Morris Minor Owners Club

The Media tells us of big hikes this year, but I didn't expect 50%. So, a quick trawl. One madly higher again, One rang me pressure selling before I'd even finished the online quote! Then was madly higher. One doesn't quote online, despite the word 'Line' in the title. Another very well known is 'considering', and the one with an affiliation with the club is only a fiver cheaper, so I'll swallow the 50% and stay where I am! Hour of my life I won't get back!!

Looking forward to that soon.

My renewal quote, for earlier this month, was 100% higher!
I did the annual search and, from the same broker/company, the quote was the same as the previous year's policy price. I phoned them up and without any negotiation whatsoever it was matched.
The only difference is that the previous policy included breakdown cover at the roadside, more than 1/4 mile from home. That doesn't really concern me because my personal main car cover includes any other vehicle as a driver or passenger.

Got my renewal quote, enquire how much now mmoc member and get a discount.?

Answer more expensive through club scheme
2nd quote from another well known classic insurers 50% more expensive than renewal quote.
So sticking with existing, gone up a bit since last year around 10% so pretty good

I recently insured a 1885 Citroen BX 19 GT, it was cheaper to insure than the 1991 Mini Cooper it replaced

Got my renew.quote from.footman James.phoned them and got it 100 cheaper so happy unlike my modern car which had pay treble.this year

Well, happy ending to report. Never use comparison sites for Classic stuff, but did this morning, and turned up a sub £100 quote. Phone original renewal company, they more than matched it!! Happy bunny.

panky wrote: ↑Thu Dec 21, 2023 5:48 pm I recently insured a 1885 Citroen BX 19 GT...

Crikey! The world's first-ever car and it must be worth an absolute mint too!

The knew how to make 'em back then

I can beat that.
Carole Nash, who I've been with for 12 years, emailed me today to say they can't re-quote for my Jan 24 renewal.
So I rang up to find out why. I need to know, as the new insurer will ask that very question. And no answer = no quote = no cover.
After two frustrating hours of being bounced around between Carole Nash's Reception, Customer Service, Renewals, Sales et al, I finally got an answer, albeit partial.
CN: "It's because of the advised modifications."
Me: "What modifications? Nothing's been done in the past 10 years, and even those earlier mods were only safety-related; later brake drums, radials etc"
CN: "The underwriters don't/won't say."
CN: "We did get a quote from another underwriter, but our system won't let us pass it on."
Me: "More than last year's £80?
CN: "£11,000."

PS
Just received Adrian Flux's quote. It's around £10,900 pa cheaper than the renewal premium that Carole Nash could procure.

What's going on? I hope these issues don't become more commonplace. When I had to re-insure recently, the broker asked a lot of questions and then balked at the fact that my Minor is my only car (despite me having insured through them for at least 10 years now) and asked my how did I get around - which seems a stupid question. I said I walk, I cycle, I use buses and trains...and my car, that's what its for. The guy said he was going to have to check and get back to me as it was a problem that I don't have another car. I said I can't see what difference that makes as I am retired (i.e. no business use) and that I am on a 5,000 mile restricted mileage anyway.
He never did get back so I rang them the next day, saying I wanted to renew, and the (different) person just processed everything there and then, without asking a load of questions. As they say, go figure.......

I think it is all because modern insurance companies use a standard computer system that has no box to tick for classic cars like ours. Every minor on the road, including mine, has been modified but the youngsters filling in the forms have no concept of this. I had to lie in order to get a quote last year. I was desperate as no company would offer me a quote without asking inane questions that have no bearing on how I drive or the safety of my car. 'Have you ever lived abroad?' Well, yes. Because I put yes they would not quote me. But what has that got to do with anything. I was 8 years old!
Years ago it was a weekend ritual to look out of my front room window to see if my neighbours had their bonnet up. We had to do routine maintenance in order to keep the cars running. "Got a problem?"I would ask. "Sh*t in the carburetter," they would say. "How often do you have to do that!" You never see any one with their head under the bonnet now. I am not looking forward to my renewal in February.

King Kenny wrote: ↑Sat Dec 30, 2023 1:28 pm I think it is all because modern insurance companies use a standard computer system that has no box to tick for classic cars like ours. Every minor on the road, including mine, has been modified but the youngsters filling in the forms have no concept of this......

Flow chart mentality, badly programmed systems and "Artificial Intelligence", that is closer to being genuine stupidity, are sadly all too common these days, with initiative being an alien concept . Such is the poor level of communication, within lots of these places, that if you find someone, with anything useful between their ears, nobody else will know what has been agreed; it's a shambles, many large organisations not knowing their corporate posteriors from their corporate elbows. Many years ago, there was a TV program on every Sunday evening, called "That's life", part of which highlighted the kind of inane stupidity, made common these days, by the above. If that was still being shown, it could be on for several hours each day.....much of it relating to phone/Internet firms, banks or carriers .

I've been lucky with insurance, in that I have been with Peter Best for nearly forty years (Mine is a very low account number). Partly through inheritance, I now have a collectors policy and can insure four cars for less money than I recall paying out on a Golf GTI thirty years ago. The issue of no modern car no longer crops up but since I have commuted by bicycle, for more than twenty years (Aside from the odd day, I haven't commuted by car in over thirty years and I'm now not far off getting a bus pass), it's not been an issue.

I'm still having trouble getting Carole Nash to confirm whether they've withdrawn from insuring Morris Minors.
As mentioned upthread, they declined to renew my policy with them, after 10 claim-free years, and no change of circumstances.
Two hours on the phone revealed that this was because of my having fitted 8" front drums to my SII (in 1978!). And they no longer accept cars with modifications.
But they've just changed their story, saying it's because the insurer they'd previously placed me with no longer insures classic cars at all.
And they can find no Company prepared to insure for under £11,000.
I'm now concerned that owners with an existing CN policy may have any claim rejected, or even be charged with uninsured driving, if they've innocently not declared ALL their "Modifications" on their application, when they had in fact fitted any of the bog standard:

Radial tyres
1098 engine
8" front drums
Seatbelts
Screen washer (compulsory since 1971)
Better seats
Oil pressure gauge
Temperature gauge
Indicators (in place or in addition to trafficators)
Hazard warning lights
etc etc

Basically, anything fitted after the car first left the showroom may be invalidating some policies.
I advise members to check.

Footman James declined to renew on my MM because when I'm home at my flat it has to be parked on the road and the nice lady explained - which wasn't actually in their letter - that as they only have 1 insurer that body has decided to no longer offer insurance if the vehicle is parked on a public road. Baffling. Careful, next it'll be no insurance because it's used on the road. Potty!!

Regretfully it's not just car insurance that has gone mad. We are lucky enough to live in a "low crime area", but for our own peace of mind, have a monitored house alarm with CCTV. Our insurance broker advised us to not mention the alarm and CCTV as it would have increased the premium offered by the insurer. Following that logic, would it be cheaper to not fit locks on doors?

MattGeeNY wrote: ↑Wed Sep 11, 2024 2:08 pm Footman James declined to renew on my MM because when I'm home at my flat it has to be parked on the road and the nice lady explained - which wasn't actually in their letter - that as they only have 1 insurer that body has decided to no longer offer insurance if the vehicle is parked on a public road. Baffling. Careful, next it'll be no insurance because it's used on the road. Potty!!

Surely the club should be looking into this as they have an affiliation with FJ? What has changed that means insurance is now becoming a costly nightmare to arrange?

I was expecting an increase this year but Adrian Flux were basically the same price as last year for the Minor and that has disc brakes and Ka seats disclosed as modifications.

My house contents renewal came in the other day though, up 50% this year despite nothing changing and having never claimed on it.

Well, I have emailed the MMOC, advising them of this thread, and this previous one: viewtopic.php?p=699284&hilit=insurance#p699284

I am hoping that they can work with other classic car clubs to challenge insurance companies on their increasingly restrictive criteria. I note that the club's aims make reference to "people who still use them as everyday transport", but these people appear to be increasingly penalised by the insurance companies.

I will report back when I have heard back from the club.