Hybrid car insurance refusals, LV=, etc ........

[Chas G]

On 1/18/2024 at 2:12 PM, DTR said:

Seems to be a lack of consistency. I’ve just renewed my policy for my Lexus ES with LV. Price risen from £460 to £700. Several reports of Can Bus thefts on the Lexus forum.

My sister bought a new, top of the range land-rover discovery.

I can't remember exactly  how much she paid for it but it was more than £70k and I do recall thinking it was a hell of a lot.

She had it for 3 weeks before it was stolen off the drive,  never to be seen again, while they were watching TV about 20ft from it.

 

[Haliotis]

How much ongoing research do the car manufacturers engage in the progressively strengthen the security of their vehicles?  Why cannot the OBD ports have dedicated plug-in sockets, in similar manner to anti-theft wheel studs? Surely this would be a positive step towards making life more difficult for the thieves?  For the car owner, a short adaptor lead could be provided so that service engineers could plug in their test equipment.

The car makers should be concentrating on anti-theft development, instead of wasting time on some of the “boys’ toys” they readily promote in order to sell their cars.  What use is any fancy car, if it can easily be stolen? - and the more fancy the car, the more attractive it is to thieves.

[forkingabout]

First generation C-HR is easy enough to secure against CAN invader or OBD port theft methods with an aftermarket security system - you just need someone / a company that knows what their doing with Toyota / Lexus hybrids 😉

 

[V C]

Just bought a Toyota Auris Hybrid last Saturday and yesterday I was sorting out the insurance cover prior to collection of the car. I was disappointed when  LV told me that they would  not insure the car. when I phoned  LV, I was told the underwriters had made this decision but couldn't tell me why. I have been with LV for years and I already have a multi car and house insurance policy with them.  very disappointed with LV

[jthspace]

Does it have keyless entry / push button start?

Toyota are also being targeted according to a recent article in the Sunday Telegraph

[MagicBoy]

All the Auris Mk2 Hybrids have push button start. The range topping Excel has smart entry, which can be disabled in the infotainment screen.

[Paul john]

5 hours ago, MagicBoy said:

All the Auris Mk2 Hybrids have push button start. The range topping Excel has smart entry, which can be disabled in the infotainment screen.

What are the steps to disable smart entry?

[Andy-uk]

Changed our 2023 yaris to a 2023 yaris cross gr sports last Friday, LV changed over insurance no problems  at all.

[Saxmaniac]

Following an earlier post about LV insurance, I've too had the dreaded news that they would really not like my money any more. A few quick quotes reveals that other companies would like this money but an awful lot more 😭

The words from LV mentioned that the Auris is a high theft risk, not mentioning the cat thefts specifically 

[Rhymes with Paris]

Oh dear, mine with LV is due soon too.

It will be interesting to see if the premium on an older car like mine will be doubled or refused.

I suppose the business model now must be not so much the individual risk, but spreading the cost of stupidly inflated claims made by claims companies, marauding thieves nicking cats 🐈 and other car parts.

The so called ,overpriced courtesy cars from repair companies taking months to fix cars, some would call this a scam.

Of course, what will definitely not happen is that policyholders be fairly charged for the risk, and the crims and scammers and shyster lawyers/claim companies that all cause these huge costs, having to pay for them.

 

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Could try Flow Insurance, which is an online insurer and owned by LV=:

https://portal.flowinsurance.co.uk/journey/show/product/AnnualMotorInsurance/process/nb/numberPlateScan

[Saxmaniac]

I'll give them a try, I had multi car policy with LV but probably will end up with separate policies 

[Wooster]

I

15 hours ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

Could try Flow Insurance, which is an online insurer and owned by LV=:

https://portal.flowinsurance.co.uk/journey/show/product/AnnualMotorInsurance/process/nb/numberPlateScan

I just tried it - garaged at night; 7000 miles a year; one retired driver; 7 years no claims....  "Sorry... we can't insure you."

[Puglet]

Same here, but a few years ago now, we were with LV for good few years, but then premium went sky high  so we moved on. Although over the years no different to other cars and insurance companies, remember many years ago my renewal premium with one insurer was over double though nothing had changed after a few years of similar price, so they just lost the love.  

[Bper]

Whilst insurance premiums has rocketed over the last few years is this more of a Hybrid problem due to the higher repair costs involved.

If not then we are heading towards a a dark place for many motorists, ownership for most people is essential but this may well become unaffordable if these insurance costs keep rising.

The EV market will also potentially crash if insurers refuse cover or make it unaffordable .☹️

[forkingabout]

Insurance companies our just getting rid of high risk customers.

If the vehicle has proven high risk of theft OR catalytic converter theft then expect either a high premium OR refusal to insure.

[Bper]

17 hours ago, Rhymes with Paris said:

Oh dear, mine with LV is due soon too.

It will be interesting to see if the premium on an older car like mine will be doubled or refused.

I suppose the business model now must be not so much the individual risk, but spreading the cost of stupidly inflated claims made by claims companies, marauding thieves nicking cats 🐈 and other car parts.

The so called ,overpriced courtesy cars from repair companies taking months to fix cars, some would call this a scam.

Of course, what will definitely not happen is that policyholders be fairly charged for the risk, and the crims and scammers and shyster lawyers/claim companies that all cause these huge costs, having to pay for them.

 

 

Paul, I have just got a quote online to see if there is any substantial rise in premium and I was surprised that the quote was £20 cheaper then last years insurance. So it may well only really affect the Hybrids,EVs or as @forkingabout above has said high risk customers.

It may of course be location that also plays apart in this.🙂

[Saxmaniac]

Understandable with pure EVs where a minor bit of road debris damage to the Battery housi can write off the car, and range rovers or "premium" cars but it's a surprise with him Toyotas!

[1.33]

Be mindful when using car insurance comparison sites. My Mk3 hybrid policy was up for renewal last week. A leading comparison site provided the lowest quote with Flow Insurance (part of Allianz which owns LV). When I proceeded to their site to purchase the policy, I confirmed all my details and then got the "Sorry, we can't insure you..." message.

I complained to the comparison site's customer services and received the following:

Advice is to plan well ahead, preferably one month before your insurance renewal, and ensure the company you've selected can proceed with insuring your vehicle.

Still waiting for a reply from Flow Insurance.

[jcps001]

20 hours ago, Saxmaniac said:

Following an earlier post about LV insurance, I've too had the dreaded news that they would really not like my money any more. A few quick quotes reveals that other companies would like this money but an awful lot more 😭

The words from LV mentioned that the Auris is a high theft risk, not mentioning the cat thefts specifically 

Even the humble Auris? Oh my... Seems reliability means much more to car thiefs... There have been a lot of Toyota thefts nowadays... RAV4s, CHRs... Car thiefs auto taste has changed...

[solero]

Not to be doom mongering, but if one insurer goes down this route, they all follow as a herd. Might be another JLR type story.... Uninsurable cars, plummeting values.

Im actually glad i didnt go down the hybrid route now.

[RonYarisX]

Haven't had a chance to read much of the forum of late so not sure what the earlier referance is. What a coincidence!

l've been looking after the insurance policies for all my family ( and some extended family ) for the past 40 years. My father is 91 whichin itself poses problems re: insurance however for the past few years, Flow has provided by far the best quote. The policy was heavily restricted but it suited him perfectly.

Last week I received a letter to say Flow was rebranding to Allianz. Allianz are the parent company of LV and LV owns Flow. That letter had me in the horrors because in the past, Allianz themselves were one of the most expensive insurers out their for him. I was awaitung the worst news his insurance had doubled. Er, no it was worse than that, they said they'd no longer insure him. I assumed it was due to his age but give other folks experience, that doesn't seem to be the case.

Edit: just reading the replies re: it being an EV issue. I entered his previous car in to the system ( an ordinary 1.5 Skoda ) and Flow wouldn't insure him for that either.

 

[Wooster]

6 minutes ago, solero said:

Im actually glad i didnt go down the hybrid route now.

All is not lost. Using Compare the Meerkat I had 113 insurance companies willing to quote - starting at £520. Last year I used adrianflux.co.uk and I spoke to the broker (they insist on phoning you) and told them I had modified the car - Catloc and a tilt alarm fitted. Don't know if it helped but last year's premium was £300. Will (obviously) contact them again my my insurance needs renewing in April.

[forkingabout]

47 minutes ago, jcps001 said:

There have been a lot of Toyota thefts nowadays... RAV4s, CHRs... Car thiefs auto taste has changed...

Due to an extremely cheap & very easy to carry out method of theft - which Toyota / Lexus has fixed on newer products.

 

[RonYarisX]

1 hour ago, 1.33 said:

Be mindful when using car insurance comparison sites. My Mk3 hybrid policy was up for renewal last week. A leading comparison site provided the lowest quote with Flow Insurance (part of Allianz which owns LV). When I proceeded to their site to purchase the policy, I confirmed all my details and then got the "Sorry, we can't insure you..." message.

I complained to the comparison site's customer services and received the following:

Advice is to plan well ahead, preferably one month before your insurance renewal, and ensure the company you've selected can proceed with insuring your vehicle.

Still waiting for a reply from Flow Insurance.

Absolutley - the comparison website prices are only as good as the info supplied. Just had two quotes from both Lloyds and Halifax on CompareTheMarket which were cheaper than others. When I went to purchase the policy on both insurers ( both insurers are actually the same company ), the price jumped from £1032 to £1448.

People often believe buying insurance is straight forward but for those of us who shop around for the best deals, it's far from straight forward.

By the way Flow insurance is about to be no longer, they're changing to their owner Allianz and changing their policies as a result. make sure you know what you're buying would be my advice - they didn't offer us a renewal this year.