Many of us would love to own a prestigious car carrying a marque such as BMW or Porsche, both of which are examples of cars that suit prestige car insurance policies.

However, some potential owners are put off by some urban rumours to the effect that the insurance on such vehicles is prohibitive.

Here we’ll consider the issues and examine why those cost rumours may, in typical cases, be exaggerated or sometimes simply wrong.

What is a prestige vehicle?

Surprisingly perhaps, there isn’t a standard definition here.

The term is usually applied to vehicles that:

• carry the badge of one of a range of accepted prestigious marques;
• are above a certain value;
• sometimes, meet certain high-performance criteria.

These three things operate in a complex relationship. For example, a modern upper-range BMW carrying a price tag of £35,000 might be considered as a prestige vehicle. A 20 year old BMW perhaps worth £1,500 probably wouldn’t be, irrespective of the marque.

Different prestige car insurance providers might have different definitions but typically if you’re looking at a relatively modern vehicle by BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Aston Martin and so on, then they’re likely to qualify as “prestige”.

Why this matters

Whatever criteria are used, if your vehicle is classified as prestige then it is likely to carry a significant valuation.

That in turn increases the risk for car insurance providers. Some policy providers react to that by:

• refusing to cover prestige vehicles at all;
• doing so but only with very significantly inflated premiums.

It is typically the quotations generated by insurers in the second category above that have given rise to the perception that insuring such vehicles is only for the rich. In fact, that’s not the case because some companies offer prestige car insurance with premiums that are surprisingly attractive.

How it works

Such companies typically work by specialising in this type of vehicle. They therefore have an in-depth understanding of the risks associated with them and how to segment and appropriately price by driver market segment.

In many cases, that specialisation can help to make the premiums more reasonable.

Special cases

Of course, like any vehicle cover, there are certain conditions that need to be kept in mind with prestige car insurance.

Through our vast experience, at GSI Insurance we know that it might be more difficult and/or expensive to find car insurance for prestige vehicles if you are:

• a younger or inexperienced driver (or wish to include someone on the policy who is);
• have driving convictions (or wish to include someone on the policy who does). Some categories of conviction may be viewed more seriously than others in that respect (read our Guide to Insurance for people with criminal convictions here);
• unable to garage or otherwise keep your vehicle off-road when parked overnight;
• have a history of claims against similar vehicles in the past.

However, none of these situations is necessarily a show-stopper in terms of finding cover. With our knowledge of the marketplace and specialisations in this area, we’re often able to provide cover for these, what are sometimes referred to as, “difficult to place risks”.

So, whatever your needs are for prestige car insurance and whatever your personal situation, why not contact us so that we can offer further advice and assistance?