HOw Much?
TURNER'S TORQUE
Deux Smurf’s insurance isn’t up until March next year, but I’m dreading it, as according to the world of Martin Lewis (Money Saving Expert), new data has shown that the average car insurance renewal price is up a whopping 61% on last year, which was already up significantly from the previous year. Comparison site Confused.com says the 'average' price is now a massive £924 a year. Apparently things are likely to keep getting worse until the middle of 2024. Insurers say rises are partly due to general inflation, rising car repair costs - with garages charging more for parts and labour - and paying out more for written-off cars, due to the value of used cars getting ever higher.
Let me introduce myself in the style of an AA confession... "Hi, I’m Damian Turner, and I have an unhealthy interest in all things '4x4' and being outdoors." Over the years I’ve written for various 4x4 magazines such as LRM, LRW & 4x4 Mart, and also for getting out'n'about titles such as Practical Caravan, and Practical Motorhome magazines.
If you are a Range Rover owner, another worrying trend is actually getting insured in the first place. According to a few people I know (who are 'in the know'), a lot of potential owners are cancelling their new Range Rover orders due to insurance reasons. A friend told me that his pal was quoted £13k to insure a brand new Range Rover Autobiographical.
You didn't read that wrong, yes it was thirteen THOUSAND pounds! It isn’t like he’s a young whipper-snapper living in a high risk area, this guy lives in rural Lancashire, has been driving 50 years and has 30+ years no claims.
Seven or so years ago I broke out of the freelance world to start up The Mud Life - first as a website, then 4 years ago into this magazine you are reading. 4
THE MUD LIFE MAGAZINE
Similar conversations are also taking place on various Range Rover Facebook pages as, according to the DVLA, Range Rovers were the second most stolen cars in the UK in 2022, with more than 5200 taken. Another friend has a 3 year old SVR Sport, and the insurance has increased from £800 to £3k this year. He is getting rid, obviously, as are other owners; when I checked there were almost 500 Range Rover Sports on Auto Trader. It’s a worrying trend, and I’ve no idea what JLR are doing, or can do about it - I read somewhere that they are offering large cash discounts as incentives, but that’s like putting a plaster on a shark bite. Theft incidents had become so prevalent that JLR was forced halt its own insurance last year after their insurance partners,Verex, said it would no longer extend coverage. JLR has said it is collaborating with owners of earlier 'flagship' Range Rover models to minimise thefts by ensuring the accurate transfer of login details to new owners for the InControl app, facilitating remote access to the vehicle, and efforts are underway to update the car's body control module, responsible for overseeing security. The little bit of good news for new owners is that thefts involving the latest Range Rover and RR Sport models have been extremely low, with Adrian Mardell, JLR’s acting CEO, telling analysts in June that incidents have been "very close to zero" despite the cars being available for buy for a year. Even without owning anything from the JLR stable, I will keep my fingers firmly crossed that we will still be able to afford to keep Deux Smurf and Muddy Madam's Škoda on the road next year!
