Specialist insurance for imported cars

Total 911 offers advice on insuring a Porsche freshly imported from the USA, courtesy of the experts at Adrian Flux

Nearly 50 years ago, Adrian Flux began to notice an increase in the number of customers coming to him with problems insuring their imported cars, particularly from America. Insurers either couldn’t work out how to rate the cars, or simply shied away from covering anything that wasn’t a standard right-handdrive, Uk-registered motor.

He found a solution, word spread, and the specialist broker has been at the vanguard of the evolving imported car insurance market ever since. “Adrian was so successful at the start of the business because he was targeting these types of clients who couldn’t get mainstream insurance, so obviously after so many years we have a large product range to cover most risks,” says Daniel Clark, product and underwriting development manager for Flux.

Grey and other imports

Cars that were never available to buy new in the

UK, typically some American and Japanese cars – known as ‘grey imports’ – have always been the most difficult to insure. As Clark says, most brokers and insurers avoid them, while some charge inflated price premiums – afraid, in part, of the cost of spare parts.

“It’s a little easier to insure these cars than it was 20 years ago, but there are still many brokers and insurers who won’t touch them,” Clark explains.

“Partly, it will often be because the models and specs simply don’t appear in the insurer’s rating systems, and that’s that. But we have the ability to rate pretty much any vehicle, however rare or unusual, based on its vehicle type, engine size, and value. And modifications are no problem to us as long as we know what work has been carried out.”

And then there are ‘parallel imports’ – vehicles manufactured in Europe but which also have a UK version. So, for example, a Porsche 911 manufactured in Germany in left-hand drive and destined for the US market, and then later brought over to the UK, has much in common with a parallel import.

“Where there’s an equivalent European car, and the only real difference is that it’s left-hand drive, it’s not a problem for us at all,” says Clark. “Regarding Porsches, we take the approach that if it isn’t on the database we can rate it manually. As long as it’s an equivalent specification, apart from being left-hand drive, we’re happy to rate them the same as a righthand-drive Porsche. You can sometimes get one with a different specification, but then it’s just a question of detailing that spec to us and we’d have no problem rating it like we would any non-standard car. If it’s road legal, we can find insurance for it, which has always been our mantra.”

The practicalities of insuring an import

First, you’ll need insurance cover for when the car is being shipped across the pond. The shipping company should be able to arrange this, with insurers typically charging a percentage of the vehicle’s value for cover for standard total loss insurance, and extra for theft, accidental damage and a lower, or zero, excess. What about when it hits the UK docks and you need to get your car home or to a testing centre?

The chances are that the car has not yet been registered in the UK, and will either have US licence plates, or none at all. The majority of the UK insurance industry will not issue an insurance policy unless the car has a UK registration number, yet the DVLA will not issue a new registration mark unless the car is insured. It’s a catch-22… however, specialist brokers like Flux can provide insurance based solely on the chassis number, a unique identifier for the car.

Cover is provided for getting the car home on a trailer, although road cover can also be arranged on the chassis number. “Over the years, we’ve had loads and loads of enquiries from people who want to be able to drive their car home from the port, before it’s been registered in the UK,” says Clark. “As a result, we have an arrangement with one insurer who will allow one day of cover to get the car home or to an Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) test centre, which many people need to get their UK registration.” There is an IVA exemption for cars of more than ten years old. Once the vehicle is correctly registered, full cover on its new number plate can be arranged.

Tips to keep premiums lower

A cursory online search will throw up lots of articles that say imported vehicle insurance is more expensive than standard car insurance. That’s probably true if motorists find a mainstream insurer or broker who can cover such cars, but is not necessarily the case with a specialist insurer, whose experience more accurately enables them to identify the true – as opposed to perceived – risk.

Other ways to reduce premiums include:

• Limited mileage discounts: the less you drive, the

less you pay;

• Owner’s club discounts: up to 15 per cent off for

members of recognised owner’s clubs;

• Keep the car in a locked garage when not in use,

and invest in a good-quality alarm and tracker; • Advanced driving qualifications can reduce the

price of your car insurance by up to 25 per cent; • Fit a dashcam: Flux was the first UK broker to offer

a discount for dashcams on some types of policy. The most important thing is to pick up the phone and discuss your individual requirements with a specialist broker.