What You Need to Know About Insuring Your High-Performance Car

So, you’ve finally done it. You’ve decided to treat yourself to a rather special car. Congratulations! Are you going for the iconic two-seater or a top of the range four by four? Whichever it is, it will probably cost a pretty penny and you want to find the most appropriate car insurance policy on the market to protect your new pride and joy. So, what should you be looking for?

What to look for to find the most appropriate car insurance policy for you

Before we start, I should say that as an insurance adviser, all the policies we offer our clients include all the items below – or they can be added, if required. This list is to highlight what your policy absolutely must have.

1. Agreed value – Get back out what you put in

Does your insurance policy offer you an ‘agreed value’? You and your insurer will agree a price that the car is worth and, if you should write it off or it is stolen during the first year, you will get exactly that much back from your claim. You won’t lose anything through depreciation. The agreed value is reviewed at each renewal date.

2. Choice of repairer – use a specialist

Are you allowed to nominate your own repairer? Many off-the-peg insurance policies will have partnerships with repair garages. Are you happy for your cherished car to go to the local garage to be repaired or would you prefer it went to a specialist garage that you’ve nominated?

3. Recycled parts or original manufacturer parts?

Hidden away in the small print of some less expensive policies, it states that a repair can be carried out using recycled parts (second hand), when fixing your vehicle. For high performance cars, which put huge amounts of strain on parts, this is far from desirable, especially if you are going to be travelling at speed. We would recommend you find a policy that stipulates ‘original manufacturer only’ parts.

4. Unlimited driving in Europe

If driving abroad is something you enjoy, then make sure your policy allows you unlimited time and mileage abroad.

5. Specialist breakdown service – how low can you go?

Many sports cars sit very low to the ground meaning a regular tow truck isn’t going to be suitable for your recovery. An appropriate policy will include a breakdown service via a specialist firm as standard.

6. Like for like replacement car

If driving a Range Rover or a Ferrari every day is important to you, then you’ll want a like for like replacement car in the event that yours is off the road.

7. Comprehensive ‘driving other cars’ cover

The most appropriate policies will also allow you to drive any other car not belonging to you on a fully comprehensive basis. Check to see if your policy offers this.

8. Legal expenses

Although it may not seem massively important now, check to make sure your legal costs are covered for free with your policy.

If you have questions about specialised car insurance contact our partner Partners&.

Now it’s time to do your due diligence when looking for appropriate car insurance policy

• Read the Terms and Conditions

Put the kettle one, now that you know what to look for in a policy, it’s time to read through the terms and conditions (generally 60+ pages long) from a selection of polices to get a good comparison.

• Be wary of an unadvised sale

Be aware that when you click ‘yes’ next to the part that says, ‘Do you accept our terms and conditions’, you are agreeing that yours is an ‘unadvised sale’, that you take full responsibility for having read the policy inside out, you understand every clause and you are happy to accept it. Further down the line you won’t be able to say ‘I didn’t understand’ because when you clicked the button, you said that you did.

• Do you have excessive excesses?

Another button to be aware of is the ‘Voluntary Excess’ button. To reduce their premium, many people tick the box agreeing to a voluntary excess, without realising there is also a compulsory excess already written into the policy. Do you really want to be paying both?

• Beware of cheap policies from non-regulated companies

Also, be aware of some overseas companies (MGAs – Managing General Agents), offering cheaper deals on the internet, who may not be around when you need to claim. Recently a number of luxury car owning clients were contacted by such a company and told to move their car insurance immediately as they were closing down. We would recommend you only insure through a reputable company – our panel of recommended insurers are just that.

The benefit of using an insurance broker

It probably speaks volumes that, certainly in the case of Partners&, none of the insurance policies we recommend to our clients are available on the open market. We only work with specialist insurers, with a track record of insuring some of the most expensive cars in the country. We can also bring all your cars onto one policy, making renewal time so much easier. By building a relationship with your broker, he or she may be able to reduce your excess by giving the insurer a really good idea of who you are and the risk they are accepting when they offer you a policy. For instance, we’ll ask things like, how long have owned the vehicle and what are your driving habits?

Naturally, we’ll want to know what security options you take and where the car is kept at night. It’s important for us to determine if this car is going to be a cherished vehicle or if you’ll be pulling doughnuts in the local supermarket car park of a Friday night? We might ask if you are you a member of an owner’s club and if you’ll be attending meets across Europe. We’ll want to know if your car is used on high days and holidays or if it is your everyday vehicle and if you’ve undertaken specialist driving courses if it is a particularly powerful car.

All of these questions help us and the insurer to make an informed decision about which policy is right for you, to ensure you have the best product for you and your car, something that simply isn’t possible when buying online. We hope, no matter which route you chose, that you have many years of enjoyment with your new car and wish you happy motoring for many years to come. Book a call back below to speak to one of the team.

By Ian Lawrence, Insurance adviser, Partners&

Partners& challenge the status quo by delivering insurance advice that makes a difference. Combining technical knowledge with service and intelligent use of technology, they offer clients the confidence and peace of mind that you are protected so with tailored recommendations that are right for you.