[Lexden]

I have used Aviva to insure my two i3s for the past 4 years. Last year, I had a small knock that shattered the rear hatch glass which made the car unroadworthy. (Yes, all the rear lights do fall out as they are moulded to the glass.) Aviva agreed to my request to use a BMW bodyshop and they waived the additional cost of doing so as it was a glass repair. They arranged for my i3 to be recovered to my local BMW dealership some 30 miles away. There was a slight delay when the IT system that insurers use to approve repairs failed to work, but Aviva came up with an email work around. The repair took two days.

I have spent the last 8 months wondering whether I should just have contacted BMW Recovery and got them to do the repair work without involving my insurer? That said, the replacement rear hatch alone was priced at nearly £500. The 'jury' has just deliberated on my decision and returned a verdict of a £30 increase in my £244 annual premium.

 

[Uzi2]

Good to hear as I will be switching to them when my current policy expires later this month.

 

[charliestyr]

The car should still have the secondary rear lights working in the rear bumper but I guess if it can’t tell the main lights are broken it wouldn’t enable them. A workaround would be to leave the boot lid ajar which would turn on the secondary lights... only slightly off topic - apologies.

I’m glad you got it resolved simply enough (by the sounds of it!)

 

[Lexden]

The car should still have the secondary rear lights working in the rear bumper but I guess if it can’t tell the main lights are broken it wouldn’t enable them. A workaround would be to leave the boot lid ajar which would turn on the secondary lights... only slightly off topic - apologies.

I’m glad you got it resolved simply enough (by the sounds of it!)

I think that Mr Plod might have had a different view. the left and right cluster lights are in no way restrained. The only thing keeping them in was the camber of the hatch and some very thin wires.

 

[charliestyr]

I think that Mr Plod might have had a different view. the left and right cluster lights are in no way restrained. The only thing keeping them in was the camber of the hatch and some very thin wires.

ahh ok, I thought this was a question of roadworthiness due to lack of tail/brake lights etc. Makes sense if going over a small bump/inevitable pothole would release a shower of glass and parts onto the road!

That looks nasty! It’s a bit odd to make the whole rear out of glass when you see that.

 

[Lexden]

That looks nasty! It’s a bit odd to make the whole rear out of glass when you see that.

The damage was caused by an angled piece of metal that I didn't see because a had passengers in the back, and the rear sensor didn't pick as it was too high. It had also been raining and the camera lens was covered in gunge. This type of catastrophic failure has also happened as a result of closing the hatch with too much force. It's not a great design.

 

[Kristian]

Aviva also waived the BMW repair shop surcharge as none of their repairers would attempt to repair my car due to carbon fibre body. As it happened it was just the rear bumper that needed replacing. As the rear tyre also got punctured then the recovery bloke couldn't tow the car but had to put it on a flat bed which he wasn't happy about - hadn't realised that you are not meant to tow electric cars. I assume it is more specifically that you mustn't tow an electric car while leaving the driven wheels on the road, so a Nissan Leaf would be OK to tow possibly, but not a Tesla?