Jap import sti5, mods declared: alloys, blow-off valve, R motor (old un went bang), remapped, air filter, knocklink, aftermarket oil cooler, grands worth of internal gauges, decent ice.

fully comp, 4 years protected, one SP30 avec 350 quid fine and 4 points, age 36, company director, cambs.

thatcham 1 req, no tracker wanted (tho it's got a gud un anyhow)

quotes from 940 (tesco) to 1150 (admiral) to adrian flux (declined), then NU came in at 797 quid!!

spoke directly with underwriter in, er, Bangalore apparently, and got a next day signed for letter from UK office confirming the mods as I declared 'em in the event of a claim.

Deal or what?

 

I was with Hill House Hammond last year, STi3 with mods (a few more than yours). This year, they've been taken over by NU. When I phoned to renew, they told me no way basically. Not at all happy with NU

Direct Line came up trumps though

 

Direct Line declined me. Guess it's down to how receptive the individual on the end of the phone is on the day - they've got the power to refer everything to the underwriter and chat with them in a "e's ok, reduce his quote" kinda way. The bloke who got my quote knew sod all about cars but told the underwriter I was a good bloke cos we'd had a 5 minute conversation about bodybuilding (don't ask )
Even stranger, tho, I used to work as a road tester for a national bike publication, covered hundreds of thousands of road miles without a spill, but can't get anything resembling a decent bike insurance quote at all....

 

Your right about the individual that happens to pick up the phone. Got very frustrated with some, especially when declaring mods. When I phoned back to accept the quote, I was told the original guy had made a mistake listing the mods. He'd not put down the 2.5L conversion

But it only cost me another £80 or so. They were by far the cheapest so didn't argue too much and yes I did go on about them being obliged to honour the first quote, didn't work though

 

So how are NU for Japanease imports.

Do they slap on a hefty chunk if its an import, or are they quite reasonable?

 

Imports are generally more expensive to insure than UK models but it's best to shop around. From my experience, many will insure std. JDMs and modified UKs but when you start talking about modified JDMs, that's where the prices and refusals start to increase.

 

try this company for imports www.greyimportinsurance.co.uk or call them on 0845 0711234. they are really good and know all about grey/ jap imports, well they were great for me...and dont cost more to insure than uk ones.... really good service, knowledge and been around for years apparantly.