Range Rovers are almost impossible to insure for many car owners in London as insurance premiums soar due to vehicle thefts in the capital.
The luxury vehicles are now Britain’s most stolen vehicle, with types of the 4×4 accounting for six of the top ten most stolen car models overall.
The Range Rover Velar R-Dynamic HSE is virtually impossible to insure in some areas of London. According to one comparison website, only two providers offer insurance for the car – to a 35-year-old woman in zone four, with six years of driving experience and no claims – for no less than £20,000 a year.
When moved to a north London address in zone 2, the website QuoteGoat found no insurance available for a 2023 Range Rover Velar R-Dynamic HSE and no car insurance deals appear to be available in London for a 25-year-old man with the same driving qualification and the same car.
It comes after the Independent exclusively revealed average insurance premiums rose by 48 per cent on average in the 12 months to June 2023, according to data from the analyst Consumer Intelligence, which looks at quotes from Confused.com, Go Compare, Compare the Market and MoneySuperMarket.
According to Consumer Intelligence, those aged 25 to 39 and 65 and over have been hardest hit by car insurance rises in the 12 months to June 2023, with average premiums jumping by more than 50 per cent. Drivers in Scotland and London have seen their premiums rise the most.
It comes as one in every 100 Land Rovers were stolen according to DVLA figures analysed by confused.com from March 2022 to March 2023, making them the most vulnerable car.
The study found that this figure rose to two in 100 for the car most targeted by criminals, a Range Rover Velar R-Dynamic HSE D180 A.
Insurance figures from confused.com show the car may be insured by a 35-year-old woman in north London by four insurers with prices beginning at £7,352.
When the search for the 35-year-old woman moved to an address in Sussex, nine insurance policies could be found with prices beginning at £5,218.
Ceri McMillan, car insurance expert at GoCompare, said the average cost of a premium for the model in the Greater London area was up 83 per cent from 2022.
She said “This may be due to this particular type of car being at a higher risk of theft due to it being a high-end model in the car market. As well as this, inflation and the rising costs of replacement parts, particularly for high-end models, can also affect the average insurance premium.”
Louise Thomas, a motor expert at Confused.com said Ranger Rover drivers could be paying “extortionate” prices for choosing to drive in the capital.
“There are of course many reasons why insurance prices for Range Rovers may be higher than others,” she said. “It has a great reputation and is classed as a high luxury vehicle, meaning it’s very much in demand for those who can afford it. But this type of vehicle generally is more expensive for insurers to repair or replace. And if the car needed is written off, this would cost an insurer more than many other cars on the road.
She added: “If you throw into the mix that London also has more congestion than other major cities, there’s a higher chance of the vehicle being damaged. And because of its name, Range Rover can also be a high target of theft compared to other vehicles. So when a driver wants to take out insurance, all of this is taken into consideration.”
Car thefts are one of the contributing elements to the rise, with other reasons including the growing cost of repair and inflation.
Vehicle thefts rose by a quarter in England and Wales last year according to AA Insurance Services analysis of data from the Office for National Statistics.
Some 130,389 incidents of vehicles being stolen were recorded in 2022, up 25 per cent from the total of 104,435 during the previous 12 months.
AA Insurance Services said thieves are using a “variety of hi-tech methods” to steal vehicles including key cloning and relay thefts, which involves cars being tricked into opening.
Jaguar Land Rover has been approached for comment.
© The Independent, UK