Insurance iniquities

Sir,

I am prompted to put pen to paper by Roderick Cook’s letter from your November issue.

I too endured similar hardships as a motoring student.

From a Standard Ten which I bought for £50 in 1971, and which cost £55 to insure TPFT, moved on to a Jaguar 3.8 Mk.II in 1973. I paid £295 for this at the age of 20. It became a standing joke between myself and my insurance brokers whenever I had to give them my particulars i.e., age, occupation and make of car. Invariably, they turned to Cloverleaf, who duly took my £90 p.a. to give me TPFT cover.

When this fine machine was wrecked by a drunk, his insurance company paid me a paltry £165 compensation. In the accident I lost my car, £100 worth of Dunlop SP Sports (just fitted) and a total amount of around £225. In addition to this I was car-less for six months.

I now have another 3.8 Mk.II, and pay a reasonable rate at the age of 25, but it seems iniquitous that insurance companies get away with as much as they do. For example, post-accident values are determined by reference to a cross-section of Exchange and Mart advertisements!

I have seen Mk.II Jaguars for £1,700 and many more for £100. It doesn’t take much to see that by this method, some owners are going to be well out of pocket. Should we really be expected to pay exhorbitant premiums every year, knowing we will never receive the full value of the car following an accident?

London W1 DAVID PRATT