Copy article

Story for The Times: Are Range Rovers and other expensive cars becoming uninsurable?

Journalist: George Nixon, The Times and The Sunday Times

ended 17. November 2023

Good afternoon,

Not sure if this is the right place to come for car insurance stories but here goes. 

I'm digging into a story about insurers seemingly no longer wanting to cover big and expensive cars like Range Rovers and Land Rovers, Lexus RXs and Toyota RAV-4s because of thefts. 

I've seen stories online about quotes for Range Rovers coming up for £20,000+ or some insurers just not offering to cover certain cars any more. Has anyone had any experience with this, either personally or with a client, who can chat about what they've seen?

Thanks, all the best,

George

8 responses from the Newspage community

Copy all

Copy

Editor
Riz MalikVerified
Independent Financial Adviser at R3 Wealth
A client of mine could not find anyone to insure his Range Rover in east London. Subsequently, when he attempted to sell the vehicle, he encountered obstacles as local dealers were aware of the insurance complications. Ultimately, he successfully sold the car in the North, where the insurance issues were less of a hindrance.
Copy

Editor
Stephen PerkinsVerified
Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
One of our company directors was looking into a new Lotus Electre, a fully electric high-end SUV. The figures and tax advantages of a company car all added up nicely until he researched the insurance costs. The majority of insurers simply wouldn't insure an expensive new electric vehicle and the cheapest of those insurers that would quote came in over £7,000 for the year (driver in his 40s fully clean licence). The reasons given were that any slight damage to the car could be a write-off given the risk and safety concerns around a damaged battery. There does seem to be a growing trend of high-end vehicles becoming either uninsurable or uneconomically insurable.
Copy

Editor
Ranald MitchellVerified
Director at bad credit mortgage specialists Charwin Mortgages
I drive a Range Rover Sport and the insurance is ok at the moment. I stayed with my current insurer on renewal though as any prospective new insurer was coming in around 40% higher than the renewal price. I do have concerns about the 2024 renewal, and the cost of insurance will result in some serious thinking.
Part of the problem is not just the theft of cars, but the theft of parts. The DPF on a Range Rover costs around £3,500 and parts are being stolen to order. I had problems with my DPF and it was recommended that a new one be fitted. In the entire Land Rover network, not a single DPF could be sourced and more worryingly, there was no expected date for any stock replenishment. If the supply chain is failing, cars will be targeted. Perhaps London and the South East are hotspots for car and parts thefts, but hopefully, this will not spill over into other areas to any great extent.
Copy

Editor
Darryl DhofferVerified
Founder at The Mortgage Geezer
Car insurance companies are becoming increasingly reluctant to insure high-value vehicles, such as Range Rovers, Land Rovers, Lexus RXs, and Toyota RAV4s, due to the high cost of theft claims. In some cases, insurers are simply refusing to quote for these vehicles, while in others they are quoting prohibitively expensive premiums.

This is a trend that is likely to continue, as insurers are under increasing pressure to keep their costs down. As a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult for owners of high-value vehicles to find affordable insurance.

If you are considering buying a high-value vehicle, it is important to shop around for insurance and to be prepared to pay a high premium. You should also consider taking steps to reduce the risk of your vehicle being stolen, such as installing an alarm or tracker.
Copy

Editor
Mike StatonVerified
Director at Staton Mortgages
We have just been informed by Aviva that our 2-year-old Range Rover Velar is uninsurable, we have managed to find a provider but the premiums have increased from £760 per annum to £1400. It's a poor excuse to fleece the hard-earned money from paying customers. It just proves that Car insurance is like gambling, in this instance it looks like the house will never lose.
Copy

Gary Bush0
Financial Adviser at MortgageShop.com
Expensive cars, of the like of top-end Range Rovers, are becoming VERY expensive to insure in London and the South East due to the large number of keyless car theft cases plaguing these areas. In affordability discussions for mortgage applications we now find ourselves in conversations of "Oh my car insurers won't cover my car now, there are only 3 companies who now can and the premiums are 3 times or more what they used to be" - it's a worrying state of affairs as of course are the ruthless activities of the thieves who often strike in the middle of the night. One Midlands builder we know had both of his expensive vehicles stolen from the front of his house and had to result in social media stories to find out where they had been temporarily parked up until the initial police report heat died down - the clock was ticking and he luckily recovered both vehicles. But it makes you think why vehicle owners have to do the police's job in finding the cars, with thefts of values of upto £100k
Copy

Austyn JohnsonVerified
Founder at Mortgages For Actors
Its not just insurance, the fuel costs are just getting a bit too much. I drive a Jeep and its not amazing! Insurance isnt too bad though, but I live in an area thats low crime etc. Thefts of Fiesta's and Focus's went through the roof a couple of years ago and I guess thieves are just now targetting the big 4x4's. There will always be a reason for insurance companies to have an 'unexpected number of claims'. Keyless entry will always be exploited. But, I expect B&E to find keys in the house, has also gone down in number.
Copy

Alex Yip0
Director of Sales and Marketing at ineedatracker.com
Hi George

As the person in charge of sales at ineedatracker.com, I deal with customers on a daily basis that they have found difficulty in insuring their Range Rovers. Just today, a customer purchased a Thatcham Certified S5 standard tracker system from me as they needed it to satisfy their insurance criteria. The premium? £5000. Which I told him was fairly reasonable as some clients have told me that their premiums were £10,000 to £12,000. Another client told me that they had to resort to an insurer based in France to cover them. Regarding Toyota and Lexus vehicles, there has been a spate of thefts due to a relatively new technique used by thieves called CAN injection. This allows them to very easily gain access to a locked car, start the engine and drive it away undetected. Insurers for cars made by these manufacturers seem to have gone down the route of demanding Thatcham CAT 2 immobilisers be installed into cars that they are covering.