As classic car owners prepare for the forthcoming season, it might be far from the most enjoyable thing about owning a classic, but choosing the correct insurance policy is crucial in making sure your pride and joy is fully protected.
If you planning on taking part in ‘Drive it Day’ or any of the other events that take place early on in the classic calendar you are hopefully fully prepared already. Yet with the rising costs of living and indeed motoring, combined with a huge range of different insurance policy choices in the current marketplace, making sure you get the right one is not so easy, so taking the time to talk to a specialist is time well spent.
Fortunately, Andy Fairchild, of specialist insurance broker Footman James is on hand, to make the choice that bit easier and provide some tips to help keep classic enthusiasts on the road.
T:Find a policy that includes your chosen extras as standard.
All Footman James motor policies include European and UK breakdown cover, legal expenses cover, road rage personal accident cover and emergency travel cover.
Some companies may not include these as standard, so if you are shopping round for insurance, you must remember that any price comparison has to take any differences into account.
Different brokers include different services as standard, so it is essential that you find out exactly what you are getting for your money. That is the only way to truly compare policies.
T: Ensure you obtain the true value for your classic in the event of a write-off or it is stolen, this way you will not be out of pocket.
Heaven forbid your pride and joy should come to grief, but if that fateful situation should arise, Footman James’ policies offer an ‘agreed value’ option. This means the vehicle’s true value is confirmed when you first take out the policy taking any extra stress away in the event of a claim.
For example, a 1966 Jaguar Mk 2 3.8L could carry a market price of around £10,500, yet if it was in good to excellent condition, the car could be worth far in excess of this, hence the importance of the agreed value.
T: If you have more than one car to insure, save money with a multi vehicle policy.
If you are the proud owner of more than one classic vehicle, we offer customers multi-vehicle cover, which allows drivers to insure several classics on one policy.
This may result in a lower premium, and means motorists can spend their time enjoying their classics, and only have to remember the one renewal date instead of several.
Multi-vehicle cover makes life a whole lot easier for classics collectors and provides better value for money.
Footman James is also aware that most classics owners might not want to risk taking their much-loved vehicle on everyday errands such as the terrifying weekly supermarket run, and instead have a modern vehicle as their ‘daily run-around’.
In most instances we allow for modern vehicles to be included on our multi-vehicle policies, providing the majority of the vehicles on the policy are classified as ‘classic’.
T: If you don’t notch up many miles in your classic, you can benefit from a cheaper premium by limiting the mileage.
If your classic only hits the road on the few occasions when the British sun shines, there’s an ideal option for you.
The limited mileage option is the choice of many of our classic vehicle customers as they genuinely only use their vehicles periodically through the year and therefore benefit from a cheaper premium. Mileage options usually come in various bands, such as 1500, 3000 and 4500 miles per year.
It works on the principle that the fewer miles you drive, the less your risk of an accident.
Many makes and models that are more than 30 years old automatically qualify for unlimited mileage, which is usually charged at the same premium as the 3000-mile option.
T: If you have made a few changes to your classic, let your insurer know as you may not be covered in the event of a claim.
We know how tempting it is to give your pride and joy that extra oomph under the bonnet, but before you set about it, make sure your insurance provider is told about any modifications to your vehicle. To put it bluntly, if you don’t declare any changes made, your insurance could be invalid.
Very small alterations are unlikely to affect your current premium however all changes must be declared.
For example, while the worst of the weather is hopefully now behind us, some classic owners may have decided to play it safe during the last few months and change their tyres to winter ones. Some insurers may class the change as a modification and increase the premiums accordingly, but not at Footman James! We would like to know about it though, so please pick up the phone and advise us of the change and we will make a note on your file.
