Should insuring an import cost more? | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

Tue 29 Jul 2003 15:52

Should insuring an import cost more? - Sparky

I have had an imported alfa for 2 years now and up to now I have had no problem insuring it, but this year some of the companies seem to be making a point about either not insuring imports (Diamond) or charging ridiculous sums for it (AXA and Churchill).. Should they be able to do this if my car is a full UK spec model as I dont understand what difference this can make to insurance risk??? Especially given all alfas come from same factory independent of market..
I have an IG 16 Renault Clio 172 thats costing me 850 quid a year to insure in my name with 5yrs no claims, and the alfa in my girlfriends name with 6yrs (IG 14) is coming out at minimum 1000 with best insurers.. I just dont understand it!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyone know good insurers for imported cars?

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Tue 29 Jul 2003 16:05

Should insuring an import cost more? - Maz

Should insuring an import cost more?
NO, it's disgraceful and illogical. The only argument I've heard is that some replacement parts MAY, on a very few occasions cost more. Ask why it costs more for 3rd party (£400+ for an H Reg Cavalier for a female of 30)and there's no answer.
I'd like to see this raised as part of anti-competitive practices under EC law, as the only convincing answer is that UK dealers have some form of influence over UK insurance
companies.

Anyone know good insurers for imported cars?
Try Tesco insurance.

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Tue 29 Jul 2003 16:16

Should insuring an import cost more? - PR {P}

Most now say if imported, it must be uk spec. I had an imported Alfa and I didnt have any problems. Boycott any companies which differentiate

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Tue 29 Jul 2003 16:35

Should insuring an import cost more? - AR-CoolC

as the only convincing answer is that UK
dealers have some form of influence over UK insurance companies.

Don't you belive it !!!

The insurance companies call all the shots. They are by far and away the most powerful in the big wide world once the car has left the dealer.

Remember a dealer is a small company with the permision to sell a particular manufacturers cars.

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Tue 29 Jul 2003 17:37

Should insuring an import cost more? - Steve S

Glass tech,

Dunno where you get this idea from

" The insurance companies call all the shots."

We (as an insurance group) are: -

1 Wacking each other (or stationary objects) more often.
2 Having more cars nicked.
3 Incurring higher legal bills through m'learned friends' compensation culture.
4 Watching repair charges go through the roof (is this an insurance job guv?
5 Making more fraudulant claims.
6 Suffering the consequences of more uninsured drivers.

And we wonder why our premiums go up. Oh really?

FACT - Motor insurers lose money most years - it is the influx of new insurers during the better times that keeps premiums lower than they should be (until they in turn get burnt by the cheap premiums that extra competition brings).

FACT 2 - Composite insurers make more out of the other products that they sell to the motor customers.

Sorry but this "insurers rip me off" gets tedious.

No. I'm not a motor insurer.

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Tue 29 Jul 2003 17:31

Should insuring an import cost more? - Steve S

The answer is "yes".

As it would be if any other factor made it more difficult to get spares or repair it. Instead of blaming insurers why not look at why repairers or dealers charge more for imports?

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Tue 29 Jul 2003 17:39

Should insuring an import cost more? - sean

Depends entirely on what you mean by "import"

A parallel import is made in the same factory as that manufacturer's UK retail product.

A grey import is a model that is not imported here officially.

The former, if specified to UK standards should carry no premium. The latter should, for the reasons mentioned.

Even UK-sourced cars are subject to this.

If you buy a Rover 25, or whatever they are called this week, in Belgium and bring it home, should your premium be loaded? Of course not, if RHD etc.

What car these days isn't imported? Rovers, a few kit cars and TVRs etc. Therefore we mostly all drive imported cars.

Insurance companies should specify "grey imports" for loading

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Tue 29 Jul 2003 20:28

Should insuring an import cost more? - DavidHM

Steve - I agree, except that a UK spec car, which is RHD, has the same trim bits, badges, lights, etc., there is zero difference in the cost of spares or repairs after an accident. While a very few cars might have minor differences (e.g., Clio 172 exhausts) there's also the fact that the car is worth less if it is stolen or written off, so the payout for a total loss would be less than for a comparable UK car.

I know that, for instance, Liverpool Victoria, will allow you to specify 'import' for a model that exists in the UK. In that case, before getting the quote, it might be worthwhile checking that the two options aren't for UK spec/non UK spec cars, whether or not they're actually imported.

This might be the case for instance where you have a Golf GTi with no alarm - obviously in that case, it's fair to have a higher premium than for the UK car with one, although the difference won't be huge.

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Wed 30 Jul 2003 23:56

Should insuring an import cost more? - lucky

I recently insured a VW Golf import with BellDirect. Initially I went through their website to request a quote: www.belldirect.co.uk

Getting a quote online revealed a large choice of vehicles they would insure including "imports". Interestingly when I phoned up to confirm my quotation they said that my car would NOT be classified as an import (even though it was left hand drive)- apparently they call a car an import if it is a JAPANESE import only.

Anyway, I received a quote no problem.

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Thu 31 Jul 2003 10:49

Should insuring an import cost more? - Colin M

People (and especially insurance call centre operatives) often assume the word "import" applies to the commonly used method of buying a UK vehicle from a European dealer. As stated here, the correct interpretation is for a "grey import", ie a vehicle not generally available through the UK dealer network and therefore (possibly) more expensive to repair or source parts for.

Ask to speak to a supervisor at the insurers or ask them to ring through to the underwriters. There should be no premium hike on a UK spec car wherever you chose to buy it from.

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Thu 31 Jul 2003 16:47

Should insuring an import cost more? - Sparky

Thanks for all your comments, based on what u have all said I just discussed the stupidness of a Full Uk Spec imported car costing any more to insure than a car supplied through the UK dealer network, in some cases the muppets working there had assumed I meant a grey import not a 'parallel' import without confirming but it has resulted in me getting a very nice quote from AXA (after chatting to a very nice call centre person who understood the meaning of a UK-spec import)..

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Thu 31 Jul 2003 17:50

Should insuring an import cost more? - eMBe {P}

Thanks for all your comments, .... it has resulted in me getting a very nice quote from AXA ..>>

Sean : Heres a result for Hj's site and a thank you to the backroomers!

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Mon 12 Jun 2017 11:16

Should insuring an import cost more? - Cmann

I came across this great blog post which offers a quick start on import Japanese car insurance (was useful when I was looking), also found keith Michaels to be pretty competative on import insurance.

Link:

xxxx

Hope this helps.

(Edit - no it doesn't. Link deleted.)

Edited by Avant on 12/06/2017 at 16:42

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Mon 12 Jun 2017 11:29

Should insuring an import cost more? - FP

"Hope this helps."

No - you hope it will generate business from your free advert (otherwise known as spam).

As in most cases - an old thread resurrected for less than admirable reasons.

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Mon 12 Jun 2017 22:38

Should insuring an import cost more? - glidermania

If the car is full UK spec, there should be no additional cost for insuring. I chnaged insurers several for my wife's imported Zafira and my BMW and never had an issue.

Some of these insurance co dont know the difference between a grey import (usual japanese or US made car) and a parallel import (UK spec from the EU).

Ask to speak to their underwriting team or try Direct Line.

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Tue 13 Jun 2017 10:39

Should insuring an import cost more? - Engineer Andy

If the car is full UK spec, there should be no additional cost for insuring. I chnaged insurers several for my wife's imported Zafira and my BMW and never had an issue.

Some of these insurance co dont know the difference between a grey import (usual japanese or US made car) and a parallel import (UK spec from the EU).

Ask to speak to their underwriting team or try Direct Line.

True - my Mazda3 (bought as new in early 2006) was originally shipped to Cyprus, couldn't be sold, then to the UK to Motorpoint via a leasing firm. Some UK insurers STILL don't want to insure it as its an 'import', even though it has an EU certificate of conformity. The only differences were:

Original speedo in kph only, it was changed over when it came over here (Mazda parts);
Difference in layout of engine bay for screen washer and power steering fluid bottles - a hybrid between the UK and US layouts for the 1.4/1.6 and 2 ltr petrol models, so all parts are available, and is covered in the official manual.
No 'TS2' badge on the back.

That's it. No grey import.

Luckily I could still find enough insurers at a reasonable price - ironically more today than I could when I first bought it in 2006. Its the real grey imports that give insurers a licence to print money, as parts might have to be sourced from a long way away (direct from Japan say, likely to be very expensive if not done in bulk) and for cars that are probably rare high performance ones anyway (older Nissan Skylines, Honda Integra mk2s, etc etc).

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Tue 13 Jun 2017 10:57

Should insuring an import cost more? - skidpan

We had an imported Puma which we bought "new" from Motorpoint.

It was identical in everyway to one we would have bought for £4000 more from our local Ford dealer. All Pumas were made in the same factory i Germany. Ours was PDI'd by a German dealer and supplied with a Gernam service book and an EU certificate of conformity.

People at work said it would be impossible to repair, impossible to service and would be worthless when we came to sell it.

Well that was b0110cks. The local Ford dealer serviced it like any Puma, in fact at the first service he swapped the German service book for an English one. We had one warranty repair carried out with no quibble (boot release) and the parts needed to fix it (front suspension bushes and heater valve) were available off the shelf.

When we came to sell it (6 years old) dealers showed no interest in the fact it was an import, in fact the local Honda dealer stated that as long it was not a Renault he was happy to take it. Prices offered were exactly as prediced by Parkers. We sold it privately, the buyer was more than happy.

As for insurance, we were never asked if it was an import when we rang round for quotes.

On thing that was exactly the same as any UK supplied car was the rusty rear arches.

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Tue 13 Jun 2017 14:26

Should insuring an import cost more? - RT

If the car is full UK spec, there should be no additional cost for insuring. I chnaged insurers several for my wife's imported Zafira and my BMW and never had an issue.

Some of these insurance co dont know the difference between a grey import (usual japanese or US made car) and a parallel import (UK spec from the EU).

Ask to speak to their underwriting team or try Direct Line.

True - my Mazda3 (bought as new in early 2006) was originally shipped to Cyprus, couldn't be sold, then to the UK to Motorpoint via a leasing firm. Some UK insurers STILL don't want to insure it as its an 'import', even though it has an EU certificate of conformity. The only differences were:

Original speedo in kph only, it was changed over when it came over here (Mazda parts);

Difference in layout of engine bay for screen washer and power steering fluid bottles - a hybrid between the UK and US layouts for the 1.4/1.6 and 2 ltr petrol models, so all parts are available, and is covered in the official manual.

No 'TS2' badge on the back.

That's it. No grey import.

Luckily I could still find enough insurers at a reasonable price - ironically more today than I could when I first bought it in 2006. Its the real grey imports that give insurers a licence to print money, as parts might have to be sourced from a long way away (direct from Japan say, likely to be very expensive if not done in bulk) and for cars that are probably rare high performance ones anyway (older Nissan Skylines, Honda Integra mk2s, etc etc).

Since the specification of Cyprus models isn't IDENTICAL to UK model, it IS a grey import

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