Insurance Help

mrwg1975 · 03-02-2011, 05:56 PM

G'day Members ,

Apologise if this is in the wrong section .

I bought my 2001 Fairlane Sportsman Ghia in 2007 .
Had massive trouble getting insurance for it as it was modified .
Was lucky to get on to Dawes Insurance who were underwritten by Callidan .
They listened to my personal circumstances and gave me a reasonable quote.

They just sent me my renewal letter and advised they were no longer offering me insurance . I rang them and they told me they were changing their business model and were only now insuring exotic cars . I spoke with a couple of brokers and after their research they told me no one wanted my business due to the cars modifications . (Keep reading for the modifications , you will get a laugh)

I'm after the forums advice and contact details of decent people in the insurance business I can contact to resolve this issue .

Here's my details (Tell me you wouldn't want me as a customer)

* The car is a 2001 model with only 124000 KM .
* The car is not used for driving to work and does approx 12000 KM per year .
* The car is parked in a locked garage every night .
* I am on a protected rating one .
* I am 35 years old .
* I have not had any speeding fines , traffic fines or insurance claims in the past 10 years .

The vehicle is a 2001 Fairlane Sportsman Ghia with the following modifications.

* Tinted Windows
* Towbar
* Kings Springs
* Injected LPG System ($4500)
* Stereo ($2000)

That's it . Laughable isn't it . The car is currently insured for an agreed value of $15000.

I currently pay about $650 for my insurance . All the online quote systems reject you the minute you mention a "Lowered" vehicle . I refuse to pay the $2000 plus the insurance companies wanted when I did my ring around in 2007 . They are labeling me a hoon because my vehicle is modified . An 18 yo who has just passed their license and bought a brand new Barina or whatever can get cheaper insurance than me .
I'm not a hoon , just take pride in my ride .

Any help would be appreciated .

dags41v · 03-02-2011, 06:02 PM

I have found shannons to be really good, they tell me that they will accept any modification as long as they know about it and they were only about $150 dearer than the next cheapest quote which wouldnr accept mods.

Cheers

Simple6 · 03-02-2011, 06:13 PM

Just Car? Havent had to claim through them but so long as you keep your modifications up to date I dont think thered be an issue? Ive had a few 3rd party policies with them which were ok priced.

Dont know if they do agreed value though..?

nuthin' fancy · 03-02-2011, 06:32 PM

I'd be talking to Shannons, car club membership may be an idea

Yellow_Festiva · 03-02-2011, 06:42 PM

Have they told you what exactly tips the car into the 'too hard' basket? Is it only 1 item, or your car as a whole?

Have you run it by them without the stereo by any chance?

I recall once trying to get insurance on a cheapish car, and because the stereo value was over a certain percentage of the total value it was knocked back.

jason71 · 03-02-2011, 07:19 PM

Lowered! Nah, the springs have sagged.

BuckTooth · 03-02-2011, 07:38 PM

Mate, I've got all my insurance through AAMI and they cover both my VS and AU for everything. Including the $1200 i have the exhaust system insured on the AU, lol.

Give them a shot, i listed the VS as lowered and its covered. I also have the AU3 XR8 insured for an agreed value of $16,900

Fiesta God · 03-02-2011, 07:59 PM

Shannons will definitely cover you - and despite the common misconception, you don't need to be a member of a car club.

They even have a limited use policy for vehicles that aren't driven all that often.

Failing that, Just Car Insurance cover unlimited modifications (provided all roadworthy).

Kryton · 03-02-2011, 08:00 PM

The value of your modifications are the problem.
No one is going to insure a 10 year old Fairlane for $15000 when they are only worth $6000.
You may not like to hear it, but thats how it is.

au2000 · 03-02-2011, 10:30 PM

try allainz, ive got a 75th anniversary au with tint , sl springs & not much else,... does about the same ks per year & its at 675 a year on comp..

The Yeti · 04-02-2011, 06:23 AM

You dont need to be in a club for shannons but it helps the price along

my XP is insured for limited use and it costs next to nothing to insure infact as my daliy is also comrehensivly insured with shannons (Stock VZ exec) and that was cheaper than all the main guys to insure with shannons also so with the 2 cars bundeled together its cheaper to insure the XP comprehensivly with shannons than it is to just put 3rd part property with all the others

xisled · 04-02-2011, 07:17 AM

You will find that your problem is your stereo. Most insurance have a 25 percent restriction on the sound systems.(or a value around that area) The value of your car according the Glasses guide is $6000. So to insure your car with a sound system, it would have to be worth less than $1500.(based on figures I said).

So you will not be able to insure the car with such a high valued stereo system. More than likely the exhaust is not the problem.

The glasses guide is a guide that insurance companys use to value your car. It is the same as Red Book.

FordFalconBF · 04-02-2011, 08:41 AM

What state do you live in? I have had speeding fine in the last ten years and RAA H2P (Hard To Place) still covered me and I have ring and added the following mods to my car, mags, extractors, stereo and exhaust.. the price never goes up after I tell them about the more mods that I add.

http://www.raa.com.au/page.aspx?TerID=880

Not sure if they cover people out of South Australia.. worth giving them a ring.

Kryton · 04-02-2011, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xisled

The glasses guide is a guide that insurance companys use to value your car. It is the same as Red Book.

Glass guide is NOT the same as Redbook.
Glass Guide is the industry standard - Redbook is not.
Use this:
http://www.drive.com.au/car-valuations
as it is powered by Glass - Redbook is not.

Powdered Toast Man · 04-02-2011, 11:02 AM

What state. Im with RACV with similar mods to my BA sans stereo and not a problem. I would think NRMA, RACQ etc would be the same.

Like mentioned maybe your insured price is a bit high, dunno.

sleek7 · 04-02-2011, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Powdered Toast Man

What state. Im with RACV with similar mods to my BA sans stereo and not a problem. I would think NRMA, RACQ etc would be the same.

Like mentioned maybe your insured price is a bit high, dunno.

Same, im with RACV and they cover all modifications on your car as long as they're legal. Probably need to present proof of purchase for mods too if car was a write off.

GTP-814 · 04-02-2011, 12:38 PM

give ryno insurance in bris a try. They insure FPV's so a fairlane should fit the bill

Dauphin · 04-02-2011, 01:11 PM

I second Ryno Insurance.

LowEL2XR8 · 04-02-2011, 01:23 PM

Just tried to get an online quote from Shannons and they don't even have XRs in the E series as an option. Thats laughable.

dags41v · 04-02-2011, 02:58 PM

I had the same problem with the online quote with shannons (no XR8) but when I rang them they were more than helpful and wanted to discuss agreed value, kms travelled etc

GUTLES · 04-02-2011, 03:16 PM

You'll have to ring Shannons.

I've got all my mod's listed, got new insurance Policy a few weeks ago, they've dropped my agreed value to 15k :(

Rang them up to try to up it to 20k, but all they do is look for similar cars on Carsales & base your value on that. The idiot on the phone told me you can buy a BA GTP for 12-14k, thanks to scammers our values go down.

Best I could get was 17k agreed with them, not sure who else to try, everwhere else won't insure me or wants $1600 a year.

mrwg1975 · 04-02-2011, 04:23 PM

To everyone who offered advice , thank you very much . I have been able to resolve my insurance issue to my satisfaction .

I did an online quote with Just Cars and was able to add all my modifications and be offered insurance at $890 . This was a little more than I pay now but they offered me only a $6000 payout .

Davway I take your point on board and I had a look at Redbook and top dollar was $7500 . But , my car is immaculate , my car has less kays than most and less kays than Redbook assumes for this year of vehicle . My car then had in the past 18 months a $4500 injected LPG system fitted . So yeah , I wanted a higher payout figure than $7500 . I couldn't replace what I have for $7500 .

I rang Shannons .

I can't recommend them enough . I think I spoke to Steven .
Bottom line is it is now insured with Shannons . Every modification is covered including my $2000 stereo . They agreed with me about the replacement value and it is now insured for an agreed value of $15000 . I guess i'm lucky Davway doesn't work at Shannons otherwise I would have had to accept $7500 market value .
The premium was comparable with what I was paying with Dawes and much less than Just Cars .

To the guys who asked the vehicle is in Victoria and I had not heard of the insurers you mentioned but thanks anyway for your thoughts .

I leave you with a picture of all the fuss .

Thanks Again

mrwg1975 · 04-02-2011, 07:21 PM

2nd try of the photo .

This is what all the fuss was about .
Shannons Insurance new pride and joy .

Thanks again everyone , it was appreciated .

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

cycle myth · 04-02-2011, 10:17 PM

As said above, one factor could be the value of the stereo - some insurers get antsy when the value to the stereo or other accessories is high particularly on older cars.

Something to consider though.... I thought (could be wrong) that insurance companies had some level of obligation to offer you a renewal???

It might be a high price, and it may be on the basis that you haven't done anything silly.. - might be worth checking out.

dags41v · 04-02-2011, 10:22 PM

Why try to force an insurer to keep you on, we have plenty of competition now days and often one companys refusal or poor deal gives you the opportunity to review your insurance/mobile phone plan/internet etc and find that progress has happened and now there are better deals out there.
Eventually the customer has to have a win (or get some customer service) .............. dont we?

mrwg1975 · 05-02-2011, 02:37 AM

Dags I couldn't agree more . When I first purchased the car four years ago I did the ring around and no insurance company was interested and if they were it came with a $2000+ premium .
When my renewal came this year informing me they were no longer offering me insurance I rang an insurance broker to do the running around for me . They came back to me saying once again no one was interested except for Shannons but that I had to contact them personally to get a quote .

I tried all the online quotes from the majors and as soon as you mention a suspension modification they end the process there and then and move you on .

As I mentioned in an earlier post my experience with Shannons and in particular Steve the bloke I talked with was first class and impressive .

It's all sorted now so i'm happy but I agree 100% with your comment on customer service .

Yaw · 05-02-2011, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cycle myth

Something to consider though.... I thought (could be wrong) that insurance companies had some level of obligation to offer you a renewal???

No that is not right. A contract of insurance is an anual thing, whenit runs out neither party has an obligation to do anything. After Cyclone Larry you may recall Allianz sent out letters to most of its North Queensland home client base stating they would not be reoffering insurance in that area once the current policies had run thier course. It was just a place that particular insurer did not wish to be in the market at the time. As insurers change direction they can make these buisness descions to not take on certain risks if it does not suit thier particular "insurance pool"

mrwg1975 · 05-02-2011, 07:42 PM

Can anyone let me know of their experiences with Shannon's when the time came to make a claim . As I mentioned the experience I had talking with them on the phone was first rate . Would love to hear members opinions on them when making a claim .

Thanks Guys

EB# · 05-02-2011, 10:32 PM

I have my BA XR6 insured with GIO, with all mods listed, for an agreed value of about $17K.
Costs me about $540.

XAGSV8 · 05-02-2011, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrwg1975

Can anyone let me know of their experiences with Shannon's when the time came to make a claim . As I mentioned the experience I had talking with them on the phone was first rate . Would love to hear members opinions on them when making a claim .

Thanks Guys

My claim with Shannon's was finalised last week. One of my cars was written off due to a hail storm on the Sunshine Coast just before the floods occured. I have had nothing but a good experience with the claim. They were easy to deal with on the phone, friendly and finalised it quickly. Setting up a new policy for my replacement car was also a breeze. I have been with them for years and have nothing bad to say about them.