Find yourself a decent performance car insurance quote today and protect your investment. Car insurance is no joking matter, especially if it’s for your pride and joy.
If you have ever been involved in an accident, had a minor knock, a major knock, had your car vandalised, broken into or even stolen, then you know it’s no joke when it comes to getting the right cover. Not to mention, that heaven forbid you cause an accident and need to compensate the other person for damages to their car or person.
Most people will tend to go with the cheapest quote they can find, with a reasonable excess. But in any case, if you’ve got a performance car, you’ll need to find a performance car insurance policy that covers all your needs and at the right price.
Here’s What You Should Be Looking At
Insurance Groups
Assuming you know what car you’re getting, you should know what insurance group your car is. They generally go from 1 – 50, 50 being the highest. Be sensible here, if you’re 18 years old and think you can go and buy a Supra Twin Turbo and insure it, be warned it’s not going to be cheap or it may not even be possible to get insured for it at all. Although some specialist performance car insurance companies will cater for all sorts of people and age groups.
Newer cars also have a letter next to the insurance group, which correspond to a security rating as follows:
E = Exceeds the security requirement for a car of this type and the group rating has been reduced – so a group 10 car that exceeds the standard is listed as a 9E.
A = Acceptable security requirements for the car’s group.
P = Provisional – incomplete data when the model was launched.
D = Doesn’t meet the security requirement for a car of this type and the group rating has been increased as a result – so a group 8 car that doesn’t meet the standard is listed as a 9D.
U = Unacceptable – the level of security is significantly below requirements. The car won’t be uninsurable, but some insurers may insist on a security upgrade before they cover you.
G = Import – Insurance Group Ratings and security ratings are currently only allocated to vehicles built for the UK market.
These and other information can be found on the Thatcham Website! (opens new window) – have a look around, it’s full of excellent info, including security data on individual vehicles.
Type Of Car And Its Use
You need to decide what your cars going to be used for:
- Fun, weekends, commuting, track days etc
- How many miles will you do per annum
- Will the car be kept in a garage, drive, or on the road
- What cover do you need/want:
- Third party – the minimum, covers damage/loss to the other person, but not you.
- Third party, fire and theft – As above plus you’re covered if your car is stolen or damaged by fire.
- Comprehensive – As above plus covers damage/loss to your car for up to its insured value.
- What no claims bonus can you use on the car? If it’s a second car, can you use your no claims for both cars? If it’s a classic car, you can find specialists who will not require any no claims, but be warned most if not all classic car policies will require the car to be kept in a garage over night
- Have you made a claim within the last 5 years?
- Do you have any convictions or endorsements?
- What security is on the car, will you require a tracker, immobiliser, with a certificate? See my car security guide
- Where you live also unfortunately plays a part in the cost of insurance, due to higher car crime rates in certain areas
- Believe it or not your occupation can be a factor
- Your health also can be a factor
- What excess is there and on what?
- What claim limits are there?
- Will you be able to drive your car abroad?
- Limitations of use and liability, what’s covered and what’s not
- Is the car to be modified? – there are many specialist performance car insurance companies for these types of cars. Some performance car insurance companies also allow minor mods that will hardly affect your premium. Believe it or not some specialist insurance companies will insure your car for not much more for some of the major mods. It basically shows that if you are spending considerable amounts on your car, they take a view that the owner will be more likely to look after the car as his pride and joy and not be just looking for a cheap get quick, thrash it down the road car – however this will mainly apply to body mods, ice etc and not necessarily to engine upgrades. Just remember if you don’t tell them about the modifications, you may not actually be insured. Ask before you go ahead with any modifications
- An agreed value is an agreement between the insurer and you on the value of the car including any changes/mods you have made. There may also be a “modification not covered” clause as well (ask)
- You may also want to consider whether you require any additional legal/medical cover, in case of an accident that requires going to court or serious injury/death
How To Keep The Cost Down
- Find a specialist performance car insurance company, or classic car insurance specialist, then find another, then another. Don’t be afraid to shop around and get quotes from several insurers and use them against each other to reduce the cost. I’ve done this and have saved hundreds of pounds a year. Use brokers to find the cheapest quotes for non specialist cars
- Limit your mileage. If you intend to use your car on weekends only, workout how many miles you expect to do and insure the car for that amount. Some classic car / performance car insurance companies will also allow you to increase this for an extra premium later on if you need to, some wont (ask)
- Increase the excess – but be aware that if you do have an accident or claim, you’ll have to fork out for this
- Put it in a garage and add extra security with insurance approved (alarms, immobilisers, trackers and maybe a pit bull terrier?) See the car security guide
- Take an advanced driving course, some companies will reduce your premium for doing so
- Join a motoring/owners club, again most specialist performance car insurance companies will reduce your premium
- Pay for your car insurance in one go, monthly payments cost more in the long run
Things To Watch Out For
- Be aware that if you don’t have an agreed value with the insurance company you will get what they consider to be the market value and you could end up losing out! – be warned
- Following on from above, just because you get a cheap quote from somewhere, doesn’t mean you get what you need/want. There are many on-line performance car insurance companies out there, but if you needed to make a claim, how easy will it be? and with internet fraud on the increase be careful of fake insurance sites. It is best to go with a club recommended or known/well established insurance company. If you want to check if your car is on the Motor Insurance Database, check the Askmid website
- Any cancellation fees?. You may have to pay a cancellation fee, if you change your car and get a cheaper quote somewhere else, check first
- Read the small print – some companies will charge an admin fee for things like changing your address, changing your car, courtesy car hire etc
Insurance Write Off Explained
All cars subject to these categories must be disclosed by the seller of the vehicle. You must also tell your insurance company that you have/intend to purchase a previously written off vehicle, as they may not insure you or may not pay out in the event of an accident.
Cat A: These vehicles are unrepairable and are to be crushed and not put back on the road. Also no parts from these vehicles should be used for spares.
Cat B: These vehicles are unrepairable and again should never to be allowed back on the road. Some parts can be used for spares.
Cat C: These vehicles are repairable, however they have had significant damage for the insurance company not to deem them worth repairing (normally the parts and labour needed to repair them exceeds the value of the vehicle). However some are bought off the insurance company and repaired. Vehicles that are given a Cat C must have a VIC (vehicle identity check) test to check it’s identity and to get a new registration document. They will be marked with their catagory on the V5 document, until repaired and the new registration document is applied for. A record will still be kept by DVLA of it’s Cat C and will show up on a HPI check. Ensure any repair has been properly carried out by a decent garage and with good parts. Pay much less for this vehicle as you will also lose out when coming to sell it.
Cat D: These vehicles are repairable, but were considered not finacially viable by the insurance company (this may simply be because parts are not easily available and the cost of a hire car while waiting for that part may be beyond the value of the car). May also apply to minor damaged stolen/recoverd vehicles. Again ensure they have been repaired properly and with good parts and by a decent garage. Pay less for this vehicle as you will also lose out when coming to sell it.
Cat F: These vehicles are fire damaged and also deemed not worth repairing by the insurance company, but have been repaired and put back on the road. Again ensure they have been repaired properly and with good parts and by a decent garage. Pay less for this vehicle as you will also lose out when coming to sell it.
Cat X or T: These vehicles are either stolen recovered or have minimal damage and are not recorded. Many have little or no damage, but a settlement may have been made to the owner before the vehicle was found.
Modifications
Just a quick word about modifications. If you make any modifications to your car you should declare them with your insurance company or you may invalidate your insurance and may not actually be insured. The definition of a modification will vary from company to company to the point were even some insurance companies view a change of car mats to be a modification due to the item not being a standard item fitted at the factory. Some companies even view extra factory options as a modification, so take care and declare them or seek advice from your insurer.
Well we hope this has given you some things to think about and helps you get the right cover at the right price. It’s your pride and joy don’t be left with nothing when things go wrong!
