milesofsmiles

We've done the last two years.. and may be going again... You'll enjoy it... The pace notes are great and it makes it an interesting and unusual day. IMPORTANT NOTE - it's on Ascension day. That means Belgium closes for the day! So get fuel and snacks etc... the day before. There is a petrol station close to the centre with jet washes. Pay for the dinner at the end package. The food is good all day - from registration through lunch to the dinner if you want it. As after a day of driving about, it gives you time to talk to some of the people who have driven round to.... with tasty food. I have some pics and videos of the days on my Instagram... https://www.instagram.com/reel/CsoIdB3N2FL/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Thanks of the input guys... Here's some feed back on my journey and what I went for... After speaking to a few of 'specialist' insurers who couldn't insure me... I did gain much info from them. Apparently there may be many factors conspiring against me in 2023... and they are... 1. The Postcode levels 1-7 have my leafy west London area as a 6! Why, I am at a loss to?! But my Twickenham postcode, which is a lovely area to live in, is also unfeasibly high for insurance issues. Something I cannot change. 2. The insurance industry has been thumped by Covid and last year made a loss. So, insurers have upped their prices to claw back their losses. Knowing that industry wide increases means customers will have to pay. Also an industry wide legal agreement apparently providing fairness, set in place a couple of yeas ago, preventing cheap opening offers or hefty discount to repeat custom, is stopping (thats what they told me) any ongoing discounting or types of reduction expected. 3. The car has not helped. Because it has been placed into a niche in the insurance industry which is thus working against me. Why? The car is placed into a limited mileage, garaged, specialist bracket by underwriters and that means that it it falls out of those self-imposed predetermined brackets, it is simply not in the insurers remit. A case of - if we don't understand it, and we don't bother trying. Goodbye. 4. The car is 'modified'. I was told a few times that whether it is a cheap plastic spoiler or a serious doubling of the bhp... 'modified ' places the car into a one fits all bracket, often without understanding. And again, the insurers don't bother trying. Goodbye. 5. Lack of effort in personally understanding specific cases is born from an increasing pool of business. Insurer don't need to try. Every specialist spouted... 'the underwriter....' in their reason for their price. Some, were unable to give any reason for their price or ack of offer. Computer says no!... or Specialist is not really a specialist any more. 6. The track cover I had last year, proved to be non existent with almost all policies I found. Why? Because it's a cost that insurers and their recent losses are removing. So, I was told to keep with my current renewal, simply to keep the track cover, if that was important to me. I did find that it was typically offered on sub 3k mileage policies. Meaning that they gave and took away at the same time. Not really a realistic option for many. 7. Mileage was a big issue for the insurers. Although they would tell 'me' that I had an issue with my mileage! Some only offering me a policy if I stayed below a minuscule 3k miles level. Because of them classing the Elise in a niche they proved unable to remove it from. 5k miles was often seen as ridiculously high. 8. So in summary - The insurance world has haemorrhaged from Covid over the last two years and in cutting costs and offering less, they are dealing less and caring less, about non-mainstream cars. They are also unable to take cars genuinely on an individual basis. A case of computer says no. Whilst postcode and the type of car additionally conspired against me with my hands effective tied. Add in the term 'modified' and I effectively had an extremely small catchment of insurers interested, regardless of their Micky Mouse price quoted. Meaning that I, after a week of proper searching and trying my best... had really only two options under £1000. A bleak and really sole destroying activity, which makes me fully realise why people don't care about policy accuracy or indeed, wrong as it is, insure at all. Trying to do my best and be legal and correct took hours and treated me like an obtuse, wants everything, criminal. Ridiculous. What summed the wrongness of it up for me - was the ease at which insurance companies can refuse to recognise, my use of bike or camper van. Simply because they decide thats what they want to do... possibly pushing a premium up. Who did I go for? After 30+ companies , including the slue of typical specialists recommended on here, I went again with A-Plan and Markerstudy at £750ish. As I was looking at double from others, when Lotus mates are paying £300-500 for similar mileage and use.

My findings and couple of questions for your wise heads. I was last looking for tyres just as legislation changed and I bought NS2R's for my Elise instead of the recently realeased AD08RS's which were an unknown quantity at the time of being relatively new. Thos tyres now need re[placed. I struggled to find variety, because of the 16" front wheel. As most sticky tyres seem to miss the 16" size and new rubber such asthe AD09, starts at 17". So what are my (our) options... on a modified S3 2zr Elise which spends most of its time on the road being driven spiritedly for fun, but has track ready tyres for grip and feel and the odd track day. 888rs are a go to - good track ok road, poor wet ZZR’s are the same as above. A popular tyre and apparently very good in the dry and on track AD08 was the go to tyre for our cars after the AD07 was superseded by it. But the new AD08RS - is not as sticky as it would have been as European legislation made it a harder compound, so I read many conflicting results. Either peeps are happy with it as a road tyre, but others with sticky road tyre experience dislike it. Say it doesn’t stick. So it’s seems its not bad, just not the sticky successor it should be to the 08, now its the '08RS'. ADO52’s are apparently great. But their softness means they wear out quickly. Their soft side wall is good on our light cars, but new they only have 7mm tread to begin with. So no good for 5k+ miles a year me. The last non-CUP production cars had standard fit 701 Yokohamas which are a fast road tyre, so will give the best road ride but will be poorer on track. Possibly just behind the AD08RS. So as a road tyre if the car is not pushed, it’s a great choice. But spirited driving and above, it’s a poor choice. From what I can ascertain. AR01’s are a popular track tyre of choice for many. It seems very well liked for performance and price. But not a tyre for a damp road… which is where the NS2R comes in. Nanking's second tier offering. It has the stiff carcus of a track tyre but reports say it has the best wet weather of this type of 200 wear rate tyre. It’s also the cheapest and has great reviews. Stable and able to heat up quickly on track and is used as is the AR1 in many track disciplines. So with our limited choice, as we have a 16” front wheel, the NS2R’s are what I went with last time. There is a new Nanking model coming out in 2023 called the CR1, but not for a month or more. Although I haven’t found any info to help me compare to the AR1 and NS2r. As some blurb on it places it in the middle of the two, where as some seems to talk about it improving on the AR1. Also Yokohama have a new AD09 coming out. But current legislation, because both tyres are sticky, are not sold in 16” sizes in Europe (which apparently still includes us). So unless you have a 17" wheel, neither are an option. So with a road/track balance thats my tyre choice exhausted. As far as I can find. The 200 wear rate tyres sharpness is wanted. Especially with my stiffened suspension. But I realise the NS2R is heavy and less comfortable due to the stiffer construction. So it’s always a a trade off. I’ve run NS2R’s for over a year and when they are cold they are crashy and really not nice, but after a few minutes they do work better. Then when pushing on they work with the suspension to be predictable and precise beyond the limits of a pure road tyre. Certainly good enough for my level. I've used 205/45r26 and 225/45r17. What have I missed? Is there a gem I'm unaware of? Why do you rate the tyre you use? And lastly... Where do you buy, buy/have fitted, your tyres? (Im in outer London area). Educated me if you have a pearls of wisdom...

Your right. I've quizzed who I can to try and find out and it's either that the computer says 'no' with no explanation, or that modifications on what is already niche car really limits the providers. But, the fact of the matter is, that it is not a £100k supercar. It's not even new. Its not a huge mileage asked for, I'm days off becoming 50, etc... I was 17 as the 90's started... So, I've had my fair share of hot hatch insurance woes! I've owned many 'fastest motorbikes' over the years as a single young male. So I know about the hardship of trying to insure an unusual vehicle... but this year seems almost as if my list of needs was discontinued by the industry and I'm jut finding that out! The week is not finished... but it should not be this hard.

Where I'm at... and it's not good. Discounting the £2k+ supermarket offers as they lack certain things, such as listing car specifics, or like LV, being totally unable to speak to someone.... I have two offers of insurance with 'reputable' brokers, both costing over £1k but with limited mileage. As a benchmark - if I do 20 Sundays of 200 miles (easily done. 60 mies to meet up at 7am - 100 miles drive to breakfast- 90 miles back home...) I'm at 4000+ miles already... meaning I can't do much more with the car for the year?! So thats no good. No, trips to Europe, the Ring, car shows, Goodwood, Brooklands, etc... you get the picture. and... I have three other offers. But they are actually all exactly the same Markerstudy underwritten offer. A Flux, Brentacre and A.Plan. ..and I'm very aware of Markerstudy's poor rating. So I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. Either... I spend more money than seemingly everyone else for a limited mileage policy and am supposed to be happy with that... or I still spend a good amount of money, enjoy many miles in the car, drive it as intended and hope that I never have to find out how poor Markerstudy actually is. Not much of a choice! I can't believe how hard simply trying to insure my car this year has been. And I still haven't found an insurance that I want. Ridiculous.

One of a few posts on my Instagram from weeks trip to the Ring. Please enjoy the other there... https://www.instagram.com/p/CtCVzAQIu-X/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

I've found this insurance group listing and out of 50 groups the Elise is Classe from 42 to 48. Meaning that it one of the hardest cars to insure?! https://www.finder.com/uk/lotus-elise-insurance-group

Might be worth a go, as I've not actually done as many miles so far this year.... My problem is that after 20+ quote attempts, I have unbolt four quotes. Three of them are underwritten by the same company. So, for what ever reason, I am not a welcome risk this year?!

I hear you... I've been with Markerstudy on and off for decades and have seen poor reviews in the past. For this insurance, I've spent three days searching for a policy (ridiculous) and the only sub one grand policies I have found all use Markerstudy... (A.Plan, Brentarce and A.Flux - who are large companies) but are still costing twice what many others have found for their Lotus. I'm at a loss as to where to look for more quotes. Cost or not, I cannot find a simple 8k mile policy that lists the mods of my Lotus. And no matter the number of brokers, they all filter through to the same underwriters. The policy they've offered (through A.Plan) will have listed mods and agreed value etc... if I went for it. What else can I do?!

I'm happy that you've found some common sense... £1685 for me makes no sense compared to yours... But its typical to what I've found.

Thanks for your input above.... Here's my round up of ... Looking for Lotus Elise Car Insurance for my car. June 2023 The car: 2013 Elise 220S Modifications: Nitrons Brake pads Tyres RRR 300bhp tune inc. 2bular Front and side Skirts Tillett Stereo & speakers I’ve owned the car for 3 years 3yrs NCD (20+yrs NCD on my two other vehicles)(I couldn’t transfer my motorbike NCB over to this car when it replace it) TW Post code (middle ground considering cost) 8k mileage cover asked for (which I understand to be high for many owners and definitely high for the insurers) Track Day cover asked about (not a decider, but would be preferred to be included) — My Renewal is: A.Plan - Markerstudy. £812 £100 more than last year Includes track day cover, Market Price and other ‘specialist car’… ins wants, etc The Policy is the same as last year, but the price has gone up. Why look for a better quote? My cost has gone up £300 in three years with nothing else changing. I have all the positives insurance co's like - multiple vehicles, 20+ NCB on others vehicles, home owner, 50 year old, etc…. So I have possibly everything I could for a fair price. I know of multiple Lotus owners with seemingly far better quotes. Yes, with different inputs, but if mine is the most expensive, there may be a saving to be found by looking around - again. I have 1x SP50 My findings… — Quotes… - AiB Can’t match renewal, not close - Manning £1057 inc £56 for track days - ClassicLine £1685 must be garaged - Footman James Could not give quote, wouldn’t say why - Reis Will not ensure me as I’m a man of leisure just now. They will only insure ‘in work’ or ‘retired’. Not in-between jobs. - Henderson Taylor Typically 3k policy, but 5k max mileage policy for some (I have done over 6k each year of ownership) They wouldn’t look at me for my first two years of ownership, but would this year. - Abby Fields Garage only, min mileage and no track cover These are better… - A Flux £747 with no track day cover - Brentacre £812 with Markerstudy… but without track day cover Both with marker study, so possibly identical to my renewal quote. The prices are also identical! - Lancaster - to come back to me. So, as it stands, I have exhausted the 'specialist' insurers that are typical recommendations for this type of car. I tried Go Compare to see for fun, what they offered, and had a handful of quotes ranging from £2.5k to £5k+ So. it looks like my renewal, although it didn’t seem it at the time, is the best quote, both financially and for what it offers. Even though it costs far more than many other Lotus owners findings which I’ve been unable to work out why. But the three days worth of calling around has shown to place me in a definite ‘insurance category’, which seems to sit at an increased cost. It has also clearly shown me that Brokers are just that, Brokers. The Underwriters are the price makers and it seems that this year, the entire insurance industry has decided that my little plastic car is a huge liability for no other reason than the industry has decided that. Similarly aged Lotus owners, with similarly aged cars are paying half my cost and I have found no reason why? Other than, once again, the goal posts have been moved and it is my wallet that will suffer. Age, experience, multiple vehicles 'trying to eat more Broccoli and be a good person'.... along with the information I was told when first insuring it, such as..."once you've owned it for a year"... the liability would be less. It's all absolute rubbish! As with every insurance policy I ever do... I'm left with a sour taste in my mouth.

Are others finding the same issues? I have a 2013 S3 Elise with some mods. Nitrons, tyres, Tillett, and an RRR tune which include a 2bular system. Usual stuff... and I'm looking for 2023/24's new policy. So I phoned around... as you do. I've had the car three years and in the first year of ownership, when I received the usual rubbish of 'you've not driven this type of mid-engined sports car' reasons for the 'high' policy price, it was actually half the price of the best policy I've been quoted this year... half! Aib and others who are supposed to be specialists and like Lotus... can't even match the best I've had... and by some hundreds of pounds. Others have quoted into the thousands when my first year was a few hundred. It doesn't make sense. Go Compare, as a point of reference offered the best quote starting at £2500 and hitting almost £5000. I didn't delve into the actual quality of those offers. Why is this year so expensive? I have all of the multiple cars, home owner, old man, decades of NCB, loveliness that we're told should make a difference... but it's not helping. I do feel that the industry is taking the proverbial as we have no ability to fight back. I insured another very different vehicle two months ago and it was more expensive too by a couple of hundred pounds. Meaning that in only two vehicles my premium outlay will have risen more than £500 over last years! How is that possible? Ironically, the least expensive and most 'normal' insurance is my wife on her car... and she is in her first year of holding a driving licence. Even my sons modified Hot Hatch is less expensive for him than my little plastic car is for me... and that shouldn't be. Has anyone else found issue with insurance this year? Who did you go with in the end?

Very much appreciated! Thanks