RH Hoskin is part of Equity Red Star, and Adrian Flux very often offers their policies, at of course the same price.
Here's my annual list:
Adrian Flux
Footman James
Graham Sykes
LV Highway (trading as 2Gether)
RH Hoskins
Peter James
Heritage (same as Norton)
Classic Line
Insurance Choice
I used to also call Sureterm but don't bother now as they are invariably uncompetitive.
In October 2014 my quotes varied from £88 up to £149, so wide variation, and very open to haggling as the classic market is hotting up and insurers are scrabbling for business. Also they seem to have quite weird criteria.
For example, I wasn't sure when my CC Zero was first built. The base Fiat 126 was known of course, but when was it actually converted into the kit car it is today? So I was quoted £149. When I found the conversion date was 2003 and I phoned back, they reduced the premium to £105. Now quite why the date of conversion makes a difference to the insurance risk is beyond me, but there you go.
One firm refused to quote at all unless I could tell them the conversion year, even though the registration and V5 and so on are all based on the original donor car.
The previous year I'd been with Adrian Flux, and as usual their 2nd year renewal offer was having a laugh, so I didn't bother getting a quote. When I'd got my best price elsewhere I phone AF to stop the automatic renewal, and cancel the last policy. At that point they dropped their offer to only £65...
Now in my book, I get pissed off when firms try to take the piss. If you don't offer me your best price up front, don't expect to get my business later by crawling back with a lower offer. So, Adrian Flux, if you're reading this, learn to treat your customers with a bit more respect.
Regrettably it is the case in classic insurance as in standard motor, household and all other types that firms offer below-cost prices to secure your business, then try to recoup their loss by jacking up the premium disproportionately in subsequent years. If you want to get the best price every year, then you have no option but to shop around every year.
In my case, it takes about 3 hours to phone all of the firms I have listed. Typically I reckon to save at least £30 over my renewal price as a result. That effectively values my time at £10/hour, which is a fair exchange in my view.
