7:11 am, December 19, 2023
JLR has brought out an insurance product to try to ease pressures faced by Range Rover owners because of increasing thefts.
It said its Land Rover Insurance was designed for customers who may be having problems trying to get cover, as well as with rising premiums.
The manufacturer cited latest figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI), which it said showed that higher costs had affected the price of cover.
According to the ABI Motor Insurance Premium Tracker, the average price paid for motor insurance for the third quarter of 2023 rocketed by 29% year on year.
The Land Rover Insurance policy is available in the UK for customers of new and approved used vehicles, subject to eligibility criteria.
Fully comprehensive, it also ensures that any repairs are completed by a JLR authorised bodyshop and with genuine parts.
The policy, which can be managed on a monthly rolling subscription basis, doesn’t need a deposit and there are no interest charges.
Customers can amend or cancel their cover without having to pay a fee, and the price is guaranteed for 12 months.
JLR said the policy was also available to clients looking to insure Defender and Discovery vehicles, as well as to Jaguar clients.
Since October, the service has provided quotes to more than 4,000 clients, with an average monthly premium of less than £200.
It said its latest vehicles were highly resilient to thefts, and quoted UK police data showing that since January 2022, just nine of the 12,200 new Range Rovers on the road have been stolen (0.07 per cent).
Meanwhile, only 13 of the 13,400 new Range Rover Sports on the road have been similarly affected (0.1 per cent).
JLR announced last month it had invested more than £10m in vehicle security to help tackle keyless thefts.
This included an extensive rollout of security updates for more than 70,000 older vehicles in the UK since the initiative began in 2022, ensuring the same levels of protection against theft as for current, new models.
This, along with dedicated collaboration with police and partners, is reducing thefts, commented JLR.
Patrick McGillycuddy, JLR UK managing director, said: ‘Customers of luxury cars and other luxury goods are experiencing an increase in thefts due to organised criminal activity in the UK.
‘The desirability of our luxury vehicles, coupled with concerns around thefts, has recently led to challenges in obtaining insurance cover for some clients.
‘We are fully committed to doing everything we can to address this by adopting a multifaceted approach: from our significant investment in vehicle security to now providing our own insurance.
‘While our new insurance proposition is a key milestone, we want to reassure clients that we will continue monitoring and refining our service so that even more clients can take advantage of it.’
