RMS - Member Insurance Scheme

Hi jamie615,

We have access to two classic car schemes that would be available, but our main scheme targets cars aged over 20 years old.

The classic scheme is aimed at genuine classic models (MGB, Triumph Spitfire/Stag, E-type Jaguar, Mk1 VW Beetle, MK1 Golf Gti etc) that are featured within the classic car media.

NCB is not required or earned and it will need to be a 2nd car to you with you having access to another vehicle owned/Insured in your name for everyday use. It will also need to be on a limited annual mileage basis.

Kind regards

Tony

Cheers tony, pm sent

thanks for getting back to me

im 24 with 5 ncb on my current car,

i was thinking of getting something like a 2000 Honda Integra as a second car, dont mind limited miles as it will be rare weekend use as a second car.

do you have a suitable policy?

Hi jamie615,

With a year 2000 Honda Integra we wouldn't be able to use a classic policy, but you would be able to reduce the cost by limiting the mileage and excluding commuting use.

Providing you're free from non-recoverable incidents in the last 4-5 years we do have schemes that can offer "mirrored" concessions of your NCB percentage from your first vehicle to the second, which would help.

We do normally need to cover the first car (we can cover a Citroen V2 VTS) to be able to achieve the mirror, so it may be worth discussing both when you call.

Kind regards

Tony

Hi Tony, hope all is well. Ok got an insurance query.

For a learner driver, what is teh crack?

My wee cousin is wanting to learn to drive, his mum bought him a Golf, not sure of spec, old enough, like maybe a year 2000, but just standard.

Back home In ballymena they are struggeling to get insurance, some company is awantin them to install some black box, with a monthly charge on teh box aswell as the insurance premium.

Can you give me a quote, I was going to put it under my name, I'm 31 or 32, have 6 years full no claims. I'd be wanting to insure the golf and put my learner cousin under my name. you able to help? It would be stored in a garage, in a sercue compound(on the farm) , in the country,behind electric gates and all, so safe enough,lol.

Bear in mind, I live in Woodford, only a short trip to Brentwood, to give you a boot in the hole,lol.

Hi Karlos,

Insurance for very young or new drivers is pretty horrific these days, which is mainly due to their having the highest frequency of accidents. Which is compounded by the high average cost of claims these days due to a high proportion of claims (used to be 6/100 accidents, these days it's nearer 40/100) having injury compensation and lawyers fees attached.

The farm location that the vehicle is kept at would be really helpful when covering a performance, or high value vehicle. But the main risk to the Insurer with very young drivers isn't theft/vandalism, it's what they do (with the car) and who they injure with the vehicle.

Unless he's declared as the main driver under your policy (which would defeat the object) covering him under your name would be seen by Underwriters as a form of Insurance fraud known as fronting, so that route isn't a viable option.

Getting cover for a provisional driver will be pretty straight forward without a telematics (black box), but quite a lot of these policies only cover accompanied provisional drivers and will not cover the driver once they have passed their test.

Here's two options for provisional drivers:
http://www.provisionalmarmalade.co.uk/
http://www.quinn-direct.co.uk/ni/car/young_driver.html

The other option that will be competitive and will allow your cousin the chance to prove he's a decent driver is the black box (telematics) route. Telematics is an area Insurers are focussing upon, which just about every UK Insurer has been developing over the last 2 years.

It's likely to be the only viable option for very young drivers, or people without NCB. As this allows Insurers to base premiums upon the actual driving style/use of the vehicle, rather than a generalisation based upon their historic claims costs from drivers with the same risk circumstances.

One of the earliest and most successful providers of 'black box' telematics Insurance for young drivers is the Co-Op, who would also be worth a try. As would the Dublin based XS Direct, if their 'pumpkin' policy extends to Northern Ireland. Details as follows:

http://www.co-operativeinsurance.co.uk/servlet/Satellite/1228203835143,CFSweb/Page/Insurance-Car
http://xsdirect.ie/car-insurance/pumpkin-policy/

Unfortunately from a Greenlight perspective we're currently unable to help, as our policies require NCB, drivers to be aged 21 or over and the vehicle would need to be a performance model.

We have been researching telematics since May last year and have been looking at this as an option for covering younger drivers, but this is not likely to be live anytime soon.

You've been an ever present long standing member since i've been upon RMS, so it's great to see that you're still here despite moving to Woodford

Kind regards

Tony

Hey Tony,

tried to obtain a quote from you guys there but got a mail stating that my application falls outside your acceptance criteria of the specialist vehicle schemes.
Could you perhaps PM me with why this is?

Thanks.

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the application.

Looking into this for you is no problem.

Our reply to you should explain the specific detail within an accompanying document attached to the email, but I can easily look into this for you.

Can you PM me your actual name, postcode and if possible the registration number of the vehicle in order that I can trace your application with us.

Kind regards

Tony

I'm not surprised you guys rejected him. I guess you have heard of steer from the rear,lol.

And Tony thank you for you reply. My cousin in question is only an L Driver, hasn't passed his test, so need to be under someones name. And the youth of today, they are terrible, I could drive when i was 9 yeras old on the farm. My wee cousin is 16, don't think he has even started a car. The XBOX is to blame.

Listen here you, I'm a model citizen now

A model citizen with Skillz,.

Big thanks to Tony, saved £170 off my renewal quote with Quinn this year!

Is BT5 still blacklisted by your underwriters Tony?
Cheers
D

, you must be near me mate!

I've got quotes from Greenlight before though?

Just off Sandown Road Ian. I've been insured with Greelight before and they did quote me for the M3 but were more expensive than Flux at the time. Couldn't quote me this time last year though due to the "BT5 embargo". I had to take out a new policy for the 130 when I got it as Flux wouldn't transfer my M3 policy over as the car wasn't modified. Also had 6 months remaining on the policy which I paid £750 for and only refunded me £180! Sid there were mid policy cancellation fees and I was lucky to get the £180 as "goodwill"!
Sorry for hijacking your thread Tony

Hi Deezer D,

I've had a chance to have a look at the criteria for postcodes with several of our main Underwriters and they are currently listing BT5 as excluded.

We had been covering BT5 since 2006 and the exclusion was only introduced in 2011, coming into effect as a precautionary measure after rioting in Strandtown last summer.

There has been a particular focus by Underwriters upon their exposure to malicious damage from volatile areas, or associated damage from riot and civil commotion within the rating of Insurance. This review by Underwriters stemmed from (and has also been applied) within specific mainland UK postcode areas that experienced the rioting/looting (starting in Tottenham, London) last August.

With the Underwriters logic presumably being that by not taking on new customers from the area in question, they are able to gauge how things are going based upon their experiences with existing customers they Insure who are resident there. Whilst not exposing themselves to additional customers within the postcode.

There are some areas (such as Tottenham for example) that are likely to endure a longer exclusion, the likelihood is that with the overall location and positive demographic this will be overturned at some stage in the future.

Kind regards

Tony

Hi Deezer-D,

Sorry to hear that you had a hard time with Flux.

From what we had seen and heard over the years, we had always found them to be a decent firm.

With regard to the refund received from Flux, if the Insurer that Flux had used couldn't accommodate a change from the modified M3 to a standard 130 they should have issued a preferentially rated refund (on a pro-rata basis). Which usually works out far better than the general short period cancellation charge, so it may be worth checking that with them.

Kind regards

Tony

Hi Pablo,

All Insurers require disclosure of changes in material information throughout the contract.

There should not be a mid term increase in premium for this and any impact relating to premium, or terms imposed will be at the first (and subsequent) renewals thereafter.

The only exception would be where the specific conviction in question is something that is unacceptable to the respective Insurer, which effectively meant that you did not qualify for cover with them. This is rare and the Insurer in question would either have to apply bespoke (one off terms) after assessment or in the worst eventuality they would have to instigate policy cancellation.

My advice would be to let the Insurer know asap, as with run of the mill convictions they will simply note their records.

Kind regards

Tony

Hi Broomy,

No problem.

With your vehicle being a model that we don't usually cover I was unsure as to how competitive we would be, so I'm glad it all worked out and we could help.

Thanks for your custom, it's appreciated

Kind regards

Tony

Hi Tony,

Ive my renewal due at the end of March so did a quick quote with yourselves as i do every year but unfortunatley you's are £200 dearer than my renewal from Axa. I would really like to join Greenlight seeing as im now 25 with no point, 4 years ncb and an IAM full membership and drive a pretty mundane lowered Bora V5 but just cannot justify the uncompetitive quote which is rather annoying seeing as i hear of people from RMS getting great prices from yourselves.

I'm anxiously awaiting my renewal, due in a few weeks too. I've been lucky enough that it's continued to drop every year, so fingers crossed its the same this year!

Hi Dan,

Many thanks for trying us, it's totally appreciated.

The ethos of our schemes is to cover vehicles that people take pride in owning, where the vehicle has a cherished factor that makes it more than just a piece of metal to the owner. Performance cars have this factor and we also feel someone who has planned, then spent their hard earned cash upon carrying out often extensive modifications to their vehicle to alter it to their exact specification represents a good moral factor in a policyholder.

Which usually results in greater care shown toward the vehicle.

Whilst we will always look to provide a quotation wherever possible, we do tend to be more competitive for the performance car models (standard or modified) rather than the mundane.

We do offer our best deal first time every time, but the full IAM membership does represent additional material information and is something that will enable a positive re-referral to Underwriters. Although with the level of difference in mind I can't see that we will be able to improve our offer by £200.

That said, I'm happy to review your application, particularly as you would really like to join Greenlight.

Kind regards

Tony

Hi Stuarty1984,

It shouldn't be too anxious a wait.

We will always look for factors that reduce exposure to Underwriters and will use these when rating both renewals and prospective customers.

Claims inflation has been the real problem with Motor Insurance as a whole, the cost of claims has increased considerably in line with the extremely high level of personal injury claims being presented (raised from 6% of accidents having personal injury claims historically to 40-44% in some areas).

Going back 7-8 years the average cost of a claim was in the region of £770, these days it's nearer £2600.

The primary factor driving these costs is injury claims, which has resulted in claims inflation (direct cost increases to Insurers) of around 7.5% this year. Meaning that where customers already enjoy the maximum discount possible (based upon all risk factors) they would see an increase of around 7.5%.

Where additional factors (moving into a different rating banding through circumstance, age, NCB, experience, location etc) improve, the claims inflation can be offset by concessions for proven factors. Which will have been what has happened in your own personal situation, where you have experienced reductions (against the trend of the Motor market) over the last few years.

We are selective under our preferentially rated products and look for drivers with prior experience of performance models, who have NCB in their own name (amongst other factors). Which helps with regard to reducing the chance of experiencing the larger claims that have such a detrimental impact upon rating.

No need to panic, there is likely to be a marginal impact upon rating (if any).

Kind regards

Tony