Esprit Classic Car Insurance
Car insurance for a Lotus Esprit

The name Lotus is synonymous with speed and performance. For those of us old enough to remember the sight of Jim Clark in his green and gold racer storming around the soaking wet Spa circuit in the 1960s, anything which carries the name Lotus is far more than just a car.

It is therefore of no surprise that many car enthusiasts attempt to emulate their hero by buying a classic Lotus road car later in life. Unfortunately due to the increasing price of car insurance, a declining number of people can afford to follow their dreams in such a manner. The situation is starting to become untenable, with Moneysupermarket reporting that car insurance prices rose by 40% last year alone. .

How to reduce insurance prices
Owners of non-mainstream cars have been particularly badly hit by these recent car insurance hikes, with classic car owners being targeted on the back of the additional costs required for replacement parts which are needed by such vehicles. However, there are ways to reduce these premiums and fight back against these insurers who are forcing an increasing number of classic car owners off the road:

1. Shop around Compare prices with as many different insurers as possible in order to give you the best chance of getting the cheapest deal possible. Price comparison websites are the fastest and easiest way of doing this.
2. Classic car insurers You have nothing to lose by getting quotes from insurers who specialise in classic cars, as occasionally they can work out cheaper than traditional insurance firms. However, more often than not they are unable to compete with their mainstream rivals due to their smaller client base.
3. Haggle Don’t just accept the first price you are offered! Approach different insurers and tell them about cheaper deals you have been offered elsewhere. Quite often they will reduce the price of their offer- after all, it is better to make a smaller profit than no profit at all.
4. Get on your bike A driver who does 15,000 miles per year is statistically more likely to crash than someone who travels 10,000 miles, and therefore the driver who does the fewer miles will be offered a cheaper premium. This is how car insurance work in a nutshell, so make sure that you keep your mileage allocation to a minimum so that you are not paying for miles you are not going to use. Equally, don’t set a mileage allowance you know you will exceed as your insurer would be legally within their rights to refuse to pay out in the event of a claim once you exceed this.
5. Park it somewhere safe Where your car is parked at night and during the day will affect your insurance premium. Therefore, make sure that your car is parked securely in a garage, driveway or a secure car park. This will make the vehicle statistically less likely to be stolen or vandalised than if it was parked on the road. This is even more important when calculating classic car insurance prices than with traditional cars due to the fact that classic cars are both rarer and generally more expensive to repair.

Following these five tips has the potential to cut hundreds of pounds off your annual insurance bill and help make classic car ownership a realistic proposition again. However, remember that the cheapest isn’t always the best. Pay close attention to your insurer’s replacement parts policy and make sure that they will fit authentic replacement parts in the event of repairs being required. Many will simply fit the cheapest parts possible, but this will ultimately affect the value of your vehicle as it won’t be performing to its original specifications. Equally, be sure to have an independent valuation made of your vehicle prior to agreeing terms with your insurer. This will help ensure that your insurer does not refuse to pay out less than what your car is worth in the event of the worst case scenario (of your classic Lotus being written off) occurring.