Repair Car With out Insurance

Hi

I wonder if you guys would be kind enough to post who you are insured with, I’m have difficulty getting a quote to include the battery.

I tried Admiral and Direct line, both said they will not cover the battery.

Admiral initially said increasing the value of the car to include the cost of the battery would cover it, but when the rep checked with his manager he confirmed market value for the car only would be paid if the event of total loss.

Regards Steve

I spoke to Axa because I was with them already. They were totally unsure about their position but our discussion did raise an interesting point.

In order to offer insurance a company (or their underwriters) need to make an assessment of the likely payout values for the car being insured. Unlike the Leaf, the Zoe is *only* available with a battery lease and I’m confident the underwriters will have carefully checked who would be responsible for the insurance of the leased battery. Therefore, by offering to insure the Zoe the underwriters are accepting that either they didn’t do their job properly or they are including cover for the battery.

I was originally going with Renault’s own insurance, who told me that they were the only company to include the battery. Unfortunately they quoted a silly price when I told them I was keeping my previous car for a while, as I couldn’t use the no-claims on 2 policies. So I went with Admiral (£250 with zero no-claims) – I must confess that I’m hoping for the best as far as the batteries are concerned.

When I renew, I’ll have the no-claims discount available again, so I’ll be checking the market; hopefully they’ll have got their act together by then.

I have no details of my car as yet, due early Dec?, but made provisional enquiries with my present insurer, LV=, who quoted an addtional £8 for the remainder of my term till May ’14. They seemed familiar with the Zoe, but there was no mention of the battery so I will have to be more specific when I try to finalise the insurance. I guess I also need to check their recovery arrangements in the event of a RTA. Does anyone know why Zoe should not be towed with the front wheels off the road?

There’s also a topic about insurance .

Having trawled this forum and read the posts about insurance I tried the usual famous comparison websites for a quote, but used a value of £29,000 for the car, made up from cost of car with extras before PICG and adding the cost of battery replacement. Having got these I then phoned Renault Insurance who, after a couple of “just referring back to our underwriters” managed to beat the lowest online quote by about £50. They got my business. Regards, Peter

Someone suggested phoning a broker rather than going direct to the insurer, as they can get quoted for modified and custom cars etc. I’ve managed to get 2 quotes that will cover the battery and are prepared to confirm in writing.

I had been quoted £171 from Admiral and £160 from Direct line but they don’t cover the battery.

A Plan quoted £250 and B Wiser £302 both said they would cover the battery.

To put the quotes into context they are for business use, fully comp, protected NCD, I’m 49 years old with 10+ NCD, clean everything and nice postcode.

Whats worrying me about just increasing the cars value is the guy at Admiral said they will only pay market value no matter what I say the car is worth. So if in 12 months time these cars are selling 2nd hand for £12-13K I think an insurance company will only be likely to payout £10-11K. In the event of total loss, after giving Renault £7000ish for the battery that don’t leave much to replace the car.

I think I will give Renault a call and get a quote as suggested many thanks for all your input.

Regards Steve.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 5 months ago by  .

I am with esure, give them a go. They were cheaper than admiral by over £200.

I’m with Diamond (yes – for women!…) and I did something similar to what ‘Woodlee’ did i.e. insure the total car value at £29K including the battery.

I paid £500 (as i’ve been a company car driver for the last 7 years and our fleet insurance does not provide a NCD proof…)