chrisc1

LV quoted £547 for MY03 as a "standard" car and £614 as an "import" - me 42 and g/f 31. Not a bad figure but has anyone had any formal explanation from any insurance company as to why the increase for an import? It reminds me of a few years ago when main dealers refused to service imports and they were forced by legislation to back down. It would appear that this loading of insurance for imports could come under the same legislation, somewhere along the lines of restrictive or unfair practice. i intend to write to LV for a written answer, however, any information at this stage would be useful.

pblakeway

They wouldnt even cover me for an import, I rung up to day to be told they had changed thier policy (since last week !!!)

AndyMoody

iTrader: (2)

Was it a Euro import or Jap import they wouldn't cover?

NorthDave

I too had this on a Euro import (Belgium I think). It smacks of market rigging to me and I think it should be against the anti-competition laws.

The car I nearly bought was from a car supermarket. How many other people must buy from there and never declare it as an import (I had to ask specifically if it was an import)??

chrisc1

It is a euro import. Initially, I didn't admit to it being an import, hence my having two quotes. The problem arose when I asked for a cover note for obtaining tax disc and plates (which occurs at the same time when using the Keyring cars import pack) and I had (obviously) no registration number. On reflection, maybe I could have applied for the registration number to the DVLA and once I received that then obtain a cover note and used that to get the tax disc? Doing it all in one saves extra days having an unusable car outside, but I may now have my chassis number registered as an "import".

AndyMoody

iTrader: (2)

So did LV or anyone give you insurance on just a chassis number?

chrisc1

Yes, LV have insured it with the chassis number. I am awaiting the full paperwork and then I will write to them using their official complaints procedure outlining my concerns regarding European anti-competition legislation etc. I am fairly confident that they are not able to do this unless they can prove that a European import is a higher risk and my understanding is that only a grey import would be a higher risk.

AndyMoody

iTrader: (2)

OK, thanks for that info. I'm hoping to collect my MY03 Euro import next month and need insurance for the drive back to UK. I know what my reg number will be however as I have a personal plate to put on. If I use that though instead of chassis number, I wouldn't be insured for the journey back as it won't have been reg'd by the DVLA until back on UK soil. So if it got crushed on the Continent I'd be stuffed!!

Any contact name or advice on getting this sorted would be helpful. I had loads of problem last time I imported a 306 and the insurance company I used then have gone bust.

Thanks,

Andy.

NicholasO

I'd be interested to know how you get on here as well please.

At the end of the day a Euro or UK sourced are all imports from Japan, I believe.

My insurance company didn't ask me directly, so I didn't think to tell them and probably won't now.

Thanks
Nick

Harry_Boy

TBH, most insurers assume that an import means it's JDM spec, which is wrong, of course, in the case of a Euro import. Parallel imports, such as my MY02 from Belgium, should cost exactly the same to insure as cars bought locally from an IM franchised dealer.

If your insurer doesn't understand, he should be made to do so, by writing to the Insurance Ombudsman.....

Nathan L

On the cutomer advisers screen it has 2 options for where the car comes from

1 is UK car.
2 is Import.

The Import option is for cars bought outside the EEC.

Anything bought inside the EEC that is right hand drive is a UK car. There is nothing different about the cars bought in Europe. There is no longer a UK spec car. The EEC certificate of conformity covers all countries within the EU including the UK. Cars bought from Europe are NOT IMPORTS for the purpose of insurance.

wakeboardar

you dont have to tell us nathon its the insurance companies you have to convince