# Agreed Valuations?



## Alex_225 (Feb 7, 2008)

Hi guys,

I just wondered if anyone on here has an insurance policy with an agreed valuation? 

I'm renewing my insurance on my Megane 225, which I'm sure many of you have seen. Thing is the car is 11 years old in January and you'd imagine a fast Renault of that age with standard mileage is not worth much. About £1,800 according to the quotes I've had. 

Here's the thing, I've owned the car from new and it's only covered 3,250. I've had it in storage for some time and it is essentially as new. I know full well for even £4-5k I'd struggle to find a similar condition/mileage example. 

So any recommendations on agreed valuations? Do regular insurance companies do them? Can you pick the value you wish to insure it for? 

Apologies for what may be daft questions. :thumb:


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

It is isn't something you can add on to a normal car policy. It will be normal market value, although the condition and mileage should be taken into account to a certain degree.

The likes of Adrian Flux, Chris Knott etc may be able to help, as i believe they have specific policies or agreed valuation add ons available.


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## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

I have an Agreed value policy on the TVR and the 205 was always on an agreed value.

What you will need to do is first off find a specialist insurance co, I have used Greenlight Insurance for many many years and the specialise in performance cars. Normal companies like Direct Line etc etc dont do agreed value policys.

You will need something to back up the "Agreed Value" its not just a case of saying its worth £X because thats what you think...maybe find a sports specialist local to you to do an appraisal...and try and compare similar miles/spec etc

BTW keep well clear of Adrian Flux they may be cheap but the customer service is appalling....


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## Alex_225 (Feb 7, 2008)

Thanks for the info guys. 

I wasn't sure if it was a case of saying to a company, I want to insure the car for X amount and they based the quote on how much it was being insured for. Looking on Autotrader, there's a couple of RS Meganes sub-60k for £5-6k which I guess is a little more realistic.


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## chefy (May 9, 2011)

I've had an agreed value policy on my XJS for three years now, and have just recently bought a 1977 Capri Ghia :thumb: and have taken one out with Adrian Flux - I initially had the XJS with them, but changed it last year.
I thought that these policies were for classic cars ? as generally they don't depreciate in value, but there are other stipulations, which I am sure you'd be able to comply with, but I'm sure most insurance co's will still your car see as a depreciating car ! ?
I may be wrong - check it out.


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## Alex_225 (Feb 7, 2008)

Aah ok, I'm with you. 

I'd like to think that the prices would have levelled out by now but you never know.


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## willywonker (Oct 27, 2016)

You can get GAP type insurance that will add a % (typically 25%) to whatever your main insurance policy pays you. Doesn't only have to be for new cars. This may be the easier option than trying to get your Meg onto a specialist policy to get the agreed value, plus you don't have to jump through the hoops of trying get the value agreed in the first place, which might be tricky with a car not so easy to value as a regular classic.


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## Bod42 (Jun 4, 2009)

I thought GAP insurance was to cover the difference left between your Insurance payout and the amount of loan you have left. Thats how its always been sold to me, sadly not to cover the differece between what your car is worth.

"GAP insurance is the difference between the actual cash value of a vehicle and the balance still owed on the financing (car loan, lease, etc.)."

This isnt much help to you really but that is one thing I have liked since moving to New Zealand. Most insurers do agreed values but they do the value they think plus +/- a certain percentage but I always put it as high as possible. That way if someone does crash into you then you actually get a little something for your troubles.

And my god, if you offered me a Megane 225 for 1.8k, I would snap your hand off. Cheapest one over here is about 5k and it has 140k miles on the clock. Some dealers are asking for 8k. Actually with the current poor exchange rate its more like 10k.


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

That's not quite correct guys. 

There are two types of GAP insurance. The first is 'return to invoice' where the gap policy pays the difference between your insurance payout upon a write off, and the price you actually paid on the invoice when you bought the car.

The second type is 'replacement vehicle' GAP insurance. This will pay the difference between what your insurance pays out and the total cost of a new car, regardless of whether the cost of the new model has increases. 

The critical difference here is that the first 'return to invoice' option only gives you back what you paid, and the discounts you negotiated on your new car may not necessarily be available should you need to buy again. The replacement vehicle GAP will cover the balance to meet the total cost of a new replacement car, same spec etc, regardless of the list price. 

The limit for the GAP policy payout is usually set at the original purchase price of the car. This should be plenty, when combined with your car insurance payout to cover the costs of return to invoice or replacement vehicle. 

Cooks 

Sent from my D6603


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## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

Exactly Cooks...GAP is NOT agreed value!

...the value you put on the policy when getitng the quote is largely pointless to as has been said, because in the event of a total loss they will use Glasses Guide, CAP (also know as the kicking book in the trade) and autotrader (or equivalent).

I had a run in with the loss adjuster when I had that crash in the wifes Saab, he cam back with a settlement figure that was way out...when I asked he said he had used GG and Autotrader to which my response was "....hold on let me just log into the Glasses Guide site and pull off the valuation right now from my trader mates account!" followed by a nervous "errr" and "silence" from the loss adjuster. followed by me getting the proper value for the car after a bit of arguing..

So the moral of the story unless the policy SPECIFICALLY say agreed value its only going to be marktet value and GAP insurance is NOT an agreed value policy.


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

I have no affiliation with Flux and it isn't something we can offer, but this is the kind of thing you need to be looking at - https://www.adrianflux.co.uk/agreed-value-car-insurance/


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## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

Personally I would give the above a big swerve and give these guys a call.

http://www.greenlightinsurance.co.uk/

Every year (and let me tell you its been a long time) they premiums have either stayed the same or only gone up by a very minimum figure...I have had numerous cars insured...modifications dont scare them, track day cover is inculded on most policys and the customer service is benchmark (bit like Lloyds lot for trade insurance ).

My strong advice is to give Greenlight a call and have a chat and they will advise you accordingly.


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## organgrinder (Jan 20, 2008)

I've long thought that an insurance policy should be designed to put you back in the position you were in before the loss. Using Glasses or GAP does not do that because you can't buy another similar car for similar money and will have to put your hand in your pocket for a few thousand just to get you back to where you were.

There must surely be a market for a policy that pays out what the car really is worth without having to jump through too many hoops or get a specialists valuation. The real market value i.e. what you would need to pay to get another one should be quite evident from the prices being asked by dealers and in AT/Pistonheads etc. Parkers even give a very visible sales price.


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

My brother in law was in a fairly serious collision a while back, nobody was injured, but his car was in a right mess. 

The bizarre thing was that his insurance company used market value to assess whether the cost of repair, as a percentage of the value of the car, should write the car off, but would only pay out the CAP value to him if it was actually written off. He had a few arguments with them about this, but lost. His car was ultimately fixed, but had to return 5 times to the body shop because of shoddy workmanship. 

The cost of the hire car alone was extortionate. 

Cooks 

Sent from my D6603


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## willywonker (Oct 27, 2016)

organgrinder said:


> I've long thought that an insurance policy should be designed to put you back in the position you were in before the loss. Using Glasses or GAP does not do that because you can't buy another similar car for similar money and will have to put your hand in your pocket for a few thousand just to get you back to where you were.
> 
> There must surely be a market for a policy that pays out what the car really is worth without having to jump through too many hoops or get a specialists valuation. The real market value i.e. what you would need to pay to get another one should be quite evident from the prices being asked by dealers and in AT/Pistonheads etc. Parkers even give a very visible sales price.


This is exactly how motor insurance already works. They should pay the market value, the Financial Ombudsman (who would settle a complaint) define market value as "This generally means the price it would have sold for at a reputable dealership just before it was damaged or stolen".

The problem is most people massively over value what they own, and expect an unrealistic payout. Equally some insurers do a **** poor 5 min job of setting a value, but this is another reason to insurer to with a decent company (or even better a broker to help you) and not the cheapest, pay peanuts......

Also a lot of people don't want to buy the same car, so just because they bought their old car when it was 3 years old from a main dealer, they don't now want to and buy a 6 year old car from an independent dealer, which is what the insurers will pay, so people end up adding money to buy a newer car and feel like they've lost out from when they haven't.


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## organgrinder (Jan 20, 2008)

willywonker said:


> This is exactly how motor insurance already works. They should pay the market value, the Financial Ombudsman (who would settle a complaint) define market value as "This generally means the price it would have sold for at a reputable dealership just before it was damaged or stolen".
> 
> The problem is most people massively over value what they own, and expect an unrealistic payout. Equally some insurers do a **** poor 5 min job of setting a value, but this is another reason to insurer to with a decent company (or even better a broker to help you) and not the cheapest, pay peanuts......
> 
> Also a lot of people don't want to buy the same car, so just because they bought their old car when it was 3 years old from a main dealer, they don't now want to and buy a 6 year old car from an independent dealer, which is what the insurers will pay, so people end up adding money to buy a newer car and feel like they've lost out from when they haven't.


Nice to know I can go to the ombudsman. It is just that my limited previous experience has been that the insurance company offer the trade value for the car. My most recent experience was my brother in law who's A5 was sandwiched between 2 vans in an accident and was written off. We couldn't find a similar car in the dealer network or on AT etc which was within £1500 of their best offer and they started out £1,000 less than that. We found one which was very similar but no sunroof or heated seats although it was 8000 miles less - they wouldn't consider it as equivalent because the miles were different (34K to 42K). In the end he got another £100 or so and took the money.

I do insure mine through a good broker!


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## Alex_225 (Feb 7, 2008)

Thanks for all the info on here guys. I did actually go through Adrian Flux who got me a good deal on a laid up policy with an agreed valuation. 

I was just shocked to see £1,800 for a car I paid more for new (obviously!) but it struck me that if anything happened to it, I'd probably struggle to get more than a couple of grand for it. Instead I have now got it covered for £6,500. Not a massive amount but an amount worth claiming for if anything were to happen. 

I really need to do the same for my CLS63! If you consider the 6.2 V8 was only available 07-10 so these are 6+ year old with mileage usually 60k+ for around £12-15k. Mine only has 17.5k on the clock so I would look to insure it for more when it renews.


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## Rayaan (Jun 1, 2014)

organgrinder said:


> Nice to know I can go to the ombudsman. It is just that my limited previous experience has been that the insurance company offer the trade value for the car. My most recent experience was my brother in law who's A5 was sandwiched between 2 vans in an accident and was written off. We couldn't find a similar car in the dealer network or on AT etc which was within £1500 of their best offer and they started out £1,000 less than that. We found one which was very similar but no sunroof or heated seats although it was 8000 miles less - they wouldn't consider it as equivalent because the miles were different (34K to 42K). In the end he got another £100 or so and took the money.
> 
> I do insure mine through a good broker!


That's because miles are worth something whereas any options you add won't be worth much when the car is second hand.


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## organgrinder (Jan 20, 2008)

Rayaan said:


> That's because miles are worth something whereas any options you add won't be worth much when the car is second hand.


They're only worth something until you try and trade it in and then the value evaporates. There is only one definite with cars: if you're the end user you never win. I'd trade you 8000 miles any day for a sunroof and heated seats!


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