An Underwriting tidy up

1 April 2018

Here at Star Insurance Specialists we manually review each renewal before terms are issued. This allows us to check the risk is rated correctly & also tidy up additional underwriting information. You’ll often see us asking questions on the renewal notices about young drivers, location of the vehicle, sum insured, and type of cover. Sometimes historic information is still noted which may not be relevant to the current risk circumstance and renewal is a good time to clean these things up.

Here are a couple of specific area’s you can assist us with renewals.

Sum Insured

The new vehicle replacement clause on our policies applies for 1 to 3 years depending on how the cover was written, after this the policy is based on market value. All second-hand modern cars insured with Star are insured on a market value basis unless we have specifically given Agreed Value. So renewal is a good time to review the vehicle sum insured with your client, firstly so they don’t get disappointed at claim time and secondly so they don’t pay a premium based on a higher value than the car is worth. A quick look at TradeMe, or a phone call to your local car dealer should give be able to give you or your client a good indication of the vehicles current market value.

Classic & Specialist vehicles are insured on an Agreed Value basis, but only if the Agreed Value does not exceed 120% of the Market Value. We recommend clients get professional valuations for specialist vehicles as their values often increase over time! If you provide us with a professional valuation for the vehicle we will offer Agreed Value without the 120% clause.

Windscreen Excess

The ever increasing cost of glass and the new technology being added to vehicle windscreens has made glass claims very expensive! You will have noticed we are applying glass claim excesses to most modern vehicle policies. A $500 excess for claims over $2000. Chip and crack repairs remain excess free. Please make sure you are adding the windscreen excesses to your renewal closings and informing your client so they don’t get a sudden surprise when making a glass claim.

Drivers & Location

Often we might have noted international drivers or under 25 drivers specifically on a policy which would otherwise exclude them. Please check if these drivers still need to be noted as it can affect the way we have rated the vehicle. Location also makes a difference, you don’t want your client paying Auckland premiums if they have moved to Dunedin!

Restoration Cover vs Comprehensive

We get a lot of requests for restoration only cover on classic vehicles, which we’re happy to do, but did you realise full comprehensive cover on classic cars is actually not much more premium! Renewal is a good time to ask your client how their pet car project is going and if it’s nearing completion or they are test driving it then cover should be upgraded to comprehensive.

As always, if you have questions on the renewal terms offered on any of our policies please give your Key Account Manger a call to discuss.