Car insurance for the Alfa

[lombardi]

I think one of the important factors with car insurance is postcode,can make a substantial difference where u live.CIAO

[shiny_car]

i recently changed my insurance to Shannons, from Just Car, after recommendations from here and other Alfisti.

i am happy with the premiums, and their level of service is reassuring.

of note, my GT is under a 'Limited Use' policy, which is fine, as the car is driven ~5K km a year. i set the agreed value higher than with Just Car, and the premium is cheaper overall. the 155 policy is more expensive, but i did increase the agreed value, and it is my daily driver.

my cars may be more modified than others.

my only issue with them is that they would not offer me Rating 1 Protection (ROP) straight up! this is despite 20+ years of claim-free driving. i am eligible in 3 years if i don't make a claim. 

they told me they could only transfer ROP if i have held it for 3 years with my previous insurer. that it was necessary to pay a small premium to have ROP with Just Car did not qualify! that is, the only way anyone can have ROP with Just Car is to pay an extra small fee for it; but because of this, Shannons do not recognise you as having had it at all!!!

not sure if anyone has been in a similar situation, and talked their way around it? before Just Car, i was with AAMI and had ROP; would that help? not sure.

anyway, i'm with Shannons now, regardless.

[Davidm1600]

Just re-read some of these postings and I guess to an extent that some of us have some differing experiences. I went to Shannons in the first place since up until a couple of years ago all I had and drove were Italian Classics (Alfas and Fiats).  In the past I had used RACT (Tassies version of RACV), AMMI, GIO etc.  All of these insurers in the past had caused me some level of grief, eg, continually downvaluing my cars, difficulties with claims, jacking significantly the annual premium price upwards after a claim etc.   Now I can't say I have ever heard of Dawes, Just Cars or some of the other small insurers mentioned here (Vigil yes as they used to be an AROCA sponsor), but given the competitive price (yes in my favour over other insurers), plus the multiple discounts available over multi-car ownership, limited/layed up cover, I couldnt go past Shannons.   Moreover, with my Classics I have never had any quibbles as to the agreed value. 

From my recent experience with them in now insuring my modern Alfa (03 JTS 156 Sportwagon) plus the wifey's modern BMW ('97 318is sedan), let alone my two houses, all I can say is that they remain competitive.  There was a definite bonus in the wifeys car given that they valued it higher than her previous large insurer and the premium was around $150 cheaper. 

So despite what others may have found I will remain with Shannons as I believe they offer good value and service.  Our local office/Shannons rep is active in the car club scene here in Tassie, is one of our sponsors, and will go out of his way to inspect your vehicle at your own home if needed and is a nice bloke.  A no brainer to me !     Dave

[Dan H]

For what its worth, I insured a 74 GTV 2000 with GIO.  Comprehensive insurance with agreed value and option of retaining salvaged vehicle for $328 p.a.  Because of the car's age it is under "Veteran and vintage" but doesn't have any km limitations etc.  None of the others were even close - most about 3-5 times as much.  Not sure what they are like for newer models.

[franck]

my mates porky 930 self combusted a few weeks ago, he is with shannons, and car is insured for 80k, apart from a couple of questions such as "were u trying to sell the car, and do you owe any money on it" that was all, they aproved the 18k repair bill. the only thing that is a worry, what would have happened if he was advertising the car for sale? I wonder

[TFJ100]

Just to close out on my car insurance exploits (see first post about 8 posts ago)

-For Dawes to include Rating 1 protection brought their quote up to $700
-LSV has changed its underwriting policy - they won't quote on non-classics (their website is out of date, as is the intro on the Alfa Club website here, they are presenting at the next club night and will presumably confirm their change)
-I went back to Shannons and with Alfa Club and CAMS licence discounts (thanks for the tip Fast Eddie), they are down to $649, with all the goodies.

So we have a winner.

Interestingly, they won't insure my Subaru family car as it lives on the road - I used to have it insured with Shannons to pick up the multi-car discount - but it seems they have also changed their underwriting approach now.

Good luck with your own insurance exploits, long may you not need cover!

Torben

[Nick Shardey]

Hi Guys,

As this is always a hot topic I thought I might revive this thread.
I received my renewal from Shannon's and my premium had increased substantially So I called LSV who I have 2 other modern cars with.
The premium was 50% lower with basically the same options (choice of repairer, free windscreen, and salvage rights)
I even opted to insure my 105 under their modified policy which still only cost me $187 P/A including taxes with a value of 12K!!!

Regarding their policy on modern cars, providing you have you classic cars with them they will consider it on a case by case basis. The reason for their change of policy is that it was un-economic to continue with these "high risk" policies for the sake customer retention.

Shards

[John Hanslow]

Thanks for the update.

Shannons have been an industry supporter and Club spomsor for many years.  Most memberrs with older cars including me and my 164 (not that old) have used their service.

Last year LSV  presented an insurance info session and offered all members a discount (about 15%).  As my car is mostly a weekend car, the insurance quote for my 156 is very much cheaper and I will switch from RACV to them soon.

Cheers.

[len105]

Well......you are right .......it is a good topic.

And there is no doubt that which city/town you live in & what postcode makes all the difference. (NRMA wouldn't even give me a quote on a 6 year old Alfa in Sydney !!)

For my 2003 156 2.5L, when purchased last year, partly due to a bunch of non-interested insurance companies, I stuck my neck out & signed up with Real Insurance - which amazingly turns out to be a REAL insurance company !!! They had been heavily promoting themselves at the time as a viable car insurance alternative.........

They valued my car at just over $20,000 for about $900 a year. 12 months later, according to their 'valuer', my car is now worth $13,600 - a drop of over $6550 in a year or 31 % !! And, like the very first post said way back in Feb 09, the premium actually goes up as well for the privelege !!

So, thanks to all your input fellow Alfisti - I have now some ideas on who to turn to  and a renewed enthusiasm to find a better deal !!

[venice]

My Alfa 159 2.2 JTS late 06 model is insured for $36,100.00 and I
pay $526.00 per year with my own choice of repairer. "Pay as you drive" Insurance.
Shannons wanted $900 odd dollars after 10 year of loyality. Go figure!

Regards,
Paul

NOW
Alfa Romeo 159 2.2 JTS

PAST...
Alfa Romeo 75 twin spark
Alfa Romeo 164
Alfa Romeo GTV 74'
Alfa Romeo GTV 79'
Alfetta red 79'
Alfetta ivory 80'
Alfa Gulietta 78'
Alfa Spider (The Graduate model)
FIAT Spider
FIAT 130 Coupe'Silver
FIAT 130 Coupe'Gunmetal Grey
Fiat 124 1.8 CC
Lancia Beta HPE Bronze
Lancia Beta HPE Blue
Lancia Beta HPE Light Blue
Lancia Beta HPE Red
Subaru WRX 99
Subaru Liberty RX
Subaru Outback 05
Mazda MX6
Mazda 323 Astina 2.0 V6
VW Golf 2.0 TDI

[ProvaRacing]

I have to agree with venice - Real "pay as you drive" is great if you drive a limited amount and can estimate your annual total - quoted me $542 with windscreen coverage.

And for the record remember the movie "Independance Day" months of hype, billboards, TV ads and at least for me a very big let down. Its mistake was it wasn't based on a basic marketing truism "Promise low, deliver high" in fact the opposite. Youi is making the same mistake...nothing in their ad translates to the figure quoted. I must be the lowest risk category - no room for assumptions, yet these YOUI CROOKS quoted $880 for the same car, same deal!!! $2 more than my current insurer that increased 15% from last year.

Youi is a fraud.

PS Loyalty haha...that was thrown out many years ago by banks and insurance companies.

[rocklogic]

great stuff guys! I'm now shopping around for insurance providers for my 2000 156; and so far only came up with RACV.

I'll probably use her pretty often; off to uni & work pretty much. Any recommendations at all?

[John Hanslow]

I suggest you shop around.  I myself will try Shannons &  now LSV who give a discount for car club members.  RACV for me was about $1200 while I did get a limited use quote from LSV about 30% of that.

Insurance based on limited use/kms seems an option.  Make sure you are satisfied with the agreed value and can choose your insurer.

Good luck.

[rocklogic]

Thanks! I've got an RACV quote around $1200, and AAMI around $1100. Will be thinking about it over the next few days.

[pep105]

Just thought id revive an old topic with some updated information.

Received my car insurance renewal for the 105, its with GIO under a classic policy as stated previously. When I opened it I was suprised to find a leaflet for Shannons. The cover letter then stated that GIO were no longer offering this type of insurance and it will now be covered by Shannons, which seems reasonable, the policy is $ 211 full comp for a value of $4400 therefore unchanged from before, however will need to get the car re valued due to the restoration which going by whats been posted shouldnt be an issue.