Insurance

[fsk658]

Has anyone had problems to insure a modified minor with Footman James lately. I received my renewal notice with a note to contact them ref:- Full details of modifications. When I contacted them I was asked if the modifications were done by a professional, as mine was done by myself I was told that they will no longer insure my vehicle even after insuring it for the past 4 years. They have changed the insurance company they deal with who will no longer insure modified minors done by there owners.

[bpr81a]

They didn't ask who did our modifications, but I didn't give them the chance - I got a better deal elsewhere. I suppose it may depend how drastic the modifications are.

Try Peter James - http://www.peterjamesinsurance.co.uk/

[moggyman64]

Hi FSK658

I use Peter Best in Essex 01621840010, I have lots of modifications on my traveller all done by myself and I have been insured with them since 2005. Just make sure you list them all to have everything included on your policy.

Regards

Keith

[ASL642]

I've just changed from FJ to Peter James - they asked for a list of all modifications to my cars, then went shopping for the best quote. Fast efficient service (not a call centre)

[mike.perry]

I declared my 1275 Traveller and it did not affect the premium.
If this is current policy then FJ are going to lose a lot of business as there are a lot of 1275s out there

[Cam]

When I modified my 4-door back in 2001 I declared ALL the modifications and they just wanted to know the AGE of the engine. They were not interested in BHP or the other mods (I told them anyway). That was with AON who then became FJ and my policy is still the same. Not heard about any denial of modified cars though.

Mind you, I have heard some very good things about RH recently, so the way prices are going, I might be changing too.

[BarryS1952]

Footman James have just declined insuring my 1293cc Minor, it is modified but not in any major way. They claim they cannot find anyone to insure the car due to a change in underwriting terms, therefore I will need to obtain insurance elsewhere.
The list of modifications are as follows;
Fiberglass front wings and bonnet, Rear axle Morris Marina (larger drum brakes), Morris Traveler Rear Springs, Disc brakes on the Front, Coil Over dampers, front anti roll bar, exhaust changed to side exit, 1293cc engine, HIF44 carburetor, three point safety belt and bucket seats.
The car is sound and well maintained by my son, he uses it for a run about with the occasional Track day and a run down the strip at Santa pod once in a while all for fun no racing. He has a 4 litre Pontiac as his other car which is considerably more powerful.
In my opinion most of what has been done just makes the car safer, it is not a concourse car and the value we put on it was only 1500 pounds.
The recent magazine Minor Matters shows a Mazda MX5 conversion, that is way more modified than anything we have done.
Oh and Footman James wanted to know if we were qualified engineers?
There loss I guess.
BarryS

[moggyman64]

Hi Barry,

Use the company I have listed above to get a quote, as I said I have a list of mods on my traveller as lon as your arm with 2 ltr twin cam engine and unlimited mileage, fully comp for £165 last renewal, worth a call

Keith

[aupickup]

it seems one rule for one and not for others
they have lost my custom next year

[kevin s]

A vote for peter best from me to, I also have a tr7 with rover v8 shoved in the front + brake & suspension mods & running LPG, earlier this year it was £130 fully comp 5000 miles and I don't remember them ever asking who did the mods.

Kevin

[lambrettalad]

Qualified engineers? are the mechanics ? do they need to be ?.......What a load of BULL

[Dave@FJ]

I declared my 1275 Traveller and it did not affect the premium.
If this is current policy then FJ are going to lose a lot of business as there are a lot of 1275s out there

You're absolutely correct there Mike. We've got over 200 Minors with 1275 engines coming up for renewal in the next 3 months!

A 1275 will not automatically result in your insurance not being offered renewal. As i've written in another post, we've had a bit of a difficult time with our insurers and modifications over the last couple of months. We've agreed some instant changes where alot of the more common modifications are now perfectly acceptable. There is a bigger project that i'm involved with which is looking at other modifications and putting some rules around those so that we don't have to refer every case individually.

I've already contacted Barry and asked him for further details so I can look at his case but, as ever......if anyone else has any issues regarding mods then you are very welcome to contact me directly either by PM or david.youngs@footmanjames.co.uk

Best regards

Dave

[Matt]

I'm going to have to insure my minor soon, and based on the above there is no way you will insure it!

But, heres a question for you Dave...

What constitutes professional fitment? Would someone who runs and owns their own garage (or even just works as a mechanic) be declined because they had modified their own vehicle?

What about professional engineers? (for example I have an HND in Mechanical Engineering and a Degree in Engineering. I am currently employed as an engineer in the nuclear industry). Im sure I could go and get a C&G in motor vehicle maintainace with my eyes closed (well not literally - that would just be silly!)

[Dave@FJ]

I'm going to have to insure my minor soon, and based on the above there is no way you will insure it!

But, heres a question for you Dave...

What constitutes professional fitment? Would someone who runs and owns their own garage (or even just works as a mechanic) be declined because they had modified their own vehicle?

What about professional engineers? (for example I have an HND in Mechanical Engineering and a Degree in Engineering. I am currently employed as an engineer in the nuclear industry). Im sure I could go and get a C&G in motor vehicle maintainace with my eyes closed (well not literally - that would just be silly!)

Hi Matt

Obviously some modifications will add to the likely risk and, as such, will not be acceptable to the insurer. Different insurers have different specialisms, we are a classic car insurer and therefore extensive modifications may not be our area of expertise.

If i can just dispel the myth behind professional fitment - the policy will not necessarily be declined just because the modifications have been completed by a non-engineer. There is a follow up query which asks whether the vehicle has been professionally examined since the modifications have been fitted......if the vehicle has undergone an MOT this counts as a professional examination.

We've negotiated with our insurers around mods and some that were unacceptable a few weeks back may well be able to be placed now. It's a 'work in progress' which is why i'd be very happy to hear from anyone who is having difficulties. Our insurers have transferred one of their engineers to help out with the referrals team and improve the team's knowledge in this area so we're moving forward

[Matt]

Thats not really answering the question? What would FJ's interpretation of "professional" be?

Its great to know that progress is being made though!

I still doubt you would insure my minor, but at the moment its fairly irrelevant... Its not currently insured (off the road) & when i'm ready it will almost definately get added to a (legitimate!) Tradex policy...

[Dave@FJ]

Thats not really answering the question? What would FJ's interpretation of "professional" be?

Its great to know that progress is being made though!

I still doubt you would insure my minor, but at the moment its fairly irrelevant... Its not currently insured (off the road) & when i'm ready it will almost definately get added to a (legitimate!) Tradex policy...

Professional is open to much interpretation and there are many given answers. In the example you use - Would someone who runs and owns their own garage (or even just works as a mechanic) be declined because they had modified their own vehicle?
The answer would be no, it wouldn't be declined just because they had modified their own vehicle provided that the level of modification is acceptable to the insurer in general.

It is not FJ that make the accept/decline decision. We ask the questions that our insurers tell us to ask you. We relay this information to them on a case by case basis and the decision is taken based on the answers we provide

[Matt]

Okay,

So when the insurer asks you to ask us "was the modification carried out professionally" it would be more appropriate to say "I did it, but I have..... (insert appropriate qualifications experience here) " rather than just "No, I did it myself!" its then up to you to pass the information supplied on to the insurer who will make the final decsion, and its probably down to the interpretation and mood of the person you are talking too at the insurer?

[chrisryder]

As far as I'm aware, the definition of 'professional' is someone who gets paid to do what they do.

So if you pay a garage to MOT your car, a professional has examined it.

[MMALAN]

I also got a letter from Footman James asking for full details of modifications to my 1275 cc Ital engined van before they would offer me renewal terms but due to the high cost last year (over £200) I had decided to shop around before renewing anyway.
Hagerty coverd me for £129.06p with a 4000 mile limit which should be plenty for me but if not you can just ring up and increase it for an extra charge if you think you are going to go over the limit.
This includes up to 90 days European use (FJ charged me over £40 extra because I was in France for over 35 days this year), UK and European breakdown cover and includes insurance cover for my car carrying trailer at no extra cost.
The only snag would be if you are young as I don't think they will insure anybody under 30 but as I am 62 this was not a problem for me![frame][/frame]

[Dave@FJ]

Okay,

So when the insurer asks you to ask us "was the modification carried out professionally" it would be more appropriate to say "I did it, but I have..... (insert appropriate qualifications experience here) " rather than just "No, I did it myself!" its then up to you to pass the information supplied on to the insurer who will make the final decsion?

If there is additional information that you believe will assist you then it makes perfect sense to pass that on! We want the business so anything you give us which helps you will certainly be passed on.

and its probably down to the interpretation and mood of the person you are talking too at the insurer

I'd grant them a little more professionalism than that.