MINI Shortfall Insurance

[crunchie]

Recently bought a MINI ONE and the dealership have supplied us with info on the shortfall insurance.
Must say I'm quite interested in taking it up.

What do other mini owners think?

Opinions humble or whatever, grateful.

Crunchie

[sugster]

I took it out when I got my One last month. Seems like an OK deal. I took the three year option at £270. Paid £60 up front and paying the rest off interest free over the next year. I'm intending to keep the car for at least three years. If the worst does happen, and sadly it does as we see from time to time on these boards, it will help me to replace my One. To replace my One will cot more than £270 if something does happen in a couple of years.
Another reason is that since I'm paying off a finance deal, if it does get stolen/ totalled at least I'll get a new One and not have to pay anything else.

Don't forget the old saying 'you only need insurance when you don't have any'

[benggolf]

Quote:

Originally posted by crunchie
Recently bought a MINI ONE and the dealership have supplied us with info on the shortfall insurance.
Crunchie

Shortfall insurance, thats a new term that I don't recognize. What is it and what does it cover?

Maybe it is what we call "replacement cost insurance" over here in Canada where the insurance covers the depreciation of your car; you get full replacement cost in case your car is totalled. Thanks for clarifying.

[tip]

Got my attention. Like to hear/learn more about it.

Charles

[ianB]

Yes, whereas your motor insurance will only pay the current book value of the car should it be written-off, the short fall insurance will make up the difference to the original invoice price of the car.

I heard someone once suggest that with the short fall insurance it would be a better deal to push the car off a cliff after 3 years rather than trade it in. Try explaining that one to your insurers

[An_S_4_Me]

I took out the 4 year option on my S, being young, I really could not afford to buy another brand new S if mine was stolen/written off and I was paid out less than the original price of the car. I read all the details when I went to pick the car up and I was convinced.
It makes for better peace of mind, knowing that for the next 4 years, I'll get the full price of my car back in the event of it's loss.

Andy

[brucesouthern]

I TOOK OUT SHORTFALL INSURANCE ON MY COOPER ORDERED OCT 2001, ARRIVED MARCH 2002.AFTER TEST DRIVING THE COOPER S I WAS LUCKY TO PICK UP A CANCELLED ORDER WITH TIME TO SPECIFY WHAT OPTIONS I WANTED. SO I DID A DEAL AFTER ONLY OWNING MY COOPER FOR 3 MONTHS, I WAS COMPLETLY SATISFIED WITH THE TRADE IN AND EXPECTED A PARTIAL REFUND ON THE SHORTFALL INSURANCE.
WHAT DID I FIND NO REBATE !!! I WAS TOTALLY SUPRISED BECAUSE THE INSURANCE ONLY COMES IN TO EFFECT ON YEARS 2 & 3, MY OWN INSURANCE COVERS A FULL RELACEMENT FOR THE FIRST YEAR. ONE THING TO CONSIDER IS YOU MAY GET FULL COST OF REPLACEMENT BUT THE WAITING LIST MEANS YOU WOULD PROBABLY HAVE TO WAIT 6-8 MONTHS ON A NEW ORDER.
PERHAPS CONSIDER FITTING A TRACKER AND ENSURING YOU GET THE CAR BACK IF IT WERE STOLEN.
NOT MUCH DIFFERENCE IN PRICE EITHER.

[ianB]

Actually I also lost out on the short fall insurance on my last car. I paid about £450 for it and only kept the car for a year. Thus, I am not sure whether to opt for it again this time around as I never seem to keep cars as long as I intend.

Just on the subject of Tracker. It won't help of course if your car is written-off in an accident.

[chiph]

Quote:

Originally posted by ianB
Yes, whereas your motor insurance will only pay the current book value of the car should it be written-off, the short fall insurance will make up the difference to the original invoice price of the car.

I heard someone once suggest that with the short fall insurance it would be a better deal to push the car off a cliff after 3 years rather than trade it in. Try explaining that one to your insurers

Ahhh.

Here in the US, that's known as "gap insurance".

Chip H.

[Gee4orce]

The book price of a 1 year old Mini One is more than list price ! So not only are you OK as far as shortfall goes, doesn't that mean if your car is written off you have to pay the insurance company ?

[Martin L]

I've taken up the option as it's so cheap and the fact that I own my car outright

...but on a fleet Mercedes ML500 I have leased for the company they tried to sell us a similar policy for a consideable amount and I thought what's the point
If the car is written off our insurers would replace it with a similar car/model of similar wear and tear. Why on earth would we want to replace it with a new one if at the end of the lease term we would have to return the car to them anyhow????
I think it's Mercedes way of trying to make money on someone elses misfortune

[deej]

Shortfall insurance---

Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it!

[Yeoman]

Im going for it on my Cooper.

My reasoning :
1 Its cheap
2 It pays out for your options as well as the car.
3 Its index linked up to 4%

If you check your insurance normally they will only pay out on the base car. As most people put Chilli (£1000) on as a minimum £300 for short fall insurance is a good deal.

[ianB]

Quote:

Originally posted by Gee4orce
The book price of a 1 year old Mini One is more than list price ! So not only are you OK as far as shortfall goes, doesn't that mean if your car is written off you have to pay the insurance company ?

Whilst the price of a one year old MINI from a MINI dealer may be more or similar to a new one, that does not reflect the price you would get from an insurance company in the event of a write-off.

As Yeoman has mentioned in his post insurers, will generally only cover the base value of a car. So, if you put just a Chili pack on a Cooper and the vehicle is written-off, you have lost over £1000.

Plus, if you have the car on finance, there will be a period when you owe more than the car is worth. As far as I know (although I haven't checked on the MINI policy) this higher settlement figure is also covered.

I think I've convinced myself to get it now

[Tony Craggs]

I took it out on my Cooper delivered last month knowing I would be keeping the car at least 3 years and thought it was good value to cover the risk.