WHY IS RANGE ROVER INSURANCE SO EXPENSIVE?
Over the past two years, the much sought-after Range Rover brand has become synonymous with costly car insurance.
Owners have been met with extortionate five-figure quotes to renew their policies, or struggled to find companies willing to take on the perceived risk of insuring the 4x4s.
Here, Telegraph Money explores why insurance costs for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) models have gone through the roof and what is being done to rein in the prices.
Range Rover insurance problems
In the past year, long-term owners of the luxury vehicles have been met with renewal premiums in excess of £20,000. There have also been multiple instances of insurers refusing to cover drivers based in London due to the heightened risk of vehicle theft.
Some insurers covering car dealers in the motor trade industry now also have terms and conditions solely focused on Range Rovers and Land Rovers.
An insurance policy seen by the Telegraph shows an excess of £3,500 will have to be paid by the policy-holder if a Range Rover worth more than £25,000 is stolen.
Scare stories of quotes hitting unfathomable figures have eased in recent months, yet the cost of insurance is still sky-high.
Gerry Bucke, of insurance firm Adrian Flux, said: “The stats make for grim reading for anybody looking to insure a Range Rover or get one covered.”
Recommended
The middle class must accept they can't afford Range Rovers – they're only for rich people
Theft and the impact on insurance premiums
An uptick in theft rates has been the driving force behind the bulging insurance premiums.
Organised criminal gangs stealing luxury cars are thought to be the driving force behind the increase in JLR thefts due to the vehicles’ desirability, high resale value and keyless technology.
“Thefts are affecting all manufacturers and organised crime groups are responsible – it’s not opportunists,” a JLR spokesman said.
Figures from the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) show that three JLR models were in the top 10 most stolen vehicles of 2023. The Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Discovery Sport models were reported stolen 4,074 times last year.
When grouped together, the Range Rover and Land Rover brand falls behind only the Ford Fiesta as the nation’s most stolen car.
Considering there are almost four times as many Fiestas on Britain’s roads, the figures for Range Rover theft last year were stark. Despite this, JLR said last year’s figures painted a better picture as theft rates were down 20pc compared with previous years.
A spokesman said: “Range Rover Sport thefts fell by 28.6pc; Range Rover by 27.2pc; Range Rover Velar by 15pc; and Range Rover Evoque thefts were down 2.8pc year-on-year.”
One in every 100 Land Rovers were stolen between March 2022 to March 2023, according to DVLA figures analysed by Confused.com. This figure rose to two in 100 for Range Rover Velar R-Dynamic HSE D180 A, which was the most targeted model.
Individual insurers make their own decisions on which vehicles they feel able to insure based on their assessment of the risk, including the vulnerability of a vehicle to theft.
A spokesman for the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said: “Insurers take theft of vehicles very seriously and work closely with police forces to help tackle it. Anyone struggling to find a suitable policy should shop around or contact a broker who may be able to help.”
Technological vulnerabilities of Range Rovers
Two of the main methods gangs are using to steal luxury vehicles, many of which now employ keyless security, are known as “relay theft” and “BCM theft”.
Relay theft involves using specialist equipment to fool a car into thinking the owner’s key fob is nearby.
This takes the form of intercepting the communication between the key fob and the vehicle and spoofing the signal so the vehicle unlocks itself.
Meanwhile, BCM [body control module] theft involves hacking into the vehicle’s diagnostics system and disabling its immobiliser. This form of theft typically requires the car to be unlocked already.
JLR has invested £15m in trying to upgrade security systems for its vehicles and says it has mostly put a stop to relay theft through new ultra-wideband technology.
The newest generation of Range Rovers are now “highly resilient to thefts”, according to the West Midlands-based manufacturer, with police data showing that only 0.2pc of them have been stolen since January 2022 and 0.3pc of Defenders have been stolen since 2020.
JLR is still in the process of upgrading the software of cars made since 2018 to protect them against BCM theft – and has urged customers to bring in their vehicles to receive the update.
Owners with older cars are also encouraged to come forward to see whether they can have extra measures fitted.
Recommended
How to theft-proof your car – without spending a fortune
What are the specialist insurance options for Range Rovers?
In a bid to soften sky-high premiums for drivers, JLR unveiled its own insurance arm last October. Since its launch the scheme – which is underwritten by Allianz – has provided more than 42,000 quotes.
JLR said the average quote premium comes in at £180 per month, so a year’s cover costs an average of £2,160.
This is four times more than what the average British driver (£545) is currently paying, according to Compare the Market. It also surpasses the huge average cost of £2,056 which newly qualified 17-year-olds are having to pay for their annual cover.
But in May, the car maker pledged to pay £150 towards new customers’ monthly insurance costs for up to three years. The new offer applies to anyone who buys a new Range Rover or Range Rover Sport registered between May 1 and September 30 this year.
The pledge means that, in theory, drivers could save 80pc a month on their premium costs – meaning they only have to pay £30. All drivers must be between 30 and 85 years old, and the offer excludes new Range Rover Velar and Range Rover Evoque models.
For drivers who fit the bill they could, on average, only have to pay £360 a year for their cover thanks to JLR’s offer.
For those who can’t make use of the offer or want to go elsewhere, Mr Bucke said: “Comparison websites will just provide a ‘computer says no’ response, which is far from helpful.
“So for any Range Rover driver who is stuck in what feels like an uninsurable position, or anyone else who is struggling to find affordable cover given the market, there’s no better time to pick up the phone and speak to a specialist broker.”
Will insurance premiums for Range Rovers fall?
JLR is pushing for other insurers to lower premiums for Range Rover owners by providing them with more information about the security features the cars are equipped with.
The company said it had delivered a batch of new information to insurers that it hopes will lead to a new system where they can instantly check what protections a car has using its number plate.
A spokesman said: “Our ongoing collaboration with UK insurers across the industry continues at pace.”
Adrian Mardell, JLR’s chief executive, has previously criticised insurers for the premiums quoted to Range Rover drivers, arguing that they relied on out-of-date information.
“There is no reason whatsoever why any insurance company should not gladly and readily insure those new vehicles,” he said in February.
“They are very slow to respond to data. That’s the facts and the reality.”
Addressing the number of thefts is the key factor in reining in the cost of car insurance.
JLR’s chief executive said earlier this year that checks being carried out by police at ports were not stringent or frequent enough, allowing thieves to spirit away containers full of stolen vehicle parts, or even entire Range Rovers and other luxury cars.
It is thought that the vehicles are being shipped to sanctioned countries such as Russia, Syria and Iran, where a shortage of parts and new models has led to thriving black markets.
The British car maker is so concerned that it has actually started providing its own funding, understood to be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, towards police intelligence work to help ensure the problem is tackled.
What else is Jaguar Land Rover doing to help?
All new vehicles coming off the manufacturer’s line now come with a free 12-month tracker subscription.
Fitting a tracking device won’t prevent a vehicle from being stolen, but it will increase the chances of it being recovered and returned by the police.
Vehicle owners can go a step further and have an additional tracking device, however JLR told the Telegraph it only recommends one tracking device, made by the aptly-named firm Tracker.
Others can be installed, but JLR only recommends the Tracker Battery Powered Retrieve product as it comes with only “minimal intrusion into the vehicle’s electrical systems”.
“This has been evaluated, not only for performance, but for its electromagnetic compatibility with our cars’ electrical systems,” a spokesman said.
Strategies to reduce Range Rover insurance costs
As with any vehicle, tinkering with the details in your policy can have a healthy impact on the overall cost. The level of savings could only be a drop in the ocean if you’re a Range Rover owner living in London, but there are number of tactics to try:
Pay annually
Monthly premiums come with an interest charge, as essentially you are taking out a 12-month loan. By paying upfront you can avoid extra costs.
Increase your excess
The excess is the sum of money you’ll have to pay when you make a car insurance claim; if your claim is accepted, the insurer will cover costs exceeding the excess.
If you keep the excess low, say at £100, it can mean you’ll pay more for your policy, as the insurer will be on the hook for a larger payout should you make a claim. Therefore, opting for a higher voluntary excess is a simple way to save money in the short term.
The crucial thing to bear in mind is whether you’ll be able to pay off a higher excess should you need to.
Review named drivers
If you have grown up children on the policy who have flown the nest then you could consider removing them to see if that brings the cost down.
Drive less
Insurance quotes include an estimate of how many miles you drive each year. Low mileage drivers are less of a risk because the less time you spend on the road, the less likely you are to be involved in an accident.
Increase security
Alarms and immobilisers reduce theft risk. You should keep your car off the road overnight – on a driveway or in a garage – if you can, where your car is less likely to be a target for thieves.
Claim wisely
Preserve your no claims discount by claiming only if you really need to. For any small repairs you might be better off paying for the work yourself to avoid losing an unblemished no claims record.
Get a dashcam
Dashboard cameras are becoming increasingly popular, so give some thought to making the investment if you haven’t already, as they can reduce your premium.
Leoni Moninska, car insurance expert at Uswitch, said: “Some insurance providers now offer an automatic discount if your car has an approved dashcam.”
Go fully comprehensive
The general belief among much of the population is that opting for third-party cover, the minimum requirement for insurance coverage, will lower the premium price.
However, this isn’t necessarily the case, and the price of third-party cover has been pushed up in recent years – so it’s often worth opting for a fully comprehensive policy.
Recommended
How to check your car insurance
2024-06-01T08:19:57Z dg43tfdfdgfd