If you’ve enjoyed success with your business and rewarded yourself with a prestige car, we can help protect it with the right insurance.
Our team have been helping business owners with their insurance for over a decade, and that experience applies equally to a six-figure car as it does to a six-figure business asset.
We’ve put together a comprehensive guide on prestige, exotic and supercar insurance in Australia.
The cars shown in the photos on this page have no connection to our business, but they were photographed by us at various cars & coffee events over the years. If we’ve used a photo of your car and you’d prefer we didn’t just let us know.
What is a prestige car?
The term “prestige car” isn’t a great one really, but it’s become an industry standard.
Sure a Mercedes could wear that tag quite well, but I wouldn’t call a track-focused Lotus Exige a “prestige car” even though it could carry the same price tag.
So it’s not about “prestige”. It’s about a combination of price, desirability, and, ultimately, how you feel about your car.
Broadly speaking though, we’re talking about the following brands:
- Mercedes-Benz
- BMW
- Porsche
- Lamborghini
- Ferrari
- Aston Martin
- McLaren
- Lotus
Not every prestige car is from those manufacturers, and not every car from those manufacturers is considered prestige, but you get the idea.
What about supercars?
Absolutely! This is where a specialist insurance provider can best demonstrate their value.
Insuring a $100k Mercedes or BMW is no big deal. You can do it yourself online in five minutes if you choose.
But a $600k Ferrari or Lamborghini… That’s a valuable asset that needs proper protection. It’s important for a new one, and arguably more important for a classic.
Whatever supercar or exotic car you drive, be it a Ferrari, McLaren, Lamborghini or Aston Martin, it’s important to have the right insurance in place, backed up by a great broker who’ll be there for you when you need it.
What is covered?
A prestige car insurance policy is still just a car insurance policy at heart, so the basics are no different.
It’s going to cover your prestige car for a range of events including:
- Theft or attempted theft
- Malicious damage
- Accidental damage
- Fire damage
- Storm damage
- Windscreen and glass
- Damage caused to other vehicles or property
- Towing costs
The specific coverage will depend on the insurance provider and the policy, but all of those are really the minimum expectation for any car insurance policy.
What makes a good prestige car insurance policy?
Here’s where it gets more interesting.
If we’re talking about the basics as listed above, any car insurance policy is going to do the job, but it’s the special extras that separate the basic from the good and great.
Choice of repairer is a big one for prestige car owners, and salvage rights is another important benefit for some owners, especially for classics.
Getting the right agreed value is also an important benefit, especially with the price appreciation that some modern classics have enjoyed over the last few years.
Let’s dig a little deeper into some of these benefits…
Choice of repairer
As mentioned, choice of repairer is a big deal for prestige and exotic car owners.
You don’t want to be forced to choose from the small pool of repairers that the insurance company recommends in your area.
A good prestige car policy will allow you to choose your own repairer without penalising you.
Salvage rights
Whilst some prestige car owners will have no interest in salvage rights, for owners of classic and modern classic cars it can be a deal-breaker.
If you’ve invested countless hours and dollars into restoring your rare or collectable car, especially if it has sentimental value to you, you want to know that you have first rights to what’s left after a write-off.
Agreed value
Insurance companies don’t always get it right on car valuations, and this is only exasserbated on prestige and exotic vehicles.
Having an agreed value gives you peace of mind knowing that if the worst happens to your high-value vehicle, you’re going to receive an appropriate payment in the event of a total loss.
Whilst many insurance companies will provide an agreed value, they don’t all allow the same agreed value. This can be a major issue for modern classics, so you need an insurer who understands the true value of your car and will cover it accordingly.
Other prestige car insurance benefits
Other benefits that can be provided by a prestige vehicle insurance policy include the following:
- No claim bonus protection
- Lifetime no claim bonus
- Automatic replacement vehicle
- Hire car costs
- Excess-free glass replacement
- Travel expenses
- Towing costs
- Re-keying and re-coding
- Express frieght of parts
- Finance gap
- Personal effects
- Lifetime guarantee on repairs
Not all prestige policies will cover all of the above points, but they are fairly typical of a good policy.
Even with policies that cover the above, there can be big differences. For example the new replacement vehicle might only be up to a certain number of years for some insurers, whilst being a lifetime replacement for other insurers.
Other sub-limits can vary greatly from insurer to insurer, so it’s important to compare every policy closely, or have a trusted broker who will do the comparison for you and recommend the best options.
More information
Right now we’re only providing prestige vehicle insurance to clients who already insure their business via Trade Risk.
If you’re already using a business insurance broker and you’re happy with their service, we recommend asking them about insuring your prestige or exotic vehicle.
If they can’t help, then speak to us about insuring your vehicle and your business! We’ve been looking after business owners for over a decade, and we’d love to help you too.
