Any car more than 10 years old - Can you insure for more than market value? | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

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Mon 23 Oct 2017 23:11

Any car more than 10 years old - Can you insure for more than market value? - Benet

'Bangernomics' make sense in many ways, but if you are driving around in a car whose market value is £500 or less, then a relatively slight knock will lead to it being written off by the insurance company. Is it possible to agree that you want to insure your old car for, say, £1500 or £2000 rather than the usual 'market value'? When you insure your house you have a specific figure printed on the certificate for replacement value. Is there any way of doing this with car insurance? I know there's gap insurance for new cars, but what about for the old ones?

Edited by Benet on 23/10/2017 at 23:12

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Mon 23 Oct 2017 23:20

Any car more than 10 years old - Can you insure for more than market value? - RT

What you want is betterment - it would make insurance very expensive as insurers would be concerned about deliberate write-offs, ie fraud.

The whole point of "bangernomics" is that the car is cheap enough not to owe you any money if/when it fails for any reason - run it until it fails, then buy another one.

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Mon 23 Oct 2017 23:26

Any car more than 10 years old - Can you insure for more than market value? - Manatee

'Classics' are often insured on an 'agreed value' basis.

e.g. www.adrianflux.co.uk/agreed-value-car-insurance/

Edited by Manatee on 23/10/2017 at 23:27

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Tue 24 Oct 2017 00:04

Any car more than 10 years old - Can you insure for more than market value? - gordonbennet

There are two ways to do this.

By getting an old enough car (20 years or more and a suitable type) you might get classic insurance, though for average mileage and when you start including commuting or business use the costs escalate quickly, classic insurance is more aimed at weekend and hobby type cars, our third car now in classic range is still far cheaper to insure fully comp even with no or minimal NCD on a second policy.

Secondly by insuring with an old school company such as NFU, who offered me full A1 retail price on my old 70 series Landcruiser when it was written off, a full £1000 more than i hoped for and that figure itself being optimistic. The engineers report was read out to me by one of the fair ladies at the local office that it was the ''excellent pre accident condition'' was the reason for the high offer, however the premiums are not at the cheaper end, you don't get champagne on a lemonade budget...i am no longer with NFU because the premium differences are now so large that in two years any difference in settlements would even out.

Alternatively all you can do more realistically, is to make sure your car is maintained well, you keep the brakes in tip top order and fit the best wet grip tyres that you can reasonably find, keep the windows spotlessly clean, the lights working well and drive as well as you can avoiding the fools on the road as much as you possibly can...this is my ethos, avoiding accidents as much as possible.

The idea of pure bangernomics is to buy cheap and run it minimally, if it breaks or your prang it just repair it yourself or throw it away and get another banger, chances are the cost penalties for claiming, increased premiums and lost NCD etc, will more than outweight what you would get in write off costs.

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Tue 24 Oct 2017 00:58

Any car more than 10 years old - Can you insure for more than market value? - bathtub tom

If an insurance company does write off your car, you always have the option to buy it back (if it's not too badly damaged).

I've driven several cars with dents and scrapes. If anything, it's an advantage, as other motorists give you more room!

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Tue 24 Oct 2017 10:07

Any car more than 10 years old - Can you insure for more than market value? - John F

In my experience 'betterment', or at least restoration to original state, only works if you are not at fault. About three years ago a local farmer's tractor (insured with NFU) drove into the rear of our then almost worthless 14yr old Focus. It needed a new rear bumper and repair to the wing panel, exceeding the value of the car. Despite the NFU's initial helpful letter admitting liability and offering repair, they then tried to write off our carefully maintained car and give us a paltry sum. I insisted it was repaired and they eventually agreed to do so (I did not have to play my trump card of taking their client to the small claims court)..........by which time the cost of the hire car (they said it was unsafe to drive without a bumper because of sharp sticking-out metal bits!) approximated the cost of repair!

No wonder their premiums are so high if this was typical of the way they handle a mundane minor accident!

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Tue 24 Oct 2017 10:09

Any car more than 10 years old - Can you insure for more than market value? - nellyjak

I used to know a guy with such a philosophy...^^^

Although he had a quite senior and well paid job with well known national company he was not "into" cars as perhaps most of us petrolheads are.

A single chap..who constantly bought very cheap cars ( a few hundred quid) with 6 or 12 months road tax (then) and a year (or close) MOT. He would pay cash and simply drive them for a year (if they lasted). He would do absolutely nothing to them...he would never even bother to lock them or clean them and had no worries about leaving them in car parks where a "ding" is always more likely.

Didn't care if they were stolen or damaged.

His insurance would always be the very minimum third party cover.

If he ever felt he needed more from a car then he simply hired one for a day.

After a year he would simply scrap them or sell them on for pennies..and start all over again. He would never renew MOT or road tax on the same vehicle.

He reckoned that it was cheap motoring..and it suited him.

I couldn't adopt his philosophy as I'm just not built that way but I had a begrudging respect for him and often wondered just how it might feel NOT to be concerned/ worried/anal.? about the cars we own/drive.

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Tue 24 Oct 2017 14:11

Any car more than 10 years old - Can you insure for more than market value? - gordonbennet

I couldn't adopt his philosophy as I'm just not built that way but I had a begrudging respect for him and often wondered just how it might feel NOT to be concerned/ worried/anal.? about the cars we own/drive.

My Mrs' attitude to a T.

Her Outback which cost a whole £1070 nearly 4 years ago now has a scrape on nearly every lower panel (being an Outback is cladded below the mid level point all round so all damage is to plastic), the vast majority of which she hasn't done, she's not bothered one bit, abandons it wherever she wants at the car park, now and again she spots another dent its picked up, not in the least bothered.

She won't let me get the body sorted, its the dog carrier as well so its dusty and mucky inside, yet she loves the thing because it goes like hell is mechanically sound stupidly reliable grips like only a scooby can and good on (LPG) fuel.

I had almost joined her with my last Landcruiser, which was a 90 series, it wasn't damaged but the paint wasn't exactly brilliant after 15 years, tough bumpers and panels on the 90 series so unless someone wanted to damage their car as well it stayed damage free...then i spotted my current one which is in lovely condition even if (as always with us) someone hit it within a fortnight of us getting it damaging the front bumper paint, which i will get fixed at some point, i've new become precious about a car again.

The chap you knew had it right, i've known lots of old money drive around in battered old wrecks.

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Wed 25 Oct 2017 09:56

Any car more than 10 years old - Can you insure for more than market value? - craig-pd130

My Mrs' attitude to a T.

Her Outback which cost a whole £1070 nearly 4 years ago now has a scrape on nearly every lower panel (being an Outback is cladded below the mid level point all round so all damage is to plastic), the vast majority of which she hasn't done, she's not bothered one bit, abandons it wherever she wants at the car park, now and again she spots another dent its picked up, not in the least bothered.

A bloke I know came into some money a few years back, and bought himself a nice exotic toy for himself, and got his wife a Merc SLK. After it had picked up a few parking dings and scuffs, she got tired of worrying about it (and him moaning about the damage), and told him that she just wanted a car that could collect wear & tear without either of them caring.

So she got a nice mid-spec Focus. Matrimonial harmony restored.

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Tue 24 Oct 2017 13:44

Any car more than 10 years old - Can you insure for more than market value? - Benet

Sadly this query concerns our third Honda Shuttle which now needs a new front bumper. (I wasn't driving this time!) I wonder if and when a Honda people carrier will become a classic?!

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Wed 25 Oct 2017 10:30

Any car more than 10 years old - Can you insure for more than market value? - argybargy

In answer to the question posed in the thread title, I would have said uncategorically No; or at best "Yes, but they won't pay out the full amount, so its a waste of time and money doing so".

With home insurance you can improve and extend a house and you may well increase its value, but surely there are few, if any circumstances (except perhaps as mentioned above the "classic" route) where you can do this with a car?

Sorry, I just don't get where this is coming from. Insurance companies are not in the business for the good of their customers.

Edited by argybargy on 25/10/2017 at 10:31

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Wed 25 Oct 2017 21:31

Any car more than 10 years old - Can you insure for more than market value? - Benet

Sorry, I just don't get where this is coming from. Insurance companies are not in the business for the good of their customers.

It's coming from me being hopeful, but as it turns out, rather naive :( But thanks for putting mie right!

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