I have a 1991 Eunos that I have owned for 12 years - named Benny!
When I first got him I used him as my everyday car but now he is getting older I have retired him and only use him during the summer … as we had no summer last year I only did 132 miles in him over the last year [:(]
Currently I insure him with bog standard insurance companies but as I use him so little I really need to get the costs down of keeping him. Does anyone insure their MX on a classic policy? If so can you recommend some companies I can try for quotes?
5000 miles and includes full breakdown recovery in UK and Europe. Really good service; helpful and polite. Didn’t even charger a penny for the admin during a recent plate transfer.
Friend of mine has also insured his '68 Mustang with them too; they were a few more pounds than the cheapest but their politeness and attitude won him over.
The break down bit is only £24.00 and I haven’t used it yet , but I am sure I will get my moneys worth sooner or later. So far it has only had mild break downs and have been able to get home ok.
Does anyone know the criteria required to obtain “classic” insurance at a sensible price? Do these criteria vary by underwriter?
I suspect that some or all of the following may be required:
Vehicle is over 15 years old
Limited mileage
Vehicle is a second vehicle and the policyholder already holds a policy on a main vehicle
I got some quotes for “classic” cover from FJ and AF last year for a therotical 15 year old 1.6 Eunos covering less than 3,000 miles per year and didn’t think that the quotes were all great, compared to the premiums for a 2004 Mondeo 2.0 that I owned at the time, used for SDP + commuting. I have full NCD and a clean licence. Postcode is suburban and not high risk.
I gave up using the car for commuting and now use bus + train to get to/from work each day. We now have only one car (2007 Golf TDI) which is registered and insured in the wife’s name as she is the main user. I was intending to acquire a Eunos and insure in my name for fair weather use.
Is the fact that I no longer have insurance in my own name on a main vehicle counting against me for a keen “classic” premium?
I don’t know a lot about this, but I can answer some of your questions…
With Footman James, although the website says 15 years old if you’re a club member they will insure your car on a classic policy. You need to phone them to do that. I’ve been looking to buy another MX5 (I owned a 2000 registered 1.8iS around 6 years ago) getting quotes for a 1996 1.8 from them.
Following Vin Rouge’s post earlier in this thread (thanks for the tip), I tried RH Classic Insurance and can agree with him that they are very good (so was the chap I spoke to at FJ). RH count any car over 11 years old as classic, based on the year rather than actual date of registration (I asked for a quote on a 99 V plate and they said it would be 1 Jan 2010 before that could go on a classic policy).
My quotes for 3000 miles wih legal and breakdown cover were £227 with Footman James and £194 with RH. FJ has £100 excess and RH has £150. That’s in the suburbs of Leeds, garaged, for a 33 year old male driving. I have a daily driver insured with Liverpool Victoria, on which I have full NCD but I wasn’t asked anything about my NCD; just whether I owned another car, and the usual stuff about claims and convictions in past 3 or 5 years. I think the number of years you’ve held a full licence has a bearing for classic policies.
From memory, I don’t think you build up or can use NCD on a classic policy, so it may be worth looking at a normal policy on which you can keep your NCD going as I think it expires after 2 years unused.
Damien, do you have any contact details for RH Classic Insurance?
I asked my previous insurer (Privilege) about my “frozen” NCD. They said that it would expire after 2 years with most insurers but Privilege would honour it for up to 3 years if I came back to them for cover.
Last year Privilege would not quote me for an imported Eunos but I was surprised to discover that this year they will. They quoted me £233 for a 92 Eunos 1.6 valued at £2,000, parked on a driveway in Huddersfield, upto 3,000 miles per year. I am 42 and have a clean licence and full NCD. Policy is fully comp with protected NCD and legal cover. Green Flag recovery will probably add another £70 to this. A 92 Eunos 1.6 V-Spec is £250, a 94 Eunos 1.8 is £280, a 92 MX-5 1.6 is £228 and a 94 MX-5 1.8 is also £228.
Probably , I have my Jensen insured with “Performance Direct” and like many others, to get a great deal on classic insurance you nee to have another primary car that is insured for daily use.
However I don’t think the Eunos is that bad . I have mine insured as my primary car and no limits ( and a roll cage that bumped it up ) and only pay £280 . I think having read on here in other threads there are probably even better deals than that.
Their phone number is 01277 206911. There is an online form you can complete for them to come back to you with a quote (if you google RH classic insurance it will take you to their website), but I found them to be really good just calling them up.
Damn, just came to write about my insurance buying experinence and noticed this thread.
Hadn’t heard of RH before.
Can’t complain too much though, was with Elephant last year who were miles ahead of the competition.
They angered me a bit with their auto-renew policy (very underhanded practice if you ask me) and the quote had gone up so now armed with 1 years NCB I was sure I could do better.
No significant improvements apart from one that came from a comparison website that mysteriously doubled when I phoned to confirm.
Till I tried AON/Footman James on the club discount.
Their quote was less than 35% of Elephants’s when breakdown was factored in !!! [:O][:)][:)]
Ughghg, and this is why I can’t stand insurance companies.
Just got an answer machine message “The policy you have purchased is for less miles than we quoted you for” despite them telling me the mileage and confirming it at least twice when I rang back to purchase.
Ho hum, their still going to come out miles ahead of anyone else though.
Try Hagerty. I have a 3000 mile policy with them. Now, considering I had a write off with them last year, parked on the drive with an L postcode, it dropped from £400 last year to £245. They also threw in breakdown cover (equivilent to AA relay standard). They are also a pleasure to deal with. Very happy.
Unfortunately their T’s&C’s would appear to exclude me:
“Regular-Use Vehicles: Each
named driver needs to have a regular-use vehicle for daily
driving and must maintain regular-use insurance in his or
her own name”.
Just had my Footman James renewal and the cost has gone from £200 to £327 for classic car cover, 5,000 miles [:O]
EDIT: The quote was for unlimited mileage and a car value of £4,000 :lol, 4,500 miles p.a. and £2,000 value reduced premium to £238, inc roadside cover etc