Yahoo Autos JLR introduces Land Rover Insurance to tackle coverage woes
The policy is available for customers to opt into and cancel at any time
JLR (formerly Jaguar Land Rover) has created its own insurance policy after an Autocar investigation revealed the inability of some London-based owners to insure its cars amid high theft rates of certain models.
Under the Land Rover Insurance banner, policies require no deposits nor interest charges. Cars will be repaired by an authorised JLR workshop.
The firm is said to have provided "an average monthly premium of less than £200" for around 4000 drivers since October.
It is available to any customers who drive any model of Range Rover, as well as the Land Rover Defender and Discovery. Jaguar customers are able to get insured via the Jaguar Insurance arm.
Managing director of JLR UK, Patrick McGillycuddy, said: "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.”
This follows a recent Autocar investigation that insurers were refusing to cover Range Rover drivers in London, mainly due to their high theft rate.
JLR was forced to halt its own insurance offering last year after partner Verex said it would no longer extend coverage.
According to the DVLA, Range Rover models were the second most stolen cars in the UK last year, with more than 5200 (both new and used) taken.
In response, JLR claims just nine new Range Rovers have been stolen of the 12,200 sold, and 13 Range Rover Sports stolen of the 13,400 sold.
Range Rover thefts in big cities "a problem"
The insurance scheme comes after JLR CEO Adrian Mardell told company investors in March that “theft of our vehicles in large cities has become a problem", singling out London and Manchester as the two worst-affected locations.
