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Sorned Car

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ronk
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Post by ronk » Sat Nov 06, 2021 5:12 pm

sp3ctre wrote: Sat Nov 06, 2021 3:59 pm.
I think we should run a poll as to how many people would require SORN cover in their policy. This will give Chris Knott some good figures to go to the insurance company with.
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I think that’s a positive step forward. As it stands, my summer cars have been un insured for the previous 12 years during their winter hibernation!
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Post by Nanu » Sat Nov 06, 2021 9:18 pm

I don't SORN my car but I suspect the vast majority who do across the country are not aware of this issue.

Perhaps the only definitive answer we will get is when a SORN'd car is stolen and a claim goes in. It mat have to go to an ombudsman or tribul to resolve
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Post by ronk » Sat Nov 06, 2021 11:59 pm

I think that’s the crux - my sorned car is safer in that state than when out and about in the summer time!
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Post by Crazy Harry » Sun Nov 07, 2021 9:39 am

srhutch wrote: Sat Nov 06, 2021 11:21 am
I’m not sure if it’s posted on here or not but a couple of years ago Admiral confirmed to me my car was covered if SORN but number5 (Alan) got the complete opposite response from them. He forwarded my communication from them to his contact and managed to get them to then confirm in writing the car was covered.
I recall that. In fact I emailed my broker the same day as I have an insurance bundle with our daily drivers (includes the Zed for me - its not SORNed) and our classic cars which I do SORN. My policy continues cover if SORNed which is good but may be because the base policy is for classic cars which are more likely to be SORNed - I know we can argue about Zeds being classic but if they are insured on a standard 'compare the market' policy as far as I can see they are a daily driver.

I suggest the problem is that in daily driver life; cars that are SORNed and then used on the road - whilst still declared SORN - are the largest group having accidents/theft; hence the companies don't want the risk.

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Post by sp3ctre » Sun Nov 07, 2021 9:44 am

Surely a car that is SORN’d and used on the road is simply not covered by the insurance if involved in an accident? SORN cover in terms of insurance is surely dependent on the vehicle actually being SORN’d.
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Post by pvr » Sun Nov 07, 2021 9:49 am

I have not checked but wonder if the car is covered under household insurance as well when sorned.

It is really only theft that is the concern, not a lot happens to a car in a garage over winter otherwise that would require a cover. If you drop something on it, it is unlikely that you would claim and if another car drives into it , you claim on the car that hit it. If it is parked on a drive where delivery vans come, then I would be more worried
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Post by Crazy Harry » Sun Nov 07, 2021 9:52 am

sp3ctre wrote: Sun Nov 07, 2021 9:44 am Surely a car that is SORN’d and used on the road is simply not covered by the insurance if involved in an accident? SORN cover in terms of insurance is surely dependent on the vehicle actually being SORN’d.
Yea, in my head I had damage to others; theft; cars SORNed but parked and damaged in common parking areas on estates if not on the road for those with no garage or drive. Unlike Zed owners I suspect that not all drivers are as straight with their insurers as they could be!

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Post by 2k35is » Sun Nov 07, 2021 1:40 pm

My 35i is insured with Saga. I am thinking of SORNing if for the winter. When I first bought it the owner (Nov last year) the owner dilered the car to my house. I was unlikely to use it until Feb/March 2021 so asked my current insurer what options were available to me to keep car insured for third partty fire theft and accidental damage. The later was only a precaution in case t when outside cleaning it on my drive tile fell off roof and damaged car. Insurer wouldn't include the accidental damage risk and advise only way to get this was with a laid up policy. I eventually got this think it was about 50% of price of full comp insurance so saving £150 ish if car was off the road for 6 months. Roll forward to putting car on road erly this year and did normal comparison and finished insuring car with Saga. In last few weeks rang them (they are a broker) to say I was sorning the car and could my policy be changed to a laid up policy. They advise that they do not have any insurers that offer a laid up policy. Only way was to cancel insurance for which cost would be Policy cost minus ADMIN fee (£25 on setup) refund pro rota on no days left on policy less £50 cancellation fee. So if for example policy cancelled with 4 months left on £325 policy would get a refund of £50 not enough to pay for laid up policy
They didn't mention anything about car not being covered if I sorned it so will be going back to them and asking the question.
Normally sorn saving at £30/month helps to offset the total cost of running a non daily driver.
Got car that this replaced (2003 330cI) on a classic policy but they wouldn't cover the 35i- its 12 years old in Dec.

Seems to be little demand for laid up policies but suspect part of the reason for this is that owners are unaware that policy is possibly void if car is SORNed
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Post by Pondrew » Sun Nov 07, 2021 6:04 pm

pvr wrote: Sun Nov 07, 2021 9:49 am I have not checked but wonder if the car is covered under household insurance as well when sorned.
Mr Tidy wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 10:15 pm Im my 30+ years working in the UK General Insurance industry I never saw a Household policy that didn't exclude motor vehicles.
I think that will generally be a NO, then.
What about fire cover, though. My Z4 is unlikely to be stolen, but it could catch fire and send the whole house up. I would not like to have a conversation with my home insurers if that happens and the car is not covered under it's own policy.
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Post by Mr Tidy » Sun Nov 07, 2021 9:41 pm

Pondrew wrote: Sun Nov 07, 2021 6:04 pm I think that will generally be a NO, then.
What about fire cover, though. My Z4 is unlikely to be stolen, but it could catch fire and send the whole house up. I would not like to have a conversation with my home insurers if that happens and the car is not covered under it's own policy.
I only have a couple of policies stored on my PC.

AXA exclude "Vehicles or Craft - Electrically or mechanically propelled or assisted vehicles including motorcyles, chlidrens motorcycles, quad bikes or childrens quad bikes". But say they don't exclude ride on lawn mowers used within the boundaries of the home, powered wheelchairs and mobility scooters plus a few other things but nothing that would include a car!

Dial Direct excluded "Loss or damage to vehicles and other means of trasport that are mechanically propelled or assisted, whether licenced for road use or not, or their parts or accessories (other than domestic gardening equipment, mobility equipment , electric wheelchairs and electrically assisted pedla cycles that are not required to be licences if used on a public road)".

Like I said previously I worked in General Insurance Claims for over 30 years and in that time I never saw a Household policy that covered cars, motorbikes, etc.

In much the same way as I never saw a Motor policy that covered the policyholder's house! :lol:

But at least ronk has got a solution for this year. :thumbsup:
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Post by Stevo1987 » Sun Nov 07, 2021 9:46 pm

Is it worth it for a couple a hundred quid or so? Mine might not get used that much in the winter but on the occasional good day I will take it out for a spin.
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Post by ChrisKnottIns » Mon Nov 08, 2021 10:35 am

Pondrew wrote: Fri Nov 05, 2021 5:49 pm I have a nasty feeling that because we are now talking about a 'special requirements' policy, the price is going to go up rather than, as it should, down.
Hi,

We have a number of Insurers who effectively offer the same cover. In this situation, and following some initial enquiries regarding the SORN issue, one underwriter appears to be more flexible. In theory that means that price is not a factor.

We will need to see how this plays out with a real world scenario but we will always look to work out the best solution for our customers.

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Post by Scubaregs » Mon Nov 08, 2021 10:48 am

ChrisKnottIns, Can you shed any light on why some insurers do not allow SORN? Is there data to show SORNed vehicles are a higher risk to insurers?
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Post by ChrisKnottIns » Mon Nov 08, 2021 11:13 am

enuff_zed wrote: Fri Nov 05, 2021 2:06 pm
ChrisKnottIns wrote: Fri Nov 05, 2021 1:45 pm we will look to move to a company that will facilitate the fact that your are likely to declare the vehicle SORN.
That's encouraging. :thumbsup:

I think it would be a good question to add to your initial checklist when someone calls you up for a quote.
Given that you are aiming at the enthusiasts' market, where a large proportion of owners are likely to SORN their cars over the winter, then it makes sense to ensure that you offer a suitable product to cover this.
Hi,

We will certainly make our team aware that members of this forum may require a policy covering SORN vehicles but, as you will appreciate, the list of questions can be vast and there are a huge number of our customers who would not need this facility.

Now that this issue has come up, and because we want to make sure everyone is covered correctly, please could we ask members to mention the need for SORN cover at the point of quote.

Hopefully, by working together, we can continue to provide quality policies, with the correct level of cover, and with competitive pricing.

Thanks.

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Post by pvr » Mon Nov 08, 2021 12:13 pm

Still bemused about the correlation between tax status and insurance.

Next issue will be between MOT status and insurance ...
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