Can You Register And Insure A Kit Car

If yous accept a passion for motoring you lot might find your niche in the quirky globe of kit cars.

There'southward a kit car to indulge virtually every taste and budget. Only in addition to the fourth dimension and space you'll need to build your car, you lot also need to recollect virtually getting it insured. Standard auto insurance might non cut it, which ways y'all might demand to find a specialist kit auto insurer.

However, you should be able to detect the right insurance policy for your newly-built car, whether you're building:

A replica Ferrari
A vintage Porsche
The ever-popular Caterham 7
A high-operation kit car from Ultima Sports

What is kit motorcar insurance?

Ordinary machine insurance doesn't usually cover vehicles you've assembled yourself, and then some insurers have come up up with more bespoke policies to cover self-built cars.

Just as you'd expect with conventional automobile insurance, kit automobile insurance should encompass you for theft, fire and harm resulting from a route accident.

Some kit car insurance policies might as well include a range of additional features equally standard:

Cherished salvage

Fifty-fifty if your car is written off as a full loss, this encompass ways y'all could get the vehicle/salvage as well every bit the insurance pay-out. You and so have the selection to restore the car or utilise the parts for another project.

Dismantled parts

This covers the value of all parts when they're sitting in your garage.

Rally comprehend

If this feature is included, it's typically valid for club rallies. Rally cover might not include racing events, and so you might even so take to purchase race automobile insurance if y'all're going to participate in races .

Personal accident cover

This compensates you or your family up to a set amount for injuries or death resulting from a motorcar accident.

Agreed value

Kit motorcar enthusiasts tend to prefer insuring their vehicle based on an agreed value rather than a market place value.

The true value of a kit motorcar includes:

All the fourth dimension and endeavour y'all've put in to building it
The value of the kit
Any modifications you've made to the car

And so, it'southward a bit trickier than valuing a conventional vehicle where you tin quickly approximate the value online.

Agreed value ways you and the insurer must hold on the value before the policy begins.

The insurer might require an independent expert to value the motorcar beforehand.

Limited mileage

Many owners might utilise a kit car in one case a week or less for recreational purposes as it won't be their master vehicle.

This feature might appeal to kit car owners because it could profoundly reduce your insurance costs if yous're not driving information technology regularly.

Multiple vehicles

Some insurers might allow you to combine the car insurance of all your vehicles nether ane policy, potentially saving you money.

This could hateful combining the insurance of your conventional machine with the kit auto encompass.

Breakup and recovery

Some policies include breakdown comprehend and recovery for the Great britain and EU.

Eu encompass

Cover for driving in the EU could be included, typically for ninety days. Insurers could allow you to extend it for 180 days if yous pay more.

It'south worth checking the small impress to fully sympathise the level of encompass offered overseas as this may differ from when you're in the United kingdom.

How much does kit car insurance cost?

Every bit with any auto insurance policy, costs vary substantially according to the auto being driven and the person that'south doing the driving.

Before you lot go a quote, insurers need to know a few nuts about the car including:

The body type
The make and model of the car
The engine specifications

Every bit always with car insurance, the more expensive the vehicle and the more powerful its engine, the higher your costs are probable to be.

When it comes to speed, the variation in these vehicles can exist huge.

Some kit cars accept been congenital with a maximum speed of only 50 mph.Then at the pinnacle end of the scale, the Ultima GTR has set earth speed records for production route cars. It managed 0-lx in 2.6 seconds and with a top speed of 241 mph.

Insurers as well need to know about y'all and how you plan to utilise the motorcar.

As with any automobile insurance policy, the premium might partly depend on your private circumstances, including:

Your age
Where you live
Your claims history

If your annual mileage is likely to be low, you lot could reduce your premiums, provided the insurer offers a limited mileage disbelieve.

Y'all might demand specific cover if y'all're going to take the car to rallies. Some kit auto insurance policies might include this as standard, and then check if this is important to you lot.

If you lot're planning to participate in actual races, it could work out cheaper to get bolt-on insurance for racing as and when yous demand it.

It'southward too important to tell your insurer well-nigh any modifications yous've made to the automobile, as this could impact your costs.

You should proceed all the paperwork, including any photos or receipts that might exist relevant.

Failing to tell the insurer about modifications could invalidate your policy.

Compare car insurance quotes

So, is kit car insurance cheap?

The huge variation in kit cars means they could either be more expensive or cheaper than a standard vehicle to insure.

Kit cars' uniqueness ways they don't unremarkably slot into i of the 50 auto insurance groups used by insurers to price comprehend for conventional cars.

Along with the car itself, the insurance cost also hinges on how you utilize it and your personal circumstances.

It's well worth because joining a kit car social club, as this could typically give you a discount on your kit automobile insurance.

Who insures kit cars?

Kit auto insurance tends to exist the preserve of specialist insurers, but there'due south a wide variety of cover options available.

It's worth shopping around and spending some fourth dimension thinking nearly what suits your needs most.

Lancaster Insurance , which is perhaps best known for its archetype auto and 4x4 insurance, has been providing kit car insurance for over 25 years.

Information technology covers a range of kit car models, including:

Caterham
Westfield
Dutton
Marlin
Fisher
Tiger
GTM
Robin Hood

Along with standard cover, Lancaster's kit car insurance policies could include benefits such equally:

Possessor's order discounts
Track day/rally cover
Limited mileage discounts
Adventitious harm cover
Breakdown recovery
Laid-up encompass
Free Eu cover for 90 days

RH , another classic auto insurer, claims to take a bespoke approach to kit car insurance.

It offers encompass for nearly any model, covering you through the build procedure to completion and one time the car is on the road.

RH offers enhancements such as:

Rally comprehend
Dismantled parts embrace
Cherished salvage cover
Complimentary agreed value as standard with its kit auto policies

This is along with mainstream features such as European cover, accident and breakdown recovery, windscreen cover and personal blow insurance.

Heritage'southward kit machine insurance includes:

Gratis agreed value
90 days European driving cover
Spare parts comprehend
Club membership discounts
Salve retentiveness
Limited mileage discounts
Cover for shows, rallies, and events

You can also opt for parts-simply cover. Another choice would be to put your kit machine insurance under the umbrella of a Heritage multi-vehicle insurance policy along with your everyday car.

Do I demand kit car insurance while I'm edifice the car?

No. Kit car insurance is merely what you need when your vehicle is roadworthy.

Only with a kit car in that location'due south quite some way to go before you achieve that point. You might consider taking out transit insurance to cover the kit car, parts and tools for loss or harm during drove from the kit machine maker.

At that place'southward also build-up insurance to cover you lot for fire, theft, and damage over the period the motorcar is beingness assembled.

How long the kit car is sitting in your garage in the assembly phase can vary a lot. This could partly depend on how much fourth dimension you can dedicate to the project.

Say a auto takes 300 hours to construct, and you're allocating a few hours here and there to the job.

The car could easily be in the assembly phase for two years!

You tin can also get laid-up comprehend for when your car is off the road for restoration or if you've just decided to accept a break.

How much do kit cars cost?

Just like ordinary cars there's a huge variety in kit cars, with prices varying according to the model and its spec. You could start with a Robin Hood Project 2B for simply £5,000, ascent to over £80,000 for a high-performance Ultima RS kit.

What practice I need once my kit machine is built?

Once y'all've got the machine assembled - hopefully without as well much claret, sweat and tears – there's some officialdom to navigate earlier you take to the road.

Your kit car needs to pass the Private Vehicle Approving (IVA) test conducted by the DVLA.

Provided your car passes the IVA, you then demand to fill up out a vehicle inspection report and register your car for a number plate.

It's then just your kit machine insurance you need, then you're set to striking the road!