Category D insurance

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Tue 19 Aug 2025 09:37
Category D insurance - Keith Moline
I’m considering buying a 2015 Cat D - the pre-2017 equivalent of Cat N. I’m satisfied that the car’s in good condition, it has been on the road since 2017 with full service history. This would be my first Category car. Could someone with real world recent experience tell me about insurance? I’ve had a couple of phone quotes (eg Adrian Flux) which are double what I’d expect to pay for a non-Cat. The usual price comparison sites don’t offer the chance to declare Cat status upfront, and even after inputting the registration they come back with standard offers. (I inputted a lower vehicle value reflecting the Cat D status.) I checked through the terms and conditions on Churchill and Admiral policies and there’s nothing about requiring the policy holder to declare Category status, or any suggestion that failure to disclose it would invalidate the policy. Is it safe to go ahead and buy a standard policy online? Or perhaps someone can recommend an insurer?
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Tue 19 Aug 2025 09:49
Category D insurance - leef

From RAC

A Cat D vehicle can cost a lot more to insure. Indeed, while a cat D write-off might seem cheap to buy, some insurers might refuse to offer you cover on a written off vehicle, too, no matter how light the damage was.

If you are thinking about buying a Cat D vehicle, be sure to check with your car insurance company whether they cover Category D cars.

Im sure somebody with a bit more info will come along, I know that once cat D is recorded, its on the V5, what im sure about is if the insurance companies know this when generating quotes through comparision sites etc. Best to double check.

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Tue 19 Aug 2025 14:42
Category D insurance - pd

Neither Cat D or Cat N are recorded on the V5.

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Tue 19 Aug 2025 15:51
Category D insurance - Keith Moline

But they are linked to the car's reg number, which the insurers have access to. Does the policy holder have a legal responsibility to phone the insurer and volunteer the information if there's no physical way to input it online? (Or even if setting up a policy entirely on the phone, if the agent doesn't ask if the car has been written off at any point.)

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Tue 19 Aug 2025 17:00
Category D insurance - leef

Apologies, Cat S is the one thats recorded now apparently.

A Category S (Cat S) designation will be recorded on the vehicle's V5C document (logbook) after it has been repaired and re-registered. This indicates that the vehicle was previously written off due to structural damage. The updated V5C will typically state that the vehicle has been "salvaged" or "repaired".

Edited by leef on 19/08/2025 at 17:01

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Tue 19 Aug 2025 17:07
Category D insurance - Andrew-T

Cars can be written off for a wide variety of seriousness. The Pug 207 we have owned since 2008 has been written off twice for cosmetic damage and we chose to repair on both occasions. The first time the payout was £2275 and recently £850. There is no reason why the car is mechanically worse for its experience, or an abnormal risk.

If you can discover what happened to your 2015 car, you should be able to make a decision. If the write-off was paid by a third-party's insurer (no blame) its insurance cost may be fairly 'normal'. If the write-off cost was high it may be wise to look elsewhere ?

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Tue 19 Aug 2025 17:41
Category D insurance - Adampr

I don't think I'd be buying a Cat S to be honest.

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Tue 19 Aug 2025 18:54
Category D insurance - Keith Moline

What I can't seem to find is someone who has actually insured a Cat N or D car, whether they used a specialist insurer like Adrian Flux or a standard online one who asked no questions about the Cat marker. And especially what happened in the latter situation if they had to make a claim. Those good people at ChatGPT are adamant that the responsibility lies with the policy holder to disclose the Cat status even if the insurer doesn't ask and there's no way to disclose it during the online application process.

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Tue 19 Aug 2025 19:05
Category D insurance - RT

From 6 April 2013 your insurer must ask all relevant questions they need to know before you take out, renew or change a policy under the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012.

In other words, if the insurer doesn't ask the question you aren't obliged to give the information.

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Tue 19 Aug 2025 19:19
Category D insurance - Orb>>.

In other words, if the insurer doesn't ask the question you aren't obliged to give the information.

And come claim time?

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Tue 19 Aug 2025 19:51
Category D insurance - RT

In other words, if the insurer doesn't ask the question you aren't obliged to give the information.

And come claim time?

They can't use the old excuse that you withheld material facts - however they may claim the car has a lower value because of the previous damage.

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Tue 19 Aug 2025 21:51
Category D insurance - Keith Moline
In that case, would it be better when applying to estimate the value of the car as if it were a non-Cat rather than using the discounted amount actually paid for it?
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Wed 20 Aug 2025 04:22
Category D insurance - RT
In that case, would it be better when applying to estimate the value of the car as if it were a non-Cat rather than using the discounted amount actually paid for it?

No - you don't get more back if you over-insure a car - as a Cat car it will be worth less than a non-cat.

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Tue 19 Aug 2025 21:53
Category D insurance - Keith Moline
Also, has anyone here had any experience of insurers paying out on a Cat car?
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Wed 20 Aug 2025 18:49
Category D insurance - Keith Moline

Hello? Anyone? Echo...echo...echo...

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Sat 23 Aug 2025 03:27
Category D insurance - edlithgow

I suspect most people on here are FAR too respectable to do anything like that.

Apart from the odd scrote like me, of course, who would mostly be FAR too disreputable to have anything other than third party cover, (apart from on my ex-BT workshop truck, where I used a specialist camper insurer who, to my astonishment, paid out 1600 on the 1800 purchase price when it disappeared in fairly suspicious circumstances wihout, AFAIK, any investigation)

Third Party may not be what you want, so, unless people have hit/been hit by people driving writeoffs, there may not be much local experience.

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Sat 23 Aug 2025 13:03
Category D insurance - badbusdriver

I suspect most people on here are FAR too respectable to do anything like that.

Apart from the odd scrote like me, of course, who would mostly be FAR too disreputable to have anything other than third party cover, (apart from on my ex-BT workshop truck, where I used a specialist camper insurer who, to my astonishment, paid out 1600 on the 1800 purchase price when it disappeared in fairly suspicious circumstances wihout, AFAIK, any investigation)

Third Party may not be what you want, so, unless people have hit/been hit by people driving writeoffs, there may not be much local experience.

Not sure third party offers the savings it once did Ed, in fact I'm sure I've read that going third party is often dearer than fully comp. I think the reasoning is that someone who goes full comp (rather than third party) is considered more responsible, and therefore (in theory anyway) a safer driver.

Cat ins. write-offs is (IMO) a very murky area, and because of this, I'd never consider buying one. Pretty much the first thing I do if doing a search on Autotrader is tick the box to exclude them.

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