James Neill

iTrader: (1)

How bizarre??? Why is it they sponsor this forum then. I know not everyone here drives an imported car but of all the forums to sponsor

Tony@Greenlight

Hi James,

We have been covering Subaru models since 1997 via the SIDC and subsequently Scoobynet, so we have had decent exposure to Subaru models over the years.

In principle the vehicle is exactly the type of vehicle that we would look to cover, the problem comes in the mechanics of covering the vehicle.

There have been several posts as to why we do not currently cover the Japanese import models, but to clarify the primary problems are as follows:

1) Parts supply
Subaru UK (International motors - the franchiseholder for EU countries) do not support service, warranty, repair or supply of parts for Imported models.

This results in having to use non-franchise repairers, who in turn are unable to source parts from Subaru UK and have to attempt to source parts from independent specialists or failing this directly from Japan.

In the interim, the Insurer concerned will be providing a courtesy car for the time taken to source parts & repair the vehicle (in our experience from 4 to 6 weeks).

They will also be exposed to storage charges for every day the vehicle is at a repairer awaiting repairs to commence.


2) Policy cancellation
We experience a high cancellation rate when compared to all other vehicle makes & models covered.

These are mainly due to defaulting upon finance, or disposal of the vehicle.

3) Fire claim
Our Underwriters experienced a higher than average fire claim results from older import models, when reviewed the cause was generally through electrical malfunction

These were the primary reasons that led to our avoiding imported Subaru business in the main, but in the event that International Motors (Subaru UK) relax their stance in relation to supply & vehicle repair we would be happy to cover these vehicles.

Kind regards

Tony

Tidgy

don't cover imports

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

Subaru uk DO service and supply parts for imports!

Tony@Greenlight

Hi Chris,

Having experienced this problem first hand (as a result of personal disbelief that Subaru UK wouldnt wish to supply/service/repair/provide warranty to Subaru models) on numerous occasions over the years, I can personally vouch for what our Insurers & approved repairers have experienced as we were involved with contacting the respective Subaru dealers as part of the claims process.

If you can confirm the specific franchise dealers, or contacts that have supplied you parts at International motors this would be really useful to us.

Availability of parts from the UK franchise holder and franchised dealer repairs are both issues that currently restrict our ability to offer terms for imported models, thus any assistance that you (or your colleagues upon the forum) can provide would be most welcome.

We will then get in touch with your specific contacts to explore the availability of parts nationally with a view to reinstating imports to our panel Underwriters schemes.

Your collective advice in this regard would be very much appreciated.

Kindest regards

Tony

Mrs WRX

That is abit of an unfair thing to say about people who have finance on an import. I have finance on mine but i have never defaulted.

Tidgy

pesonaly i think the figures ara bit misleading, its the old, don't buy a car you can't afford. well maybe you can afford a £3k import, but can you afford to run it when something goes wrong? and there in lies the problem i think, people buying cheap imports that can't afford to run them, so they either cancel the policy or crash them and claim on there policy.


as far as getting hold of parts, come on thats not a major issue, might take a few extra days, but there not hard to get hold of, sounds like a line from a dealer trying to persuade you to buy a uk car rather than an import

gpssti4

iTrader: (6)

I've bought parts for my STI4 from Adams in Aylesbury before. I gave them the chassis number and it was no problem.

Tidgy

personally i think saying stuff like can't get parts etc is now just scare mongering

ESH

Ultimately what are the benefits recieved by joining Greenlight over another insurer?

If they do not or won't insure your import then there ae plenty of others

I've used A Plan for about 4 years now and have two cars with them. They've slacked off recently and I won't go into detail but I have had a good service from them. Not having had an accident I can only vouch for their service to date from that perspective.

Keith Michaels seem ok.

Some of the policies won't offer you a courtesy car if you have an import due to the parts supply issue too.

Surely the % of people defaulting on run of the mill cars is far higher than a Subaru? Please correct me if I am wrong.

Regards

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

1) Parts supply
Subaru UK (International motors - the franchiseholder for EU countries) do not support service, warranty, repair or supply of parts for Imported models.

This results in having to use non-franchise repairers, who in turn are unable to source parts from Subaru UK and have to attempt to source parts from independent specialists or failing this directly from Japan.

In the interim, the Insurer concerned will be providing a courtesy car for the time taken to source parts & repair the vehicle (in our experience from 4 to 6 weeks).

They will also be exposed to storage charges for every day the vehicle is at a repairer awaiting repairs to commence.


Hi,

All dealers have access to the technicial help desk at IM Parts and Service who in turn have all the data needed to locate parts for imports. I also know that IMPS also stock a certain number of these import parts and if they don't they can supply - but there will be a wait as the parts are shipped over.


S


Constitution Motors (Subaru) in Norwich not only source import parts for you but have their own Japanese parts CD so they can look up UK equivalent parts with your Japanese VIN number, although it takes a little time. 01603 414623 ask for Sam. They will post small parts for you on request although if you're not local it might be worth seeing what they can do.

Copied from another thread. As above go somewhere else I did, A Plan ask for Matt, on the Imports number

Tony@Greenlight

Hi All,

Firstly, a point that we wish to clarify is that WE DO wish to cover imported vehicles, but the prior experience we had under our historic import scheme that resulted in withdrawal after 3 consecutive years of encountering problems listed above has left a jaded perspective.

Granted, we havent written imports on a wholesale basis for some 2 years now and I do take the point that things may have changed in terms of availability etc.

If we could conclusively prove this to our carriers then we would look to review the position of exclusion with our respective Underwriters.

The default issue was upon our Insurance premium finance plans and came to light when we reviewed the high cancellation rate for lower value imported vehicles when compared to other classes of business.

This was analysed in detail vs other business profiles requiring finance that we dealt with and this along with the other issues we listed above seemed to represent the reasons that the policies didnt go the distance (ie. 12 months).

As Blue Dragoon says, in the interim there are other people that cater for this type of business (A-Plan, Keith Michaels).

Finally, thanks Dragoon for the copied link to Constitution Motors - We are making contact with them as part of our review of imports.

Kind regards

Tony

fpan

iTrader: (11)

Why is it not possible to insure LHD cars then?
AFAIK a EU spec impreza is the same spec as UK one (after making the necessary changes such as headlights to get it registered in the UK of course)

Tony@Greenlight

Hi FPAN,

We can cover vehicles that were purchased from EU Subaru main dealers.

International motors (trading as subaru uk over here) own the franchise to most EU countries (o/t Malta/Cyprus) thus if the vehicle in question was purchased from an EU Subaru dealer, parts supply, warranty & repair are supported.

So.. basically, if Subaru UK support the supply of parts and repair we will cover the vehicle.

Just to confirm:

1. We DO cover UK first registered Subaru models (inc P1) - Modified and standard can be covered

2. We DO cover EU imports that were first purchased from EU Subaru dealers (Cyprus/Malta imports - as newcomers to EU can be included providing Subaru UK recognise & support the specific vehicle for parts supply).

3. We do not seek to cover vehicles that were first registered outside the EU due to their not being supported by Subaru UK (international motors).


Hopefully this clarifies the situation.

Kind regards

Tony

IanK Spec C

My experience of Greenlight-

I put my UK300 on Cover in March 06 with Greenlight, as they gave a more competative quote than my previous insurer.

In Mar 07, their renewal came through lower than the previous year (pleasant suprise- I've been on full NCD for years, no points or accidents etc). At renewal I discussed possibly buying a Jap import during the year and asked them to quote for it. Inititially they said they didn't cover Jap Imports for the various reasons above, however, I pushed and they did quote a premium for the Jap Import.

I therefore renewed the UK300 policy (underwritten by Highways) with Greenlight. Shortly after, I decided to order a Spec C. When I phoned Greenlight to obtain a cover note for the Spec C, I was then given the bad news that they wouldn't cover it as it was an 'import'.

I then had to cancel the policy and lost money as you only get 65% of the policy back within 2 months rather than the 85% pro rata value you'd expect.

I'm now on cover via Keith Michaels who've also put me with Highways for a premium lower than the UK300!

It also took 4 weeks for the refund to come through from Greenlight.

Best regards,

Ian

steveorangewrx

I get a lot of parts from my main dealet in cornwall for my 94 import with no probs, sometimes a 48hr wait but I have not had any trouble yet! I had my best quote from sainsburys of all people!! Excellent service but not had to renew with them yet, hopefulley they will be competitive later this year

BULLITT

In my own experience I have visited two UK Subaru dealers for parts (Leeds and Sheffield) and pricing on servicing on my 1995 Impreza WRX, both were (and still are) more than happy to help out as much as possible. The only difference I have found is with imported versions the dealer has to email Subaru UK with the details of the parts that you require. So far I have requested 3 lengthy lists of parts and have been contacted back the same day with prices and availability.

I have only found that it is primarily the private owned Subaru dealerships (such as KT Green in Leeds) that are not willing to help out Imported car owners.

Shark Man

As a repairer, we have been able to obtain parts for Imported Imprezas via the UK dealer network or alternate UK based OE spec parts suppliers.

The exception is for model specific body mouldings such and bumpers and boot spoilers where there is no equivelent for a UK model car. Which obviously, a UK dealer will not be able to supply, because there is no identical UK equivelent.

However there are other imported cars which are not Imprezas which have caused problems in relation to parts supply. Usually cars where there is no UK equivelent (FTO, Nissan Figaro, Suzuki Cappuccino etc).

TimH

iTrader: (11)

Out of curiosity, then, what's the situation for a (newage) JDM car (like mine, funnily enough ) that was imported brand new and first registered in the UK? Does that count as one in your first category? When I bought mine, the HPI check reported it as a UK car, even though it is unarguably a JDM vehicle!!

I didn't bother to ask you for a quote when I bought it as I assumed you'd class it as an import and therefore not insure it!

SPEN555

So Greenlight can insure a modded UK car but not a JDM import, a modded UK car is not supported by Subaru UK either so can't see how that stacks up?

Moley

iTrader: (9)

For a modded UK car the chances are replacement parts will be easily available from UK suppliers

SPEN555

These very UK Suppliers tend to also stock JDM parts.

Moley

iTrader: (9)

Not all parts though, only some.

(Thats from experience as an Impreza owner, not an insurance broker)

My experience with Subaru dealers (with the exception for Cheam Motors who i have found very helpful) isn't good. As soon as you say 'import' there is a 5 day minimum wait for parts to arrive.

fpan

iTrader: (11)

Hi Tony and thanks for your message.
Unfortunately I have phoned Greenlight twice and I got the same answer in both occasions: they don't insure LHD cars.
My car is bought from a German Subaru dealer and AFAIK it is the same spec as any UK one.
Could you please help on that?
Thanks.

Dazza01

Tony,

is it ok to call for a quote on MY95 UK TURBO 2000 estate then

Tony@Greenlight

Fpan,

Sorry we couldn help you on this occasion & many thanks for giving us the opportunity.


Dazza01,

Your MY95 "UK" Turbo 2000 will be fine for us & we look forward to hearing from you.


To obtain a quotation you can either click the sponsor link at the top of the forum, or log onto Welcome to Greenlight Insurance, Modified Car Insurance Specialist.

Kind regards.

Tony

Dazza01

Tony,

Oh dear oh dear oh dear, just spoke to a chap called Darren who, told me that they won't insure the above scooby for less than £500 per year min and thats without going through al my details.

Looks like A-PLAN will get my business with there quote unles my present insurers L&V can beat it

dansti300

i have had loads of parts from kt green for my imported sti happy to help

AllanB

I can vouch for Greenlight having had good service from them. I've always found them well priced and that mght not mean the chepest but only a mug buys the cheapest its all about value for money. Dealing with them ins hassle free and they know what modifications are aand the cover is good.

One thing though please consider asking your insurer to use an underwriter other than Highway. I had a terrible experience that never got resolved. The way they dealt with me was shameful and Tony at Greenlight's direct intervention got things moving a number of times.

I have two of my car with them and see no reason the change as they do what they say on the tin and didn't try and put my renewals up every year like most insurance companies and indeed mine seems to drop a little most years


AllanB

exvaux

iTrader: (1)

sorry but i bought my 99 sti 5 typeR from s+s services,my local subaru dealer with full dealer history and i was the 3rd person they had sold it to so they do deal with imports.