Insurance companies run for cover from new cars

High-end motor insurers are refusing to insure new Range Rovers in London after a series of thefts.

In what could be a serious blow to Jaguar Land Rover, which makes the cars, underwriters are understood to be declining to insure Range Rovers unless the owners have underground or secure parking. The problem has grown so rapidly in the past three months that insurers and insurance brokers have asked to meet Jaguar Land Rover to discuss the issue. Thieves are targeting vehicles with “keyless” ignition systems as they have found a way to bypass the security using a hand-held electronic device that can be bought on eBay.

Thatcham Research, the motor insurers’ automotive research centre, said that between January and July this year, 294 Range Rover Evoque and Sport vehicles were stolen in London. During the same period, 63 BMW X5’s, a rival to the Range Rover, were taken. Keith Dowley, a commercial property adviser, who bought a Range Rover this month after his previous one was stolen from outside his house in southwest London, said that he was refused cover from AIG because he did not have underground parking.

Mr. Dowley said: “How many people living in London have that type of parking?” He said that when he contacted Range Rover, he was told it was an issue he had to resolve. “I had to tell them, ‘No, this is your problem, I have just bought a £100,000 car from you, if I can’t get insurance, I can’t drive it, and if I can’t drive it, I don’t want it’.” He secured cover from another insurer, after agreeing to transfer all his business to them, including his house insurance.

A spokesman for AIG said that it may request additional security measures such as private garaging or the installation of mechanically movable bollards. A spokesman for Jaguar Land Rover said the criminal re-programming of remote-entry keys was an industrywide problem, adding: “Our line-up continues to meet the insurance industry requirements as tested and agreed with relevant insurance bodies. Nevertheless, we are taking this issue very seriously and our engineering teams are actively working in collaboration with insurance bodies and police forces to solve this continuously evolving problem. This has already resulted in a number of prosecutions.”