Flame Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 Does anyone know an insurance company who will do a commercial insurance policy on an FV432? I'm looking at buying an FV432 but so far I've run into a brick wall when it comes to insurance. The first problem is that I have only lived in the UK for 6 months. I've had an Australian drivers licence for over 10 years and I can exchange that for a UK licence, but that doesn't seem to be good enough. I will also be getting a H class licence but none of the insurance companies so far seem to care if I have the right licence they only want me to have had a UK licence for at least 2 years. I actually want to purchase, register and insure the FV432 via my LTD company and would usually have people other than myself driving it. This should in theory solve the first problem, but unfortunately raises a new problem of finding an insurance company that will provide a commercial insurance policy on an FV432. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 Not suprising really. Insurance companys don't like risk. You also said you wish to carry paying passengers. First question is how many? Try a company that will cover stretch limousines. Insurance is UK is a minefeild as it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flame Posted June 16, 2011 Author Share Posted June 16, 2011 Have spent half the day on the phone being transfered from one person to another. Apparently I'm looking for something too specialized for the specialist insurance companies to handle. It's becoming less likely that I will go ahead with running a limo service, but I've contacted some Limo insurance brokers anyway and I'm waiting to hear back from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andym Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 Ask Nick Mead who he is insured with? And see recent thread on 432 limos .... Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 May require a bond rather than insurance. Mind you the excess can be a bit excessive like £500,000 per incident! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flame Posted June 16, 2011 Author Share Posted June 16, 2011 Ask Nick Mead who he is insured with? And see recent thread on 432 limos .... Andy I'll try and get in contact with Nick next week. I've had a search and I can't find any recent 432 limo related threads, you don't have a link do you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andym Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 I'll try and get in contact with Nick next week. I've had a search and I can't find any recent 432 limo related threads, you don't have a link do you? Try this: http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?24802-in-London-looking-to-own-an-FV432 Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtreme Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 it cant be done legally . you cant get a licence for novelty vehicles / Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidewinder Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 I own a 432 and looked at doing something similar, but off-road, in an abandoned 40acre quarry I have access to. It wasn't long before I gave up the idea. The trouble with the UK everything is such a minefield: insurance, road traffic laws, Construction & Use Regs, health and safety etc.. the government seem to want to tie everything up in red tape and whether you agree with or not, if something goes wrong and someone gets hurt/killed, ignorance is not an excuse and at the extreme end you could well be looking at a prison sentence. A few days of looking into doing it off-road was enough to put me off, let alone taking paying passengers out on a public road. Thats not to say it can't be done, but I think unless your doing it on a big scale its not worth the hassle. As was said in your other thread, what happens when it breaks down in the centre of London, not only have you got the vehicle to get recovered ($$$) but also the 8-10 (drunk) people in the back to their destination... Theres the potential for a lot of headaches and trouble. That was my opinion anyway... James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormin Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 I own a 432 and looked at doing something similar, but off-road, in an abandoned 40acre quarry I have access to. It wasn't long before I gave up the idea. The trouble with the UK everything is such a minefield: insurance, road traffic laws, Construction & Use Regs, health and safety etc.. the government seem to want to tie everything up in red tape and whether you agree with or not, if something goes wrong and someone gets hurt/killed, ignorance is not an excuse and at the extreme end you could well be looking at a prison sentence. A few days of looking into doing it off-road was enough to put me off, let alone taking paying passengers out on a public road. Thats not to say it can't be done, but I think unless your doing it on a big scale its not worth the hassle. As was said in your other thread, what happens when it breaks down in the centre of London, not only have you got the vehicle to get recovered ($$$) but also the 8-10 (drunk) people in the back to their destination... Theres the potential for a lot of headaches and trouble. That was my opinion anyway... James 8-10 drunk people could easily be re-located to two taxis and compensated accordingly. How much harder to recover is a 432 than some of the monstrosities of stretched limos that are about? Sure Ive seen a few that have no chance of going on a recovery truck. A 432 should be a doddle for most plant and machinery movers. The insurance is indeed likely to be the killer. I know a local 4x4 garage that used to run corporate driving days one Sunday a month using a variety of old ex-military equipment, Stalwart, Abbot, Ferret, Snowcat etc. It wasn't the huge cost of maintaining this ageing fleet but the rising insurance that eventually brought an end to the venture. Unless you've an absolute mountain of money and can insure yourself I don't think it's a goer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidewinder Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 I think the main problem wouldn't be size but weight. When I had my 432 on a weighbridge she weighed around 14 tonnes unladen. Although some of those stretch limos are very big, they won't even come close to hitting that sort of weight. The only legal way of moving it would be with a low-loader, which granted aren't massively expensive to hire normally if booked in advance, but as an emergency on a Fri/Sat night? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormin Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 The only legal way of moving it would be with a low-loader, which granted aren't massively expensive to hire normally if booked in advance, but as an emergency on a Fri/Sat night? If you're thinking of running a 432 for commercial use then owning your own low loader probably isn't a bad idea. Probably pay for itself in short order and you wouldn't have to worry about emergency recovery. You could minimize road use of the 432, with associated track wear and high fuel consumption. You may also be able to hire out the low loader or tractor unit at other times to help cover costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtreme Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 you can self insure £500,000 lodged with loyds . buy a drops £7000. you still miss the point you cant get it licensed . watch this youtube video and see how the illegal limo ops are been caught. let alone it dosent meet C&U however if you make it meet C&U you can do weddings and funerals . or do it for free as these dont come under Hire&Reward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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