[Ragamuffin]

I should be able to collect my MINI in 2 weeks time So am now about to purchase my insurance. I have had various quotes, with Direct Line being by far the best.

This is the first time that I have had a car out right in my own name, with only me on the insurance, I'm getting a bit confused and wondered if I could pick peoples brains!

I've read some posts saying that Direct Line do not insure like for like on mods. I will be having a Park Lane, with the only extras being a MFSW and folding mirrors, so I'm not really sure that that applies to me anyway.

Also when I ordered the car, I was told briefly about GAP insurance for £300 for 3 years cover. This obvious is on top of the regular insurance.

Has anybody had an experience with Direct Line? Good and bad? I would be interested to hear it.

Thanks in advance, and apologies for the waffling!

[dietcokeplease]

DL are a good insurer if you fit their profile of an ideal customer - age, no claims, occupation etc. Presuming that you are not under 25 then DL shouldn't add much if anything for covering the MFSW and folding mirrors. DL are much more adverse on performance mods especially for under 25s.

[Alibali]

Have been with Direct Line for nearly 4 years.

Had windscreen chip which was repaired at no cost with mobile service the following day - very quick and painless with excellent customer service.

However, had first bump last year (when an idiot in a people carrier reversed into me) and service was pretty average. It took about 4 months to resolve and for me to get my excess returned. I think they forgot to claim my excess back from the other party's insurer but didn't want to tell me that so after about 4 phone calls where I got a lot of BS about why the payment was delayed, I insisted on speaking to the manager. Was told that it might take up to 4 days for the manager to call me back (I nearly fell off my chair at that point). Persevered in insisting that I was called back that day and sure enough, got the call. Manager was fantastic and I had my cheque the next morning.

So, I think it really comes down to who deals with your claim.

The upside in all of this is that I got my car repaired at a BMW body shop (rather than the standard bodyshop they recommend) and my no claims wasn't affected so big ++++ on that score.

I'd probably stay with DL if the price is right but with any future claim, be much more pushy with them to get it resolved quickly.

[minisoopercooper]

I'm with direct line and they will insure any options on your car as long as its part of the agreed value - and most importantly, listed on your policy! I have a lot of options on my Cooper but made them list every single 1. Luckily I havent had the need to claim but it's good knowing that they have it all in black and white.

I would also recomend getting short fall insurance. I got mine from my MINI dealer.

Paul

[mg1232]

Don't pay £300 for the Gap Insurance though off MINI! I think you can get it online from another company (http://www.surfandprotect.com) for about £185. Tell them about this and ask them to match it!

[Ragamuffin]

Thank you everybody. Your replies have been very useful.

Quote: Originally Posted by mg1232

Don't pay £300 for the Gap Insurance though off MINI! I think you can get it online from another company (http://www.surfandprotect.com) for about £185. Tell them about this and ask them to match it!

Was this per year? When I ordered my car the sales man said that the £300 was for over 3 years. Many thanks.

[mg1232]

No this figure was for three years. It is the "Return to Invoice" protection, but only covers up to £10,000 difference between the invoice cost and what any payout would be. I don't know the car you are buying, but based upon trade in values after three years, I don't think you would need any more protection than this.

To be honest, the figure MINI quotes varies drastically. I think my quote for Gap insurance off MINI was nearly £600! Well worth haggling, if they don't move, buy from elsewhere!

[mg1232]

Oh, and another thought with regard to your insurance!

Have you tried Privilege (http://www.privilege.com/)? They are the same company as Direct Line, but if you have four or more years no claims, they are a fair bit cheaper!

They were fine about "modifications" too. I had a number of items factory fitted, and they just added these to the policy with no obvious extra charge. It did take a while for them to find and list everything, but they were great. Might be worth a look?

[Ragamuffin]

Thanks mg,

I am collecting my Park Lane soon, and I'm not planning on any modifications. Unfortunately I don't have any no claims as I am not the main named driver on what I currently drive.

For me Direct Line quoted just over £500, which I didn't think was at all bad. My project today is to read up more about this short fall insurance.

Thanks again everybody for your help.

[mg1232]

Then that is a pretty decent quote from Direct Line. They are very reasonable with prices, and to be honest, they are one of the most competitive companies I have found.

There are several types of shortfall insirance: Return to Finance; Return to invoice; Return to invoice plus inflation.

1) Return to Finance: This covers the difference between any insurance payout and the amount of finance outstanding on the car in the event of a right-off or non recoverable theft. It means you would not still be paying for a car you can't drive.

2) Return to Invoice: This covers the difference between the insurance payout and the amount you paid for the car, inclusing any options.

3) Return to Invoice plus inflation: This covers the difference between the insurance payout and the amount it would cost to buy a new equivalent car at that point in time (within the three years). It takes into account any price rises on the MINi range.

The level of cover varies and you need to check this out. Some offer to pay up to a difference of £5000, others £10000 (I went for this one). Basically, look at the current value of MINI's and try to guess depreciation after three years (I know this isn't easy in your case as the Park Lane is so new). A good way to do this is multiply by the percentage value after three years (you can find this in car magazines) and then look at the difference with what you paid.

Personally, I think £10k will be plenty.

In terms of payout, they tend to pay-up if your insurance would, but check out any small print.

It may be easier to get it from MINI, but, and this is the most important bit, don't pay mroe than £185 for it though!

[Freon Warrior]

Thanks for the link to Privilege. I have been with DL for over 8 years, their posted renewal was £600.68, online it was £476.70 (GO FIGURE!) Privilege online £429.45!!! Guess where my money is going!

[mg1232]

Wow! That's two people who I will have saved money today!