Car insurance for the Alfa

[Anth73]

Thought I'd pass on my experience regarding car insurance for my Alfa 156. I received my policy renewal from AAMI and despite the insured value dropping from $25K to $20K in the 12 months and maintaingin my existing rating 1, my policy actually went up $114 to $918. That's almost a 33% increase based on the sum insured.

I spoke to AAMI and they gave me a story about the 156 being an old car now so there aren't as many places that repair them....go figure! They could not do any better than the quoted amount.

Anyway, I'd seen a few ads for YOUI car insurance and thought I'd get an online quote. Admittedly I am waiting to hear back from them about who their repairers are, and the sum insured was $19K for the 156, but their quote came to........$692!

Motto of the story is to shop around and that a lifetime rating 1 is something you still pay more for.

Is there anyone else I should try? GIO wanted $1100 and CGU wanted $1600....ridiculous!

[alfagtv100 (Biggus)]

Hi Anth73,

Friends in the panel beating industry have explained that with car insurance, like many other things in life, you get what you pay for. They the differences become important when your car is actually in need of accident repair.
Some companies insist you use their 'approved' repairers. For auto enthusiasts, this represents a potential source of frustration and/or disappointment.
They may also ask a repairer to achieve the lowest repair cost possible by compromising on their approach to a repair, with the associated impact on quality.
I have both my 105 and 159 insured with Shannons. I have found them to be outstanding in understanding the needs of the enthusiast, whilst offering a competitive premium. The option to pay your premium by the month, without financial penalty, is great.

Just ensure you cover you car for a sufficient level of agreed value.

Cheers,

Marco

[spieret]

I also had the same problem with my car insurance. I contacted Shannons after my insurance company could give no reason for the increase. Which was very similar to your figures. Shannons ended up being about $530.00 at least $400.00 less than the other mob and they covered the same things. Shannons are truly for the car enthusiast. They also know you take better care of your car than Mr. beatup falcon that's couldn't pass a roadworthy if he tried.

[Barry Edmunds]

Like other enthusiasts I opted for Shannons as the best option for insuring my Super and very glad I did so. Shannons service and premiums for 'older' cars leaves the others for dead.

Barry

[Anth73]

I did give Shannons a call yesterday and they were somewhat cheaper than all other insurers I've tried other than YOUI. I'm still waiting to hear back from them...which leaves me thinking they will be a pain to deal with in the event of a claim.

[Fast Eddie]

Definitely Shannons and they will insure all your vehicles, even the non exotic ones like our Astra and from experience they do honour their cover.

If a car club member you will get a discount AND a further discount if you are hold a CAMS license - comp or official.

[GTAM1]

I've been with Shannons now for about ten years and currently have both cars with them. I've had 2 claims that were handled by them without any problems. They provided a lot of assistance in having the repair rectified when the car was returned with a sub standard paint job. They also provide multicar discounts.

[John Hanslow]

Interesting thread as I was going to ask for some ideas from members as to their insurance experiences for expansion of Club benefits.

Most importantly, I say that Shannons is a specialist insurer of older cars and a club sponsor. Accordingly their product is very much suitable for many members of the club and we recommend their product accordingly.    I have previously owned a 164 and used Shannons.  The point here was that the insurance was for limited use, I think less than 8k for the year and was about $450 a year.

However Shannons are not that price competive with modern cars insurance and they have stated that as a fact - as they specialize in classic cars.

With my 156 I have current RACV insurance at a cost of approx $1, 200 and now have a quote from Youi at approx $450.   Now Youi advertise car insurannce for those who do not use their car everyday,   That is good for me as I drive my 156 mostly on the weekend.  However I have not looked into limitations in the policy or the strenght of their underwriter.

Are their any other members who have had competitive responses from companies whose product may suite club members with newer moden era Alfas?  Limited use etc?

Regards.

[grpa9x]

hi all,
give dawes a ring, i had all my cars with shannons for several years, when it came time to revalue them all i got was a headache, i rang dawes and they upped the value on all of them, and pay by the month, their service is much better,
cheers michael

[Gary Pearce]

Shannons are the best. They are so good with their valuations and help that I even have my house and content insured with them now.

[alfagtv100 (Biggus)]

i had all my cars with shannons for several years, when it came time to revalue them all i got was a headache

I just doubled the insured value of my 105 with Shannons.  I only had to provide a list of the recently completed works, plus some recent photos.

[Andrew B]

Hi all
I am a newbie just about to finalise a purchase of a 2004 JTS wagon (manual) very excited
I have been checking out car insurance and have found that Alliance comes in around  the $850, less than RACV and AAMI. Has anyone had any experience with them?
Thanks
Andrew

[pep105]

This might sound crazy but my 105 is insured with GIO as they offer a classic car insurance, works out to $190 a year full comp. I literally discovered this by accident calling around for qoutes one day, no idea it even existed. They confirmed that if I do work on the car as part of the restoration, they can re value from receipts photos etc.
Seems to work for now will re evaluate when the cars finished 

Be really careful with smaller unknown insurance companies, read your PDS carefully there are some out there who at claim time will do anything not to pay out. If unsure stick to well known or recommended companies even if it costs more unfortunately ive seen this numerous times.

[John Hanslow]

Thanks for that feed back.  You comments cover a range of experiences.

A bit of a summary in terms of the different situations
- No problem with classic car insurance as a few companies offer this - market competition.
- Shannons is a Club sponsor and have offered to give good value to club members

In looking at our more modern cars, there are a different sort of needs.

There are many companies in the market and you can get differing range of insurance products, pricing, value - plus discounts when you have housing insurance etc.  Modern car insurance would be for a daily driver and as far as I can see that is standard stuff.  It's price vs benefits.

In looking at a limited use policy (not a daily driver) to match my requirements, I will follow up Youi and also a few others mentioned above to see how they compare.

The lessons learnt are that you get what you pay for; but the 'best' policy is useless if they do not pay out !

Cheers.

[grpa9x]

i had all my cars with shannons for several years, when it came time to revalue them all i got was a headache

I just doubled the insured value of my 105 with Shannons.  I only had to provide a list of the recently completed works, plus some recent photos.

when i went to up the value on my a9x i was told i had to drive down to the city for them to look at it, this was after a rep of theirs viewed it at a show , the idiots that answer the phones couldnt give a sh#t, thats why i cancelled my policy and went with dawes, they are the largest insurers of ferraris in australia, and they also covered my ducati.
cheers michael