a fair go & in exchange, we can give them a swag of business.
Insurance Companies are like Oil Companies; they're big, greedy and don't like the prospect of their opposition beating them to a dollar.
With the size of the membership on this board, I'll be surprised if I can't get one to bite.
Might see if I can get a few tips off Rodney Adler eek! eek! eek! clown tongue

Alan S

 

[David Cavanagh]

Careful Alan when quoting parts prices, list price for a BX 16valve front bar is over $3,000. A very minor front damage, say bumber, grille, lights and bonnet can be over $5,000 in parts alone. I know none of us would pay that, we'd search the world for the best price but an insurance company will work on Citroen list prices and there's not many 16V's in wreckers yards with good fronts on them.

David.

 

[petermelb]

I have my DS insured with RACV under their classic scheme, which I found cost effective, and around half the price of Shannons. I had a claim last year, their service was good, the only problem being the exhorbitant quote supplied by the specialist repairer (quote began, "remove spare wheel and tools, $20" .... ). Car was repaied by a local panel shop who did a great job on the panels but could not work out how to put the lights back together properly.
Maybe the blame cannot be laid entirely on the insurance companies when some repairers are out to screw anyone that comes their way.

 

[DoubleChevron]

Hi Peter,

well I've just had a quote from Shanons for my '63 ID19. It appears they are the cheapest around for 'limited use' rego ie: Club plate cars.

For full comprehensive and the car with agreed value of $7,000 it's about $90.00 a year. Through anyone else club rego or not, I couldn't even get 3rd party property (no fire & theft) for that

It's important I think that you list all the cars you own with them. Obviously if you own 12 old cars, your considered an 'enthusiest' and the quote reflects this. I think I listed about 8cars with them (even though they aren't ensured and are 'restoration' cases ) --If you have 'restoration' cases, I think that says how much you care about your old cars

seeya,
Shane L.