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Model S Insurance renewal

16K views 115 replies 30 participants last post by  ebyard 
Hi

It was me who posted about the battery. Not only do Admiral and their other brands not cover the battery, pretty much every insurer will not allow you to go to Tesla approved body shops to get dents etc fixed.

I use NFU because they understand EVs. All the rest - and I spent HOURS on the phone - don't get it.

Do your research, ask the questions, because you might not get the answer you want. Having to spend 20k on a new battery because your insurer won't cover it is something you probably want to know beforehand....
 
Fact is, insurance is all about the unexpected.

Just because you have 30 years no claims doesn't mean you won't have a shunt tomorrow. Keeping the law happy is one thing but making sure your car (and bank balance) is protected is worthy of some proper research.

No matter how well built the car, or how protected the battery may be, it makes sense to get a level of cover you are happy with.

Personally, I don't want to fork out 20k on a new battery so using an insurer that covers it was high on my list.

Make a list of what's important to you and ask questions accordingly.

Re. body shop; yes you could use a non Tesla approved place, but most body shops only know how to bash steel. The MS is mostly aluminium and much more delicate. Also I suspect a non Tesla shop would invalidate any existing warranty. Might be worth checking that out.
 
Just because you have a fast car doesn't mean you have to drive like a tw4t. I suspect in an EV, because of the torque, the accelerometer might suggest you boot it off the line every time, even if you're pretty gentle. You can certainly feel the difference from a Model S back to a regular ICE.
 
Right, some confusion. This app is a phone app, it's not connected to the car. It measures speed and smoothness of your driving technique. It does this over 200 miles/10 trips, then it gives a code( I think) that you then use on the insurance application. If you choose to drive like a BMW/Audi driver after that, the app and LV won't know.
Time to get a gyroscope then.....
 
Adding : Admiral today at £466.40 fully comp. Online quote has Tesla in the system but no 75 battery in their list.
I got a similar quote, phoned up about it, only to find that they didn't cover the battery (£20k replacement!) and wouldn't use Tesla approved repairers (i.e. Tesla themselves). If in doubt, ask questions - too many insurers assume that EVs are like ICE cars...
 
Have a read of the thread I posted a while back, here:

EV insurance woes

Admiral/Bell (my previous insurer) couldn't offer cover to a level I was happy with. Not having the battery covered was a showstopper for me - I'm not prepared to take a £20k punt.
 
That's good to know - I'll be sure to ring them when my renewal is due. Or maybe if NFU are open to reducing my premium if I cancel and change to Admiral.....

Can you let me know what your final premium price was (and what your NCB is)?
 
Resurrecting this thread. My renewal is due in a few months (where did that year go?!) and wondered what kind of prices/insurers people are looking at now?

I'm with NFU but assume they've not changed their position.
 
Wow. My MS is due for insurance renewal next month. Going to ring some of the big names, but I know Direct Line's Tesla hotline is going to be the best for me. Currently with NFU and paying £900.
 
My insurance runs out at the end of this month, and since I'm switching to Direct Line, I gave my current insurer (NFU) a ring and told them to let the policy expire and not to renew.

What do they do? Cancel my policy with immediate effect - without telling me.

I work away from home, so I got back yesterday after being away for 2 weeks to find a letter from NFU. So I've been driving around for 2 weeks with no insurance! :eek:

I rang them first thing this morning and they apologised, and recognised the mistake - they will escalate and I hope to get an answer as to why this happened. I've been put back on cover, anyway.

That is quite incredible - and horrifying. I've never even got a speeding ticket - to think I could have been pulled over/ANPR'd at any time given the amount of driving I do, and I'd have been none the wiser that my policy had been cancelled!!

That is very shocking....
 
You'd hope, were I pulled over, I/the police would have rung NFU and the mistake rectified on the spot. This really isn't good...! NFU were at fault so they would have had to honour any claim etc.

Anyway, problem solved.....
 
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