Latest News and Luxury Insight - Saxon Insurance Brokers

Saxon launches it's first digital insurance product on SIGNO IQ

samuel.cise@saxoninsurancebrokers.com (Samuel Cise) — Tue, 20 May 2025 11:55:54 GMT

Saxon becomes a Coverholder at Lloyd's and launches it's first digital insurance product on SIGNO IQ.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Saxon Insurance Brokers Ltd Unveils Launch of Bespoke Digital Platform SIGNO IQ for it's First Digital Product Collection Cover

London, UK – Saxon Insurance Brokers Ltd, specialists in standalone collectables insurance since 2017, is thrilled to announce the launch of 'Collection Cover' , on their cutting-edge digital quote and bind platform SIGNO IQ .

Developed entirely in-house, this bespoke system reflects Saxon’s extensive expertise, setting it apart from generic, off-the-shelf solutions.

Collection Cover delivers a host of exclusive features for mid to high-net-worth customers:

24/7 Digital Self-Service: Manage quotes, policies, and claims whenever it suits you.
Covering all Collectables : Art, jewellery, watches, designer handbags, trading cards, games consoles, memorabilia, musical instruments and much more.
Customisable Coverage: Tailor in-safe and out-of-safe limits and choose your excess for personalised premiums.
Instant High-Value Cover: Insure items up to £1,000,000 in minutes.
Fast Referrals for Large Collections: Insure collections worth up to £5,000,000 with quick, seamless approvals.

As a Coverholder at Lloyd’s of London , Saxon Insurance Brokers Ltd uses a dedicated binding authority to provide the capacity for this innovative product. This foundation allows Saxon to offer unparalleled flexibility, security, and confidence to its customers.

Looking to the future, Saxon plans to grow a significant book of business under its binding authority and expand its offering. The platform will soon be available as a white-label SaaS solution , enabling other brokers to offer collectables insurance directly via their own branded websites or through dedicated sites provided by Saxon.

To learn more, visit collectioncover.com or contact us at office@saxoninsurancebrokers.com

Media Contact:

Samuel Cise

Director

Saxon Insurance Brokers Ltd

office@saxoninsurancebrokers.com

WAGs warned not to show off jewellery as husbands build panic rooms ahead of Euro 2024

samuel.cise@saxoninsurancebrokers.com (Samuel Cise) — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 09:19:23 GMT

WAGs panic, Husbands panic less?

Marengo Intelligence just released this great article on what professional footballers have to do when they leave their wives at home, how has life come to this? What would you do to protect your home and family?

The wives and girlfriends of England footballers have been cautioned against flaunting their expensive jewellery during the European Championships 2024 in Germany to prevent potential thefts, as their houses will likely be unoccupied during the tournament.

The warning comes following a series of burglaries targeting high-profile Premier League players’ homes, such as those of Jack Grealish and Joelinton.

“They’ve been reminded of the previous educational sessions which they have had on security,” said a source, quoting the contents of an online reminder sent to England’s WAGS. “The dos and don’ts.”

“Don’t advertise jewellery, display it online or post images inside or outside of their homes.”

In December, a group of burglars stole £1 million worth of jewellery and watches from Manchester City winger Grealish’s home, prompting his frightened family, including partner Sasha Attwood, to activate panic buttons. Authorities responded to the £5.6 million residence to prevent any potential hostage scenario.

Then just last month, Newcastle midfielder Joelinton’s Darras Hall residence was burgled while he and his family attended Newcastle’s match against Bournemouth at St. James’ Park. When authorities reached the multi-million-pound residence, the assailants had already escaped.

According to The Sun, many star footballers fell victim to “away day” burglaries, where thieves struck while teams were away for matches. This was the case for former Man United winger Jesse Lingard , who was robbed while playing for the Red Devils away at Aston Villa in January 2022.

Similarly, Lingard’s former teammate Victor Lindelöf ’s home in Hale was raided during the same month while he was playing in Brentford.

In response to these break-ins, multiple Premier League stars are seeking advice from architects to construct panic rooms in their upscale residences before leaving the country for the Euros this summer. Lindelöf is among those who already possess one, which was used by his wife and children during the aforementioned 2022 home invasion.

A large group of WAGs, including Fern Maguire, 28, wife of Man United defender Harry Maguire, along with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’s wife Megan Davison, 27, are poised to accompany captain Harry Kane and the England team to Germany. Grealish’s girlfriend, Sasha Attwood, 27, alongside Luke Shaw’s partner Anouska Santos, 31, are also expected to join them.

Enhancing home security while abroad

The gang responsible for targeting Grealish is suspected to be connected to the burglaries of former Liverpool player Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Love Island stars Molly Mae Hague and Tommy Fury. They used ladders to access the balconies of the master bedrooms of each mansion, hence they are dubbed the “Balcony Burglars.”

These raids should remind homeowners to be mindful that burglars frequently target windows for easier access compared to doors. Intruders often focus on upper windows to evade alarm sensors on lower floors, utilising ladders found in gardens or brought along with them.

To ensure safety against these burglars, high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UNHWIs) should make sure windows on upper floors have locks or sash stops. Homeowners should also extend any alarm sensor coverage to upper rooms.

Always opt for security-accredited windows tested to British standards and approved by insurance companies, such as PAS 24 2022. Consult a locksmith affiliated with the Master Locksmiths Association for recommendations on the appropriate window locks.

Apart from windows, HNWIs and UHNWIs should enhance their overall home security before being away for extended periods. The UK police have published a checklist to secure homes before the owners leave them. This includes double-locking all entrances, keeping valuables and keys out of sight, closing curtains, and leaving lights on to create the illusion of occupancy.

For enhanced security, consider contacting security firms like Marengo . They offer expertise in identifying security vulnerabilities, creating customised security plans, and deploying appropriate resources, including personnel and infrastructure, tailored to each residence.

What do you think of this situation? Do you feel sorry for the footballers and their wives being easy targets?

How Range Rovers are stolen

samuel.cise@saxoninsurancebrokers.com (Samuel Cise) — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 13:01:52 GMT

How Range Rovers are stolen

The news of Land Rover launching their new insurance product which people outside of our industry think is Land Rover themselves underwriting it which isn't true, LV do, has caused a lot of stir and mainly negative press for Land Rover.

I am certain Adrian Mardell Land Rover CEO and Montana Wright UK Senior Press Officer had good intentions launching this new scheme however my guess is they didn't quite understand the lack of appetite the underwriters would have for certain years of manufacturer, or locations or maybe other underwriting factors or maybe they did but didn't foresee the negative backlash this would create. Anyway Land Rover Insurance isn't even competitive so what is their USP apart from a strange monthly only setup and letting down many Land Rover owners?

We have to remember why Land Rover are in this position. To give them credit, they make desirable cars, unfortunately desirable to people up to no good too. Sadly the level of their security they install is not smarter than a pretty unskilled thief who’s bought some kit off Amazon to steal their cars with.

December 2023/January 2024 saw the values of Land Rover products plummet, 1,000+ cars under a year old on Autotrader alone and still no appetite in the insurance industry to insure the most stolen car in the UK, can you blame them?

Let’s get into the technical issues of car security and see what Land Rover should be doing to prevent theft of their cars. Afterall, the insurance market works on facts, if a car is stolen frequently the rates go up, underwriters or actuaries cannot fix Land Rover issues only Land Rover can so why would an insurance company charge a low rate for a Land Rover knowing there is a high probability of theft while Land Rover do nothing to help the insurers.

Let’s summarise the reasons why cars are stolen:

Manufacturer car Alarms go off after 6 seconds - this isn't long enough to either deter a thief or make anyone around notice an issue or a thief
OBD port device can stop the factory immobiliser in 5 seconds so they’re useless and is too easy to access, manufacturer security is inadequate
A tracker jammer plugs in to the cigarette lighter to stop the signal in seconds, they can be bought on Amazon
Blank Keys can be bought from eBay and a key easily reprogrammed post theft
Manufacturer fitted trackers are easily jammed and fitted in the same place so easily removed by a thief
Door locks can be picked in 20 seconds using tools bought on the internet
Key signals reach up to 300 meters meaning relay theft is easier than ever before
Steering wheel locks can be picked in seconds
Steering wheels can be cut off in seconds however are still good deterrent

What you should do to prevent a theft?

Thieves want to steal cars in under a minute and as silent as they can so make their life harder than your neighbour who has with the same car
Police cannot keep up with the number of crimes so do everything you can to prevent a theft, remember an aftermarket immobiliser is preventative however a Tracking device is reactive. Prevention is better than cure.
CCTV isn’t helpful if they’re hooded and masked, use physical deterrent devices over everything else
Install a tracker with remote engine or throttle kill functionality
Install an immobiliser with sleeping fobs, these go to sleep after 20 seconds and immobilise your car eg NoGo Immobiliser or Laserline Guardian Immobiliser
Use a faraday pouch to block the signal from your key to the car
Turn off Keyless Entry on your car
Use a steering wheel lock
Garage your car if you can

Back to Land Rover and what they might be doing to help the situation.

I understand so far 70,000 have had a recall to upgrade the software of their cars to improve the keyless entry system however there could be 1,000,000 Land Rovers on UK roads so this has hardly made a dent in the total number of cars needing the update.

Land Rover have written to eligible owners requesting they take their car to their retailer for the security update however eligible cars from what I can make out are vehicles 2018 or newer, it may even be 2020 or newer. That leaves many ineligible Land Rover owners.

The long and short of it, considering all the points above about Manufacturer security being inadequate even the security advice on their recall letter is inadequate to prevent a theft, do not delay getting every possible aftermarket security device fitted to your car, prevent a theft and avoid having a huge claim on your record risking the possibility of never being able to get insurance again.

Here are some products from a company we have started working with and their contact details:

Laserline Guardian ADR Immobiliser £399

Metatrak Immobiliser £329

Scorpion S5+ Tracker with Immobilisation and Fob. £439.00 for the device and to install, Subscription £16.99 per month or £189 per annum

If you want to have any of these devices installed call Mr Frances Savva from Sensational Auto Installations on 07807221374.

For further information if you are considering selling your Land Rover, be warned it's a very tough market for Land Rover at the moment purely driven by these issues.

Here’s the current state of the Land Rover market on Autotrader alone:

Land Rover market update 3/1/24 (last updated 19/12/23)

RANGE ROVER

NEW CARS:

122 (+4) Brand New Range Rovers on Autotrader

Most expensive £230,945

Highest discount on a new car £18,316 (9%) listed on 21/9/23

2023/24 CARS:

262 (-2) 2023/24 registered Range Rovers on Autotrader

Most Expensive £269,844 for the Landsdowne Edition

Largest price drop since listing £38,500 (20%) listed on 21/9/23

RANGE ROVER SPORT

NEW CARS:

238 (+4) Brand New Range Rover Sports on Autotrader

Most expensive £136,500

Highest discount £11,265 (11%) listed on 1/11/23

2023/24 CARS:

345 (-4) 2023/24 registered Range Rover Sports on Autotrader

Most expensive £280,000 for the Edition One Carbon Bronze - WHATTT!!

Largest price drop since listing £31,005 (11%) listed on 9/11/23

Land Rover Insurance - it's back with a twist

samuel.cise@saxoninsurancebrokers.com (Samuel Cise) — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 13:38:50 GMT

Motor Insurance premiums rise 60%, ABI calls for an IPT cut to help. Range Rover relaunches its white labelled policy for Land Rovers, but not all of them!

Motor premiums have hit the headlines again, with some clients and insurers reporting increases up to 60% says Martin Lewis of MoneySavingExpert. So what's going on?

Inflation, cost of repairs, shortage of parts and desperate people stealing cars for ill gotten gains. I’ll finish on that note and move on to the topic of Land Rover Insurance or Range Rover Insurance more specifically.

Land Rover have inconveniently (or maybe conveniently for them) made their cars very easy to steal while being very desirable for thieves and their new owner whether that's a whole car or just the parts, these cars are still being stolen daily but so are others now.

You’ve seen our post about the notorious Ferrari thief?

But we have exciting news, we can now insure Range Rovers huraaahhh, oh no we can’t, oh yesss we can ...it’s behind you…. Oh no it isn’t. Oh shhh, this isn't panto, well it seems a bit like panto in the Land Rover Insurance world because not long along their current provider went bust so Land Rover insurance was off the market but now it's back with a twist!

Wrisk Partners, the new underwriters for Land Rover’s white labelled insurance, have setup a new, interesting scheme, insuring Land Rover’s, well some models and clients but not all, yet!

This launch is interesting for a few reasons.

Monthly policies only. Huh, I’ve heard of monthly payments of a 12 month premium but not monthly only. You have to ask why? Here’s my take.

If you run a scheme that isn't profitable, loss ratio goes over 100% of premiums earned you’ll either go bust or if you have plenty of cash still you'll just pull the scheme.

If you let people buy 12 month contracts you have to honour them until expiry even if you pull the scheme, if in year one you take, for example, £500,000 in annual premiums but pay out £600,000 in claims, that's only 6 total losses, you’ve lost £100,000 and you'll be pulling out however you may decide to do that after 6 months of running the scheme, meaning you could have another 6 total losses for the remaining 6 months of the policies you have to offer.

That's not the case for policies that are only for one month at a time. You want to pull after 6 months, give 30 days notice to all policyholders and you're out, cutting out the possibility of all future losses.

The flaw, in my opinion here is, that the basis of insurance is usually a 12 month contract, all those 12 month premiums go into one pot to pay claims. Even if you pay on a monthly DD you are still obliged to pay the premium in full in the event of a claim, that's the deal right?

But what if you only have month by month premiums coming in. Say you insure 1,000 Land Rovers that pay £150 a month for their monthly policy (not 12) that's £150,000 for 1,000 cars. The chance of one of those 1,000 being a total loss in even the first month of writing business is sky high so a claim is paid, Range Rover Sports and full fat Land Rover Autobiographies are £100,000-£150,000 so one claim within the first month equals a 100% loss ratio immediately. Where’s the business model? Am I missing something? Surely there isn't any small print that makes you pay an annual premium in the event of claiming?

In short, Wrisk are on risk, but one month at a time, not 12 months at a time.

Second point here is that they are VC backed. Their eyes are on profits and returns for their LPs. Why does this matter?

Say the scheme runs well, they could have an amazing first year while premiums are sky high then cash out? Yes I'm speculating and let's hope that isn't the case and the scheme runs successfully, after all Land Rovers are not being insured anywhere else! Or it could easily go completely the opposite way too.

Third point here is, Wrisk goes steady. Land Rover has launched a new insurance product but not all clients can buy a policy. It seems if the criteria doesn't quite match what Wrisk wants then off you trot. From the cases we’ve seen so far factors affecting acceptance by Wrisk are location, value of car, experience and type of car. SVRs, Defenders among some that have been unable to buy insurance, yet.

What do they mean yet?

Well here’s my guess.

Softly and slowly is the approach here. A new underwriter wants to manage the uptake in their policies, they know full well the market is in a desperate need for someone to insure Land Rovers so if they open up the floodgates it may all end in tears, sooner than expected. So pick the vanilla risks, take on 50% of what they could, be sensible about the underwriting and the scheme may run better than planned.

Only Wrisk will know.

Watch this space.

Meanwhile if you would like a quote for your performance or luxury car please complete our online form here

no one's out here doing it like me bruv says London's richest car thief

samuel.cise@saxoninsurancebrokers.com (Samuel Cise) — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 13:39:58 GMT

No one's out here doing it like me bruv says London's richest car thief

There have been two common constants in my life over the past twenty-four months. England being reduced to 21-3 in any cricket fixture we are playing and someone on a local Facebook group asking to make their Range Rover “Too hot to handle” as it got pinched off their drive the night before.

But there is a new headache developing and deja-vu is sweeping over. We have unfortunately seen a spike in Ferraris of all models being stolen. As is the trend, this is starting in London and making its way out to other parts of the UK and most commonly the black country in the last couple of months. There were Nineteen confirmed thefts between January – April this year and one YouTube account suggesting Forty were stolen in one week in June, Forty!!

As always there are numerous rumours and suggestions as to why the little so and so’s have moved on from Range Rovers to Ferraris. Why would you move from the subtle black Range Rover to a bright yellow 812 bombing it down Shaftesbury Avenue?

Well, there will be a bigger picture here and from the looks of it, a much bigger OCG (Organised Crime Group for the non Line of Duty detectives out there). The Ferrari data leak back in March can not of possibly helped anything – Benedetto Vigna if you’re reading this Sir, HMU for some Cyber Insurance. The biggest rumour on the mill is that these thefts are stemming from Russia. Given the heavy sanctions that is being imposed and the shortage of new cars making their way over, it is suggested the banished oligarchs are getting their cars through a “Pinch to order” service and making their way to Moscow. Or this could all be simply that one so and so saw the other so and so’s TikTok of the guy driving around London commentating that “no one is out here doing it like me bruv” and wants a piece of that action. There are much better hobbies to get into, lads.

So, what can we do to minimise this and stop the Range Rover Raptor 2.0:

Trackers – S5 trackers will usually be a basic requirement for any vehicle with a value over £75,000 but we recommend upgrading. Metatrak are a market leader at the moment for the same cost as most other branded trackers.
Stopping the chance of a “Relay Attack” – this is the keyless theft we all know about. One person is stood by your house searching for the key signal, one is stood by your car receiving the signal then bam – the car is unlocked and engine has started. Leave car keys as far away from external walls of the house and buy a Faraday-style wallet to store the keys. This helps block any external signals.
Steering wheel lock – prevention is the best cure! Buy the biggest, brightest, ugliest one you can find.
Garaging – Like the trackers, most insurers will require Ferrari’s to be garaged, depending on the location. Upgrade security to ensure it’s as safe as it can. If you live in London and like most Ferrari owners, do minimal mileage, think about secure car storage locations.

If you or your client has a Ferrari that’s being purchased, due to be renewed or just want to be a client of the leading High Net Worth broker in the UK, drop me a message and I will call you back!

Watch bruv in action here

Daniel Floyd

Client Manager

Saxon Insurance Brokers

0203 384 0303

Fine art insurance for superyachts, what to know.

samuel.cise@saxoninsurancebrokers.com (Samuel Cise) — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 14:27:19 GMT

Insurance for fine art onboard superyachts. What you need to know.

Any marine broker can place your Hull & Machinery, Protection & Indemnity and Crew Welfare cover but what happens about the valuable contents on board a Superyacht?

Hull insurers happily allow a small element of contents cover on their Hull policy however it is far from designed to be insuring fine art and rightly so. Fine Art is a specialist field that should only ever be underwritten by dedicated fine art underwriters.

Not only should the underwriter be the right one for the job but the cover provided is correct for the item insured. So what do you get with a fine art policy and how should superyachts deal with fine art on board.

When spending EUR 200 million on a Superyacht its going to have unmatched quality throughout, we generally only see the big white hull of a yacht from the outside but where most of that money is spent is inside. Yes clients hang pieces of art on the wall of the yacht however what about all the abstract sculptures and wall art that is bespoke made for the yacht, this carries huge value in itself and is considered art as well.

Fortunately physical security on board and by crew members is second to none, fire detection and suppression systems have to comply with industry standards and private clients want the very best security onboard for safety not just security. Its common to have in excess of 100 cameras on board a superyacht matched by high end fire and other intruder security therefore security doesn’t tend to be an issue for art insurers. So what is the risk?

Combine fuel, electrics and water and you could get a disaster!

How many yacht fires have you heard of in the last 2 years?

Yacht fires have dominated the superyacht industry headlines and we know there is generally one culprit….lithium ion batteries. I wrote a full blog on that alone here however fire is without doubt the largest risk to an art insuring when insuring fine art on board super yachts.

£100’s of millions of art can be kept on yachts have a read of this article to learn more, meaning the upmost care must be taken to ensure lithium ion battery fires do not break out and if they do what is the disaster plan to remove firstly the people but then the value art.

In short, Hull and Art insurers hate lithium batteries. They’re known to cause many fires and sometimes not because of anyones fault. A hot, either on charge or not, lithium ion battery can trigger a thermal runway which is extremely difficult to put out and with many flammable materials on board a yacht the fire can spread in seconds leaving no option but to abandon the yacht to save yours and other lives.

What am I saying here?

Theft, should be ok. Many items will be secured anyway.

Vandalism, might occur on a charter if the clients are fools. Same with malicious damage and theft.

Water damage, potentially if the fire suppression system is triggered but that’s better than fire damage.

FIRE! Fire is the largest risk to art insurers on board super yachts.

If you require insurance for fine art on superyachts, contact us not only is our business experienced in insuring all high value assets but I personally and a qualified yacht captain so I know a thing or two about yachts too. Not many brokers have that under their belt!

Samuel Cise

Managing Director

Saxon Insurance Brokers

0203 384 0303

Sky high to rock bottom in months…what's going on in the watch market? Watch insurance explained.

samuel.cise@saxoninsurancebrokers.com (Samuel Cise) — Tue, 04 Jul 2023 11:56:05 GMT

Sky high to rock bottom in months…what's going on in the watch market?

Watch insurance explained.

The word COVID will live with us forever and as much as I detest using the word or even referring to that period it had a huge effect on our lives.

Noticeably the period when everyone was at home bored with cash burning a hole in their pockets people went a little bit mad spending on stuff they actually wanted.

I heard you say:

‘Life’s too short’

‘If not now, then when?’

‘Sod it. Why not?’

Emotions took over, cash came out to play and sellers of luxury goods from yachts to Hermes handbags and Patek Philippe watches kept their doors propped open all hours of the day welcoming in this unexpected business. Order booked at shipyards filled up in what felt like seconds, Rolex authorised dealers told us all the waitlist for a steel Daytona is now 7 years not 2, and 5980R’s went from just over list all the way up to £300,000 but then….

Well, what actually happened?

We went from this huge wave of activity, even salaries at record high on to redundancies, people spending on luxury goods to closing their personal cheque books staring at that big ugly word I N F L A T I O N.

BoE jumped on the wagon, decided that even though they’d already increased base rate with zero effect they will simply continue doing more of that just in case it helps bring inflation back down. Has anyone seen that happen yet?

Anyway, I’m waffling but this is all a very important lead up to how you should manage your collection of luxury goods….watches, art, jewellery, handbags, sneakers…the lot.

My first bit of advice is, be sensible and keep an eye on things. Markets fluctuate therefore what you own is likely to be, now underinsured, prior to covid over insured.

Secondly, do you know the difference between market value and purchase price? You need to. Let me explain.

I have lost count of the number of calls our team have had with clients new and existing explaining how to manage the values of their collection. Eg. I paid X and now it's worth Y, what do I do?

If you’re lucky enough to know an AD that takes a brown paper envelope to get you that 5980R or Daytona then listen in. You’re one lucky person. You paid the list price for your watch or even a Hermes Birkin and now it's worth more. You love it so you haven’t cashed out meaning you need to insure it accurately.

I know you have already jumped on Chrono24 to see what your watches are selling for, well that is what you need to insure it for. Less a little bit to make an allowance for the inflated USA market.

Why?

Yes you’ll pay more for insurance but you will get market value back for your lost item not purchase price . And no, there's nothing wrong with this. Insurers encourage you to insure accurately and to do so you must engage with a valuer that your insurer accepts, pass this valuation on to your broker and ask them to update your policy then sit back and breathe a sigh of relief you’re properly insured. That AD you’re in bed with will knock up a valuation for you free of charge.

What if you don't?

Two things:

You'll only get the purchase price which is unlikely to be enough to replace the watch if the market value is higher
Your insurer may penalise you applying the Average Clause which means your claim settlement will be reduced by the percentage you have intentionally under insured for so you'll get even less than the purchase price.

Have I convinced you yet?

One prediction for you now….

When you do pass the valuation to your broker your insurer, most likely a home insurer, won't like the new values and are likely to ask you to take your business elsewhere. A true HNW insurer won't but are you insured with a true HNW insurer?

When this happens, give us a call, we’ll help you insure your collections accurately.

The future you will thank you for taking me up on my advice!

Happy ownership of all those lovely items you’ve spent your hard earned cash on.

Samuel Cise

Managing Director

Saxon Insurance Brokers

0203 384 0303

Why are Land Rovers stolen? Here's how to prevent a theft

samuel.cise@saxoninsurancebrokers.com (Samuel Cise) — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 11:26:57 GMT

Why are Land Rovers stolen? Here's how to prevent a theft.

Land Rovers are an iconic British brand, known for their rugged durability and off-road capabilities. Unfortunately, they are also one of the most commonly stolen vehicles in the UK. In this article, we will explore the reasons why Land Rovers are often targeted by thieves and what can be done to prevent their theft.

- High value One of the main reasons why Land Rovers are often stolen is their high value. They are expensive to buy and parts can be expensive to replace. This makes them an attractive target for thieves who can make a lot of money by selling them on or stripping them for parts.

- Lack of security features Another reason why Land Rovers are often stolen is the lack of security features on older models. Many Land Rovers are older vehicles and do not have the same level of security features as newer models. This makes them easier to steal and more attractive to thieves.

- Easy to break into Land Rovers are also known for being relatively easy to break into. The design of the doors and windows on older models makes them vulnerable to attack from thieves. Even newer models can be vulnerable if the thief has the right tools and knowledge.

- High demand for parts The high demand for Land Rover parts is another reason why they are often stolen. Land Rovers are popular vehicles and there is always a market for genuine parts. Thieves can make a lot of money by stealing Land Rovers and stripping them for parts.

- Professional theft rings Finally, Land Rovers are often targeted by professional theft rings who steal them to order. These thieves have the knowledge and resources to bypass security systems and can quickly and efficiently steal Land Rovers without being detected.

What can be done to prevent Land Rover theft?

There are several steps you can take to prevent Land Rover theft:

- Use an immobiliser or alarm system: These can make it much more difficult for thieves to steal your Land Rover. Modern immobilisers use electronic codes to prevent the engine from starting unless the correct key is used. An alarm system can also be useful in alerting you and others if someone is attempting to break into your vehicle.

- Keep your vehicle locked: Always make sure your Land Rover is locked, even when parked in your own driveway or garage.

- Park in well-lit and secure areas: If possible, park your vehicle in a well-lit and secure area. Thieves are less likely to attempt to steal a vehicle if it is in a visible and secure location.

- Install a GPS tracking device: A GPS tracking device can help you locate your Land Rover if it is stolen. Some systems even allow you to remotely disable the engine, making it impossible for thieves to start the vehicle.

- Use a steering wheel lock: A visible and sturdy steering wheel lock can also deter thieves from attempting to steal your Land Rover.

- Keep your keys secure: Never leave your keys in your vehicle, and keep them in a secure location at home.

- Consider adding additional security features: Depending on your location and the value of your Land Rover, you may want to consider adding additional security features such as a hood lock, fuel cap lock, or wheel lock.

By following these steps, you can significantly reduce the risk of Land Rover theft and help keep your vehicle safe and secure.

This article was written by ChatGPT. Could you tell?

Samuel Cise

Managing Director

Saxon Insurance Brokers

0203 384 0303

Read my comments in the Autocar article about the cost of Land Rover Insurance and Range Rover thefts here

Renovation Checklist for Homeowners

samuel.cise@saxoninsurancebrokers.com (Samuel Cise) — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 14:54:29 GMT

Starting a building project? Complete this checklist first!

A lot comes with doing building work. There are also an unusual number of insurance policies covering (or should be) all the various parties involved. Do not start without answering these questions and having everything in place.

Have you notified your home insurance you are having building work?

Most standard home insurers do not cover properties under renovation for projects over £25,000- £50,000, if at all

Have you started talking to a specialist Contractors All Risk (CAR) insurance broker who will help arrange an insurance policy for your existing building and the contract value?

If you have a mortgage have you notified your bank and are not breaching the agreement by having restricted cover if you haven't taken out a CAR policy yet?

Banks require their borrowers to maintain full comprehensive buildings insurance

Does your Architect have adequate Professional Indemnity Insurance to cover you in case they have made a mistake that comes to light now or much later down the line?

Has your Architect obtained Outline Planning Consent?

Has your Architect provided Detailed plans and obtained consent?

Have you obtained multiple quotes from Building Contractors?

Has the Quantity Surveyor got adequate Professional Indemnity in case they have made a mistake that comes to light now or much later down the line?

Have you or your Architect instructed a Building Contractor?

Does the Building Contractor have adequate Public Liability Insurance to cover your project value and existing buildings in the event of a total loss?

Does your Building Contractor's insurance cover them to work at depths you require?

Does your Building Contractor's insurance cover hot works?

Does your Building Contractor's insurance cover them for Hired Plant and Machinery?

Does your Building Contractor's insurance cover them for all sub contractors?

Is the Building Contractor complying with the terms and conditions of their insurance policy?

Have you signed a JCT or similar contract?

Pay close attention to the Insurance clauses and who is asking you to agree what

Has your Building Contractor asked for your Contractors All Risk policy to be in joint names?

Consider this carefully as this means the policy you take insures the Building Contractor on it instead of their own policy.

Does your Structural Engineer have adequate Professional Indemnity Insurance?

Do the Sub Contractors have adequate Public Liability Insurance?

Naturally we are more than happy to help quote for your CAR insurance as a homeowner so please either call us or complete our online quote form here .

Range Rover are 'near impossible' to insure says Director

samuel.cise@saxoninsurancebrokers.com (Samuel Cise) — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 17:05:41 GMT

Who is really at fault here? Manufacturers, Insurers or Owners?

My recent LinkedIn post goes like this:

"£20,000 to insure a new Range Rover kept in London.

Clients refusing to take delivery of their car

Land Rover don't insure their own cars anymore

Brokers still trying to get the HNW motor underwriters to insure them on a stand alone basis

Other brokers calling us to insure their clients new Range Rovers

Meanwhile Land Rover are doing what to help their clients?"

It caused a stir. Who is most responsible for this issue?

Land Rover for not installing enough security to their vehicles eg a build in Ghost Immobiliser or a swanky steering wheel lock?

Insurers for charging proportionately to the risk? Eg 1 in 6 Land Rovers are stolen so of course rates are high to insure them!

Owners for not protecting their car enough with steering wheel locks or even garage it if you can instead of leaving it on the drive.

But then what if you live in London? Well the short answer is pay the premium or don't buy a Range Rover. No matter which direction you look they are near impossible to insure and don't go looking at Admiral on this occasion because the value of these new Range Rovers whether you're paying list price or a premium on the used car market either way they cant help you insure it.

Have a nose at some of the comments taken from my LinkedIn post about Range Rover thefts and the difficulties owners face when coming to insure a new Range Rover.

This isn't going away, motor insurance rates went up 8% in 2022 according to the ABI and that will continue further with inflation and shortage of parts supply.

Naturally we are happy to help insure any cars but fair warning if you don't own a fleet of luxury cars (to even out the risk for the insurer) there's no way a HNW insurer will insure your new Range Rover and nor will Admiral.

Give me a call anytime to talk about what the only solution in the whole market is!

Samuel Cise

Managing Director

Saxon Insurance Brokers

0203 384 0303

Read my comments in the Autocar article about the cost of Land Rover Insurance and Range Rover thefts here

Two major reasons to not use online car insurers

samuel.cise@saxoninsurancebrokers.com (Samuel Cise) — Sat, 04 Feb 2023 11:56:15 GMT

Online insurers - buy cheap, buy _____

Online insurers seem to be the first port of call for anyone who hasn't quite experienced the service and product you get from a Private Client Insurance Broker.

There are important reasons why you cannot buy some insurance policies online.

Firstly, price. Yep cheap and cheerful is a thing in Insurance - buy cheap, buy twice - what this actually means is your claim isn't paid so you may buy twice but it is too late by then, your claim isn't covered or you don't get paid anywhere close to what you expected.

Secondly, exclusivity. When you get to a certain level a broker is always required to advise you on what best suits you. Impartial advice is needed especially with our exclusive policies only available via a broker which are more comprehensive and include many perks that suit a HNW individuals lifestyle. This makes for stress free driving, what everyone wants when they own a luxury or sports car.

But this article isn't to educate you on the differences between online insurers and the policies only available via brokers its to highlight the comments and review online insurers receive which if you're considering buying insurance online you should use to aide your decision making.

However let's just list out some of the major benefits to a Private Client broker-only policy that you do not get with online insurers:

Agreed Value

Choice of repairer

Multi car discount

New car replacement up to 3 years

Driving other cars comprehensively

Like for like courtesy car

I'm going to dive deeper on two benefits and give some examples of what an online insurer would do.

Agreed Value - your car is worth £100,000, either you paid that amount or its the current value either way with an Agreed Value policy if an incident happens say theft or write off you get £100,000 (less an excess) on day 1 or day 364.

Market Value - Online insurers do not do Agreed Value they have Market Value cover. Same incident happens now you enter negotiations, do you think they'll give you £100,000 no quibbles? Do you think it's now you vs them to determine the value? Do you think their value will differ to yours? When the negotiations end you'll get what you're given and have no say in it regardless of the condition or low mileage. Most likely sub £90,000. That £300 you saved on a Market Value policy vs an Agreed Value policy via Private Client broker no longer seems significant!

Choice of repairer - our policies give you the complete choice and flexibility on where you take your car in the event of it being damaged. Own a Ferrari and want Ferrari's own bodyshop to do the work? No problem, agreed. Got a long term friend who's always worked on your cars and owns his own bodyshop? No problem, agreed. Easy right.

Approved Repairer - with online car insurance policies you do not have this choice, your car goes to wherever you're told. No courtesy car, not their problem. Long wait times for parts, not their problem. Poor workmanship, your problem! Let's use the same example car, a Ferrari (yes some people insure their pride and joys with online insurers without Agreed Value) will go to whatever bodyshop is within the network for the insurer, in other words ones they've done deals with for cheap labour. Cheap labour means top quality results? We all know that isn't true. Are you happy your car going to a repairer you cannot chose?

I haven't even mentioned Call Waiting Times - I will save this for another time but please do one thing, call us and then call an online insurer at 10am and 10pm, see who answers faster!

For good measure, below are some comments and reviews from some randomly chosen online insurers.

Samuel Cise

Managing Director

Saxon Insurance Brokers

0203 384 0303

Where the love of Banksy's came from

Thu, 26 Jan 2023 10:49:08 GMT

The year is 2011. Game Of Thrones has premiered, Osama Bin Laden has been killed by American forces and Charlie Sheen has been fired from Two and a Half Men. I’ve just started university in Bristol and have gone to sample a few of the pubs in the Stokes Croft area. I sit in the front beer garden of the Canteen pub waiting for one of my new house mates to arrive and look up, “the Mild Mild West”. “Excuse me” I ask one of the workers, “what is that?”, in the strongest possible Bristolian accent, he responded “well that’s Banksy mate.”

Fast forward to 2022. I’ve worked in the Insurance industry for around 7 years working in various different roles and positions starting as a call centre renewals advisor to being assistant branch manager for a high street broker.

The job role as a Client Manager came available with Samuel at Saxon Insurance Brokers, it was a far too good of an opportunity to not go for, I applied and landed the job!

Insuring Private Clients with high value assets is what I’ve always wanted to be a master at. I’ve learnt my trade through the years and spoken and helped just about every class of individual, business and asset you can think of. The one commodity I am most looking forward to insure, however, are original Banksy pieces. Ever since I first looked up at that mural just off Jamaica Street I have been obsessed with anything and everything Banksy related.

Until now I’d not had the opportunity of being able to talk and insure any Banksy’s because we simply didn’t insure fine art at my previous broker. Within my first week in our brand new office in Reading I’ve been working with a long term Saxon client who’s renewed their policy with three original Banksy pieces totalling around £2,800,000. Lucky guy!

Saxon Insurance Brokers. The cores and principles that Samuel has created and installed is what I strive to achieve. Trust, class and service is everything Saxon is. This is just the start of my journey with Saxon and I’m incredibly excited to grow with the business and do what I do best.

If you would like to discuss insuring your valuable assets from supercars to Banksy’s and everything in between then please reach out to me.

Daniel Floyd

Client Manager

Saxon Insurance Brokers

0203 384 0303

An invitation to all Ferrari 250 GTO Owners

samuel.cise@saxoninsurancebrokers.com (Samuel Cise) — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 12:20:23 GMT

An invitation to all Ferrari 250 gto owners

We have all heard of the infamous Ferrari 250 GTO that was produced to race in the 60’s however few can say they have the pleasure of insuring these incredible, curvaceous cars that any human would drool over.

This is an open invite to all Ferrari 250 GTO owners across the globe to become an important Saxon Insurance Brokers client, joining the other Ferrari 250 GTO owners we have the pleasure looking after, and not just the GTO but the whole collection.

I won’t go in to the boring details of our market leading insurance policies that these icons certainly warrant having, instead I will tell you about the why the people at Saxon are the right team of choice for all Ferrari 250 GTO owners.

Samuel Cise, that’s me, the Director of Saxon Insurance Brokers has not only owned hundreds of cars, keeping some for the legacy of the family but also flipping a few to keep the excitement of owning a new car that joins the family but happily gets replaced by something quirkier, newer or older, or more fun or a brighter colour…you know the feeling! But this isn’t a new thing, this started as a child!

Rewind 30 years, my father would have a constant stream of old cars in and out of the garage, and usually on the driveway as there was never just one car around, there were many. From the bright yellow MG’s, Austin Healey 3000’s imported from USA to leafy Surrey, plus many more that only he could list! For me the memories are jumping in the passenger seat of the soft top cars, that old crinkled black leather that has the unique ‘old car’ smell, the turning over of the engine with the hope it starts! POOOOOF, smoke fires out the back, clattering from under the hood (bonnet) as the engine fires up and after that mysterious look from Mum at the front door waving the smoke away, off we went in to the countryside blasting round the roads with me peering over the dashboard and that ashtray they had built in to them.

Fast forward to when I was old enough to drive, I already had a years’ experience on the roads on my Aprilia RX 50 motorbike with learner plates, now it was my turn to fill the driveway with cars. Sadly though it wasn’t quite as glamorous as what my Dad had. A 1996 Ford Fiesta didn’t quite have the same appeal as the old classics my Dad owned however over time I got to tinker with my fair share of cars, Ford Escort RS Turbo, BMW 750iL that I sold to be in a Nike advert that they destroyed with a giant Nike football, umpteen motorbikes including a gorgeous Honda RVF 400, Nissan GTR plus many more, and then along came a lovely 1983 Mercedes 380 SL which has stayed put. All the others have been and gone and were thoroughly enjoyed along the way.

Anyway, what does all this have to do with Ferrari 250 GTO owners? Well a lot. Because I am sure most experienced a similar upbringing, surrounded by cars, endless car events, travelling around the world to inspect cars, even spending hours in the garage staring at the engine wishing we knew what we were looking at. All in all generally enjoying the experience of buying and owning amazing motorcars that have become pieces of fine art on wheels.

This is the exact reason Saxon are the perfectly suited insurance broker to handle Ferrari 250 GTO insurance along with the other cars in the owners collection. Worldwide policies with no restrictions is what we do as standard, so this is my petrolhead to petrolhead invitation to all Ferrari 250 GTO owners to join our other owners, who you will no doubt know, and become a special and cherished Saxon client.

Passion drives our business, we don’t chase the money, we chase the relationship with clients, the long term one, the same one we have with our cars.

If you own one of the Ferrari 250 GTO’s listed below please get it touch. I have noted every Ferrari 250 GTO chassis number because otherwise you will guess the ones we already insure!!

Until next we speak on the phone it is over and out from me, and when you call, let’s talk cars before we talk insurance.

Samuel Cise
Director of Petrolheads and Director of Saxon Insurance Brokers

Ferrari 250 GTO 3223GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 3387GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 3413GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 3445GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 3451GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 3505GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 3527GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 3589GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 3607GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 3647GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 3705GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 3729GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 3757GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 3767GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 3769GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 3809GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 3851GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 3869GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 3909GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 3943GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 3987GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 4091GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 4115GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 4153GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 4219GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 4293GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 4399GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 4491GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 4675GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 4713GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 4757GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 5095GT

Ferrari 250 GTO 5111GT

Photos courtesy of Barchetta.cc

If it Floats, Flies or catches FIRE then proceed with caution.

samuel.cise@saxoninsurancebrokers.com (Samuel Cise) — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 11:57:03 GMT

If it Floats, Flies or catches FIRE…then proceed with caution

‘FIRE FIRE FIRE’ shout the yacht crew

A distress call that I am sure some of my readers have heard before.

This is a serious matter, lives are at risk, we all need to be aware of this and act accordingly. Every person in the chain involved in a yacht purchase has a responsibility to protect the crew working in and around yachts and generally not because of the actual yacht itself but the toys on board. This is my contribution which I am certain you will find helpful, information on lithium batteries and how to prevent a lithium ion battery fire.

2021 and 2022 saw an abnormal number of yacht fires, why? Were yachts and their accessories lacking the normal level of maintenance due to the pandemic? What was the cause of all the fires? The answer is not one thing however a larger portion of them can be attributed to one thing - lithium batteries.

I have experienced the low quality manufacturing first hand but luckily no fires! Early in the electric scooter craze, around 2018/19, I bought an Egret Ten, a top rated lithium battery powered scooter. An incredible machine for blasting round marinas on albeit a little unstable when trying to do a selfie video showing off my new toy! All was fine until you charged the internal battery. ‘Snap, crackle, pop’ add a bit of sizzling too goes the scooter….hey! What on earth is going on?? Unplugging the charger quicker than you can woof down a bowl of coco pops! Is this a defect? Let’s dig deeper…

Something about these items just doesn’t feel safe, why would a scooter sizzle?? Was it on charge for longer than it should have been? Was it getting hot from the continuous power transfer and therefore overheating? Could it really have caught fire? Was the environment just too hot for the enclosed non ventilated battery in the deck of the board?

The answer is yes to all of the above. You can overcharge a lithium ion battery to a point where a thermal runaway occurs, the temperature of the battery is higher than heat dissipated around it - causing fire. However it isn't just charging a lithium ion battery that can cause it to catch fire, it's the temperature the battery gets to regardless of if it's on charge meaning they can self combust in hot climates or hot rooms. Yachts have plenty of that don’t they!

Now let’s add these toys to a yacht, mount a bracket in the lazarette or garage and add 30/40 degree of Mediterranean summer heat to the mix. A hot environment, in an enclosed space, with no supervision and an alarm to notify the crew when it's too late. The already hot battery, on charge or not, has exploded and caught fire all within close proximity to the fuel tanks. Can you see how dangerous this combination can be?

You can see how critical it is to follow the manufacturers guidelines when charging a lithium ion battery and do not charge it longer than required. However take into account the guidelines are unlikely to give you any advice for charging when on board a yacht - they wouldn't because that's a whole new ball game and massive exposure perhaps the manufacturers do not want to advise you on.

They will not say ‘do not charge the item in an enclosed lazarette’ nor for you to ‘monitor the charging’ or at least be in close by, so yacht owners and crew just add some common sense to the mix and all will be well.

I would add to this, lithium ion batteries cannot be ‘trickle charged’ like normal batteries so remember to also not leave your laptop or vape device (eww) on charge when it doesn’t need to be, we’ve all felt them get a bit hot and now we know why. Unless it has circuitry to protect the battery from overcharging which they usually do however many yacht toys do not!

Fact: Lithium is highly reactive, it belongs to the Alkaline metal group so there’s no surprise it can self combust on charge and cause catastrophic damage to a yacht filled with fuel!

Reality is when a fire breaks loose the combination of fuel, electrics, GRP (on smaller yachts) is a recipe for a catastrophic total loss, one Captain quoted the yacht was destroyed in 3 minutes. Even aluminium and steel hull yachts can be a total loss from a fire.

Yes, yachts have fire suppression systems but a fire can disable these systems in seconds so again human involvement and supervision is far better than any alarm system that tells you too late!

Here are some examples of everyday items with lithium batteries:

eCigarettes/vapes

Phones

Powerbank

Laptop

E-scooter

E-bike

Electric Vehicles

Yacht toys with lithium batteries:

Seabob

Fliteboard eFoil

Hydrofoil

Hydrofoil eBike

uBoat Worx Submarine

GoCycle

Ok now some prevention advice:

Strategically place ample Lithium Ion Fire Extinguishers around the yacht (no all lithium battery fires are from yacht toys)

Supervise all charging cycles

Charge in an open, cool, space where you can easily dispose of the battery or extinguish a fire without the whole yacht going up!

Do not charge for longer than required

Do not charge or leave the item or battery in direct sun

Only buy items with removable lithium ion batteries

Install a lithium battery storage box to put all batteries in when not in use

Finally, have you ever seen a lithium battery fire? They’re near impossible to put out and last for a long time. Check out some fires here

Photo credit: Boat International

Land Rover thefts, prevention is better than cure. Or just don't buy one?

samuel.cise@saxoninsurancebrokers.com (Samuel Cise) — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 13:31:26 GMT

Watch our TikTok video on how to prevent a theft of your Land Rover or any car! ⬇️

This is a serious article about Land Rover thefts even though the tone may not seem it at times but I do hope this resonates with you.

If I told you our clients have chased thieves down the road after stealing their Range Rover Sport would you believe me? If I also told you thieves stole our clients' Range Rover from outside their home in London in 40 seconds would you believe me?

Of course you would because Land Rover thefts happen all day every day yet they seem to be one of the most desirable cars to own. Will this article change your mind? Or perhaps we can offer you some sound advice that will make your Land Rover ownership pain free (apart from their reliability issues!)

Let's rewind. Where and why did this spout of thefts start?

Cars have been ‘boosted’ for decades, the lack of sophisticated security makes it easy for a thief to get what they want. Shove a screwdriver in a door lock, rip out the steering column wiring, some school grade electrics knowledge and you're away so yep I get it, it was easy back then. Crooks steal a car, strip it or sell it to another crook.

Before we move onto the sophisticated security (hmm) cars benefit from nowadays, we have to mention why Land Rovers specifically get targeted and make up 44% of all cars recovered by Tracker in 2021. It started with the old Defender we all love. As much as we love them, so do thieves, they can be stripped in a matter of minutes (even mine was stolen from my driveway and later recovered as a shell), with the parts being sold for huge profits. Easy money for a car thief!

Now onto the current security cars have.

As standard a normal car will have an alarm and an immobiliser, some prestige cars come with Trackers (Land Rover’s funnily enough) otherwise you've got to ask the manufacturer to install a tracking device for you from someone like Vodafone or Scorpion. Ok, so thats all good you’ve got a tracker now you can buy a Land Rover and it wont get stolen…..think again!

Thieves are masters at their game, they've stolen so many Land Rovers with trackers that even Land Rover’s own insurance won't insure a Land Rover anymore….yep you read that right you cannot buy insurance from Land Rovers own insurance which also means you won't get ‘drive away’ cover, those convenient 7 days of cover you get from the day of purchase. Maybe it's because after those 7 days clients couldn't insure them? Or is it purely because they're all stolen? Your guess is as good as mine.

In case you’re wondering, the Range Rover Sport and Range Rover Vogue are the most stolen cars in the UK. You’d never have guessed it, right!

Ok ok, I'll stop with the sarcasm and now be your serious advisor on what to do to help make your Land Rover ownership pain free. And I promise it really can be! Lean in, Mr and Mrs Chelsea (tractor)....sorry sarcasm stops now, promise!

Right. Let’s talk about top tier security for your Land Rover, in fact this goes for any car that you’d rather not get stolen and have a huge claim on your records…after all that is the goal right?

Trackers - let's be real here, whether installed by the manufacturer (worse because they are always installed in the same location) or by a third party vehicle security firm, don’t work without power from the car battery. If a thief can get into your car and disable the battery then the tracker is useless. They’ll either do this and lift it or just drive it off. Now when they drive it off two things will happen. They will drive it somewhere, not far away, park it up and leave it for 24 hours. If its got a tracker, the police can (should) find it because you’ve reported the theft (you can't locate it yourself because any app will not tell you the location your car is, only the cops know so let’s hope they do their job right and go to find your car) or they will drive it away as fast as they can breaking all speed limits and going through as many speed cameras as they like until its in a secure unit to rip the tracker out. Ok so now you can see how trackers can and sometimes don't work. My advice is don't rely on trackers.

Ghost Immobilisers - what's that? A ghost immobiliser is a bit of technology installed to your car that disables the engine until you press a preset sequence of buttons e.g. indicate left, press heated seat and one other, then press start. Don't expect to use your remote start to defrost your car from in your home if you have one because a ghost immobiliser disables this feature that having owned a few is a mighty convenient features however this will most certainly prevent a theft of your car so its a warm bum in the winter mornings or a very hot car flying down to Southampton at 100mph without you in it, you decide!

The Holy Grail - a Steering Wheel Lock. Yep that ugly yellow thing that may dent your padded leather steering wheel (use a cloth to protect it) but yes this is hands down the best theft prevention tool you will ever invest in. I know we’ve all heard stories of thieves smashing them open with hammers but that takes a lot of effort and makes a lot of noise, instead they’ll just walk 5 metres and nick your neighbours Range Rover without one. Next time you see a Land Rover without a steering wheel lock you will feel smug knowing a prowling thief is likely to nick theirs not yours!

A key box - heard of a faraday box? A little key box that stops your key emitting its signals that thieves use to clone to get access to your car and steal it in 40 seconds. Get one today on Amazon, keep it as far away from your car as you can. Easy peasy.

A garage - out of sight out of mind. If you have one, use it!

Do all of the above and that my friends is all it takes to enjoy pain free Land Rover ownership.

Hold up. I can hear you now ‘Sam, before you go, give us some insider knowledge of the costs to insure my new shape Range Rover please please!!’

Well let’s say this, £120,000 Range Rover Sport with Admiral will cost you £45,000 but may exclude theft cover…

With us it’ll cost £25,000 but granted that's with a previous theft claim. Without a theft claim it'll be around £10,000 or with Admiral without a theft claim probably about £1,000 lol, anyway that's a story for another day…

The moral of the story is. Buy a Porsche Cayenne. Faster and better in every way. You wont regret it, you may just have to wait a while for one because demand is high (from all those Range Rover owners who can't insure their cars, du dum!)

See you in the next article where we talk about watch thefts, yacht fires, footballers being robbed and much more. Oh the exciting life of an insurance broker (that comment isn't sarcasm btw I love what I do)

Ps. this article isn't a Land Rover lead generation attempt.

If you'd like a quote for your cars then just click here

How Rising Motor Costs Will Affect You & Your Premiums

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 13:43:00 GMT

The recent years have arguably been the toughest in the High Net Worth motor insurance industry. The global pandemic, war in Ukraine and rising inflation has put huge strains and pressures on manufacturing and insurers alike. As a result, delays in producing new vehicles are at an all time high and the cost of EV, HEV & ICE vehicles have skyrocketed and caused a chain reaction down the 2nd hand market. Car Dealer Magazine has suggested in 2021 the average 2nd hand car price rose by 30% compared to before the pandemic! This has also had a knock on effect in the other sectors of the insurance industry. Courtesy cars are extremely limited, replacement parts from the EU are taking far longer than usual and since an influx of EV and HEV vehicles on our roads, the availability for garages who can deal with these vehicles is limited.

So, what does this mean for the insurance industry and most importantly, our valued clients. Well unfortunately with any increase in an insured peril, premiums generally start to creep up. The good news off the back of this is that motor insurance premiums in 2020 & 2021 were the lowest in many years as a result of lack of driving during the pandemic, so any increases are bringing premiums inline with 2018/2019. For the first time in my 8 years of insurance broking I’m having to increase clients market values rather than decreasing!

Of course there is good news and there is light at the end of this tunnel. At Saxon Insurance Brokers we have spent many years building relationships with our trusted underwriters to ensure every product we offer is fit for the purpose, which helps our clients reach their insurance related goals.

What we have seen recently are a high number of what I call ‘First Time’ clients using a Private Client broker. This isn’t necessarily because of their wealth changing but more to do with the value of their cars, having gone up, falling in to a different sector of the market. No longer are Admiral or Direct Line able to insure a new Mercedes G63 AMG because the value when new is now more like £190,000 than £150,000, which was just about doable for internet insurers.

The great news is as a result of our relationships, premiums are incredibly competitive but most importantly, cover and products are the best in the market. Naturally our goal isn’t to insure a single car when they have multiple high value cars and likely a high value home so these are perfect opportunities for us to help the client with their asset portfolio wrapping it up with one insurer and one renewal date, if nothing else, that is a whole lot of admin saved.

If this sounds like you, contemplating whether to trade in your most recent lease vehicle or are generally concerned about the rising insurance costs and covers as a result of the cost of living, please give me a call and we can have a chat. I pride myself on helping clients achieve their insurance-based goals and ensure they are fully protected against the risks faced. Remember when you buy cheap, you buy twice!

Daniel Floyd

Client Manager
M: +44 (0) 203 384 0303
W: saxoninsurancebrokers.com

A Covid Boom

Tue, 03 May 2022 16:00:00 GMT

First we thought a recession or even a depression was ahead, a shrinking economy leading us to a deep hole that no one wanted to be part of. COVID-19 hit and was ready to change the world for the worse but it didn’t, in some ways…

People started to value life more, time instantly became the only commodity people valued. Nothing else mattersed Time now was also more available as businesses switched to remote working the commuters gained more time, more breathing space and less frantic hustle that consumed many workers’ lives. Also time alone, in a more isolated way not just in lockdowns but what came after that as people and families decided to allow space away from other people to be their preferences for now. It caused an unhealthy new normal, for a period of time.

But no one could have predicted what the luxury markets did over the last two years.

Rishi Sunak saved home buyers £15,000 of SDLT which rallied the property market like we have never seen. Bidding wars were the only way to ensure you owned the house you wanted. Even though this shouldn’t have affected the top end of the market, it did, it caused unseen actively because buyers and sellers knew the SDLT relief would end. The UK property market was wild.

Not only did the spike happen to the UK housing market, the overseas market went crazy too because the new remote workers could work from sunnier locations. House prices rocketed and are still up.

We saw families wanting to escape in a new way that maybe they hadn’t experienced before. Entry level yachts became hot topic, the order bank for £1m+ yachts with cabins to house the kids jumped like you wouldn’t believe which had a knock on effect to the whole market. Prices soared with a new list price boat being unobtainable without a long wait while used yachts carried heavy premiums but yacht owners didn’t care, now was the time they wanted to buy.

Watches and art, the fun smaller stuff became incredibly popular during the lockdowns because boredom brought the cash to the market. Collectors had time to research and scour the platforms selling high ticket items. Banksy’s for example tripled in value. Patek Philippe 5711 or 5980R became the must have timepiece. Literally everyone wanted one, a £60,000 watch trading for £300,000 and people paying it. A few relationships with ADs would’ve come to an end though!

Here we are in May 2022. Restrictions lifting, no more mask rules and the markets still higher than ever (not the stock market as Amazon lost $600b in valuation) but the luxury market still performs, it does seem to be settling but is this a bubble or are these inflated prices here to stay? My prediction is it’ll take 3 years for prices to get back to 2019 levels.

All this means one thing for you and your assets, get a valuation and update your insurance policy. That’s it.

As Travel Returns, Could Security Risks Increase?

Thu, 25 Feb 2021 16:03:00 GMT

With the recent plans for restrictions easing here in the UK, the hope has returned for many with regard to travel. We know that at Saxon, once it is safe to do so, we will be travelling to meet our international clients and get back to attending events and shows!

Naturally, with the increase in travel and specifically travel to more volatile areas, the risk posed to corporations or individuals is heightened. A comprehensive Kidnap and Ransom insurance policy that protects you in the event of, for example, a kidnap, threat or detention is highly advised for peace of mind when visiting high risk areas.

Despite the international restrictions, the presence of Kidnap and Ransom is unfortunately, still prevalent. As mentioned before, a shrinking economy creates a treacherous landscape as the pressure placed on society can result in groups or individuals turning to unlawful and violent means to generate income, such as kidnapping. Whether an express kidnap, often reported more frequently in Latin America or a common kidnap that could occur anywhere in the world, this broad type of illegal activity appeals to criminals due to the opportunity for ‘quick money’.

There is potential for increased security risks as more people turn to kidnapping because of perpetrator experience, which could put the life of the victim at more risk. Individuals or groups who have previously been involved in crimes such as robbery and are now turning towards kidnapping because of the economic draw could be prone to out of the ordinary actions when put in the stressful and unfamiliar environment of a negotiation scenario. Perpetrators who are new to this criminal activity could become frightened or confused and their judgement could be blurred in a high pressure scenario. This new wave of criminals could put victims at a greater risk than before therefore a Kidnap and Ransom insurance policy, which provides access to experienced crisis consultants who deploy to kidnap incidents, could prove highly effective.

Internationally, there are areas more commonly affiliated with kidnappings such as Latin America or places in Africa. In Latin America, the majority presume Mexico to be a high risk area for kidnappings and the rates are indeed high, in 2019 there were 219 investigated kidnapping events in Mexico alone on top of this, it is difficult to reach a complete number of kidnappings as many go un-reported. In the later months of 2020, it was reported that around 73,000 Mexicans are still missing. However, there are other areas in Latin America that are experiencing rising rates of kidnap such as Haiti. Around December, 2020 there were 14 reported kidnappings for ransom in the space of 7 days, solely in the Port-au-Prince area. In 2020 alone there were around 200 reported kidnappings which is worrying compared to the 78 events in 2019. Even at the time of this article, there is a negotiation underway to secure the safe release of members of a film crew who were kidnapped and allegedly, a USD 2,000,000 ransom has been demanded.

Aside from Latin America, Africa as a continent is also prone to recording higher levels of kidnap and contributed to 65% of the kidnapped foreign citizens during the middle months of 2020. A contributing factor to these high rates is the level of piracy activity in the Gulf of Guinea, larger groups at sea are becoming victims of kidnap and the attacks are seemingly occurring more frequently. Earlier this month, there were reports of a group of pirates who were responsible for four incidents that targeted different vessels (including a believed kidnapping and hijacking) in a very short space of time. The intensity of the piracy activity in this region demonstrates the risk that individuals who operate in these areas are faced with and increases the importance of Kidnap and Ransom insurance.

As travel begins to return for both business and pleasure, criminals and criminal organisations who have predominately targeted local nationals whilst international travel restrictions have been enforced could begin to target foreign citizens. This increases the risk when travelling around the world, not only in high risk areas, and it could be that criminal perpetrators will not distinguish against who they target.

Kidnap and Ransom insurance is important to provide not only the financial protection in the case of an unforeseen event but also to provide the access to crisis consultants, that you could require, who are in place to help resolve situations in the safest possible way. If you travel widely, either for work purposes or private interests then we would recommend that you have a Kidnap and Ransom policy in place to ensure that you are comprehensively covered if the unexpected was to occur. Please get in touch with me directly to discuss more about this specialist insurance.

Charlie Firth

Where To Take Your Private Jet?

Thu, 04 Feb 2021 16:02:00 GMT

Alongside arranging insurance for Superyachts, Property Portfolios, Fine Art and even Kidnap and Ransom, we also help clients with their Private Aircraft. This is a common mode of transport for our clients. With the longing for travel building, we thought we would give an insight into the best places to visit in your private jet.

Peloponnese, Southern Greece

The Peloponnese region is diverse, with expansive views from hills the down to the white beach coastlines. This scenery, coupled with the some of the best restaurants around makes it an attraction for visitors in search of a luxury retreat. There are two small airports in the region, Araxos and Kalamata, however if you arrive in a larger jet then you may be better suited to fly into Athens airport then take a helicopter ride to your destination. The Amanzoe hotel, as an example, offers an on-site helicopter port to ensure a discreet and smooth journey.

There is plenty to do here, whether you are wanting an undisturbed poolside break or moving between towns to explore the culture such as Olympia (where the Olympic Games originated).

Telluride, Colorado

Located in the Rocky Mountains, this secluded ski resort offers unprecedented access to some of the best skiing and is incredibly attractive for private jet owners. The closest major airport is Montrose Regional but this is about a 90 minute drive away. Fly your private jet to Telluride and you are only a 15 minute chauffeur driven ride from the resort. The ability to land so close to a ski resort is unusual because, due to the nature of skiing, resorts are often located in treacherous landscapes with steep mountains, low visibility and freezing temperatures.

Once you are in the resort there is an array of luxury hotels, chalets and restaurants to enjoy after a long day on the slopes. Once it is time to head home you won’t have to worry about making an extensive plan for the long drive ahead and maybe a connecting flight. You can just hop on the jet and get into bed at 42,000ft!

Faroe Islands, North Atlantic Ocean

Vágar Airport is the only airport located in the Faroe Islands and you can arrive privately. An attraction to these islands is the natural beauty and dramatic landscapes that are offered. Much of the islands are boarded by steep cliff faces where the exposed rock ventures downward beneath the water. A permeating colour is green, the vastly uninhabited landscape boasts endless views. There is diverse wildlife such as the widely loved Puffin! Another attraction is Sørvágsvatn, the largest lake in the Faroe Islands.

Once you arrive by private jet you can continue the feel of exclusivity and speed up your travel times by taking helicopter rides. Enjoy a break from eating at mainstream restaurants to experience the local cuisine.

Alongside the more common high value assets owned by HNW individuals, we have experience in arranging insurance for Private Aviation, from a Gulfstream G650 to a Bell 407. Our wide ranging ability to arrange insurance for all the assets typically owned by a Ultra High Net Worth individual means you can have all of your insurance in one place, through us.

Please contact us to discuss more about how we can help with specialist insurance.

Charlie Firth

Worldwide Kidnap Trends

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 18:41:00 GMT

Despite the presence of COVID-19 for the majority of 2020, a year which I am sure we will all remember, kidnappings were still in occurrence regardless of the hindered travel arrangements for people all over the world. Notable regional hotspots included Sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas which accounted for a combined total of 66% of worldwide kidnaps.

Looking forward into 2021, as travel (hopefully) begins to resume, the risk of kidnap remains present for both corporate employees, who travel extensively for work purposes, as well as High Net Worth Individuals. As 2021 begins, Mexico can be a reminder of criminal activity not showing signs of residing; there have been 95 homicides in just nine days, a staggering figure to the start of 2021. It tends to be more common that the people who are spending time in High Risk Areas across the globe are doing so for work purposes rather than a holiday, for example. Depending on the nature of work, your job could require you to visit some of the most volatile countries therefore having effective security, contingency plans and insurance is vital.

However, regardless of the security you may have in place, such as armoured escorts, spending time in High Risk Areas can increase your exposure to a crisis and the unexpected can happen. Therefore in the event of a crisis, such as a kidnap, having a comprehensive Kidnap and Ransom insurance policy could prove to be highly effective.

Examples of areas that could be prone to kidnap:

Latin America (such as Columbia, Mexico or Brazil)
West Africa (such as Mali or Ghana)
Central Africa (such as The Central African Republic (CAR) or Angola)
Southern Africa (such as Mozambique or Namibia)

This list highlights just a handful of places where the risk of kidnap is higher. Areas could be classed as higher risk due to factors ranging from being classed as ‘war zones’ through to higher levels of social or political unrest. Either way, there tends to be elevated levels of crime hence a greater risk of a crisis occurring.

A ‘Kidnap and Ransom’ policy does not just cover a single kidnap or a single ransom but enclosed in these policies is cover for the cost incurred across a variety of insured events, such as:

Response Consultants
Emergency Evacuation
Express Kidnap
Threat
Hostage Crisis
Even an Attempted Kidnap

When travelling to these volatile areas, the situation can deteriorate quickly which means that having your insurance policy cover you across a range of events is crucial as you don’t know what could happen next! Being aware of your surroundings and keeping up to date with the local news, for example, could prove to be beneficial as often these events occurring in High Risks Areas are not reported by the usual international news outlets. On top of this, having a close protection team, travelling in armoured vehicles, staying in secure compounds and having up to date and safe contingency plans can help to reduce the crises that you could be faced with on a daily basis in High Risk Areas.

If you travel widely, either for work purposes or private interests then we would recommend that you have a Kidnap and Ransom policy in place to ensure that you are comprehensively covered if the unexpected was to occur. Please get in touch with me directly to discuss more about this specialist insurance.

Charlie Firth

The Most Exclusive Superyacht Destinations

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 11:16:00 GMT

At Saxon, we work closely with all types of superyachts to help arrange market leading insurance for them and from our work comes great relationships with the people that own, manage and work on-board these yachts. These yachts travel around the world and we love hearing about their latest adventures! Here are some of the destinations that would be at the top of our wish list.

Antarctica

Known to all as one of the most remote and treacherous regions on the planet because of the climate with temperatures reaching lows of -90°C with wind speeds of up to 200mph. This vastly deserted area boasts some of the most precious species of wildlife ranging from the Emperor Penguin to the Blue Whale. If you are lucky enough to visit Antarctica, you will be amongst a minority of the population who have had this privilege.

If visiting this remote region on boat then you will need to be on board a specialised yacht, more commonly known as ice classed. These yachts, typically, have reinforced hulls to give additional strength, resulting in the ability to travel through sea ice. Alongside the special modifications, these yachts needs to be able to travel vast distances without needing to refuel or stop for supplies because, as you can imagine, ports in Antarctica are few and far between!

If you are not fortunate enough to own your own ice classed explorer yacht then a week long charter trip to the Antarctica could cost roughly £600,000 however if you wish to spend more to ensure you have one of the largest and most well equipped yachts then prices can be north of £1,500,000 per week!

St Barts

Saint Barthélemy is recognised as an exclusive and luxurious island retreat, home to famous hotels such as the Eden Rock or Hotel Le Toiny and restaurants such as Orega or Le Tamarin. However, if you want to experience St Barts with the utmost privacy then the best way forward is to visit on board a superyacht. This could be best described as your floating hotel however the hotel is private and the guests are your closest family and friends and the meals you will eat will be Michelin starred standard. With a superyacht comes not just a boat but plenty of (jingle) bells and whistles, ranging from jet skis to a helicopter in order to ensure privacy when travelling to places on shore!

A trip to St Barts on a charter yacht that boasts all the toys alongside could cost £1,000,000 per week, however if you are ‘on a budget’ you could arrange a charter for roughly £400,000 per week.

Port Hercules, Monaco

A sentence about Monaco’s main port would not be complete without the mention of superyachts. Monaco is internationally known for being the home of the ultra-wealthy, with a constant stream of superyachts and supercars, this microstate is favoured by many as a go-to summer destination. You can even book yourself a spot to watch the infamous Grand Prix from the back of a superyacht!

Organising a charter trip on a yacht based in Monaco results in a range of travel possibilities because the south of France offers a vast coastline to explore. Venture out of port Hercules and head east and you will find yourself travelling towards the Italian Riviera and more specifically, Portofino where you can dine at renowned restaurants such as Ristorante Puny. If you do not fancy the longer trip to Italy then head west and you could travel down to Paloma beach in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat for the day or if you have time (and the money) then straight ahead out of the port and head over to Corsica.

If you either own, work on-board or help with the management process of one of a superyacht then please contact as we can help to arrange a market leading insurance policy for all aspects of a superyacht. Contact us directly to discuss more about how we can help.

Charlie Firth

+44 203 384 0303

One Broker For Multiple Assets

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 16:29:00 GMT

We can all appreciate the complications surrounding the upkeep of a property you are living in, let alone having multiple properties across the world where you can only visit one at a time. The responsibility that comes with owning private homes worldwide is a difficult task to manage in itself, let alone arranging insurance for these properties.

This is where a High Net Worth insurance broker is helpful. The opportunity for one policy for all the properties means one premium and one renewal date to cover all of your properties and the contents within. Not to mention the flexibility of these policies; being able to add newly acquired Fine Art or Jewellery that can be kept separate from the contents. Whilst on the topic, we also arrange for Fine art or Jewellery to be covered on a standalone basis, in its own policy away from the household but that is another article in itself!

A market leading household insurance policy includes high levels of cover across the following examples:

Extended Replacement Cost
Buying a new property or Multi-Location properties
Unlimited Trace and Access
Alternative Accommodation Cover

One of the main points of using an insurance broker to help manage your assets, aside from experience and guidance, is convenience. You do not have to worry about organising the insurance each year, you avoid the struggle of obtaining market leading cover and, most importantly, you know your broker is acting on your behalf, with your best interest in mind.

Think of it this way, if you have a trusted property agent you have used numerous times to help secure property in the UK and you then wish to begin purchasing property abroad, maybe the South of France to start. Would you go to the hassle to find a new property agent in the area where you want to buy? No, you would most likely use the agent you have always used. They understand your requirements and will act with your best interest in mind. It is the same for an insurance broker, why would you not want one person who you can call to help with insurance across all of your assets?

We have touched on this in a previous article but a dedicated insurance broker is one of the most important contacts you can have in your go-to list, either as a private client of a family office who act on behalf of a client. The majority of these contacts help to make the sourcing and purchase of assets easier, which is very important but an insurance broker? We are the ones who make sure that you are protecting all of these assets with the best possible cover available in the market. The time and money spent of acquiring these assets should not cease when it comes to insuring them, whether it is another piece of art for your collection and a home to build your property portfolio.

This is an example; You purchase a main home for £10 million but you also own a holiday home with a market value of £5 million so, overall you have £15 million of property and it may cost you roughly £7,500 each year to fully protect your properties. Look at it in numbers £7,500 for £15,000,000. If you are able to and happy to purchase some of the most expensive properties on the market then it should be equally important to you to ensure that you protect this property with the best insurance around. Fortunately, we are very lucky with our clients, both existing and new, in that they understand that their precious assets require market leading cover and they trust us to provide them with this, which of course, we do.

If you require help with your high value asset insurance whether that be property, yachts or kidnap and ransom please contact us so we can help you obtain market leading cover.

Charlie Firth

Tiger Kidnap: The Crime Within A Crime

Fri, 27 Nov 2020 11:15:00 GMT

A Tiger Kidnap is one of the most dangerous forms of kidnap. Originating from The IRA as a means to force innocent people into carrying out illegal activity, this form of criminality spread rapidly during the 1980’s in Ireland and has been noted to take place across Latin America. A tiger kidnap encompasses a kidnap and off the back of this, a second crime.

This type of kidnap has been associated with meticulous planning because, aside from the plan and execution of the initial kidnap, a plan for the second crime (often on a larger scale) has to be in place for when the initial kidnap occurs. The victim of the kidnap is typically one with significance to the main target and they are, unlawfully, held against their will by the perpetrators. It is not uncommon for the victim to have threats made towards their life during the process, a frightening scenario.

Usually, a kidnap and ransom scenario would see an amount of money being demanded from the criminals to the main target to permit the safe release of the victim. However, this is where a tiger kidnap is different. This is an example of a scenario.

The main target will be contacted and notified that someone with significance to them, typically in their close circle, has been kidnapped. Then, in order for a safe and secure release with no further harm, the target is ordered to commit a crime on behalf of the criminals instead of paying ransom money. These types of crimes can range from a robbery through to an assassination.

A renowned crime committed during a Tiger Kidnap is the Northern Bank Robbery where £26.5 million was stolen following the kidnap of the families of two of the bank officials. Following this ‘close to home’ event various measures have been implicated to reduce the possibility of this type of event such as; amending security measures for opening vaults or cash stores resulting in at least two people having to work simultaneously to gain access to a restricted area.

The issues with this type of kidnap is that they are, morally, very conflicting and damaging. This often results in them being left unreported because the victim has had to commit a highly illegal crime, meaning there is uncertainty of the consequences if they approach authorities. They often remain quiet in order to protect themselves, either from prosecution or further confrontation from the criminal organisation responsible.

Kidnap and Ransom insurance is not limited to a Kidnap or a Ransom. These standalone polices are adaptive and can cover you varying events such as Tiger Kidnap or Hijack. This means that you can have peace of mind that you are protected across a number of events that you could be faced with.

Please contact me to discuss this specialist insurance further.

Charlie Firth

Building Relationships: Throwback to when I was a small fish in a big pond

Thu, 26 Nov 2020 14:11:00 GMT

Stepping back a few years…

When I worked at HSBC Insurance Brokers some of my old colleagues used to shy away from taking a new client for say a single car, most just wanted to handle the ‘cream’ of the clients however me, I was different. I jumped at the chance of taking ANY new client because I knew I’d be able to work with the client well, build a rapport and eventually convert more business creating a lovely, healthy portfolio of satisfied clients.

One case stands out until this day, bear in mind this was around 2007. I got a lead from HSBC Private Bank who were incentivised to refer clients to us. A single car, a new Porsche Cayman. I made the call and spent 45 mins chatting to this gentleman about....cars! Insurance came after that. He was a business owner, worked hard for many years and just sold a share of his company, banking him a healthy sum. It was time to spend it! Porsche first.

I insured the Porsche.

Within 12 months after all his other policies had come up for renewal I had rounded out the portfolio with 5+ cars and 5+ properties he owned. Back in the day that was a lovely client for me working as one of the juniors in the team!

Fast forward to today, I’m doing exactly the same thing but now it means even more to me because I run my own insurance brokerage. And what is so great to see, the Saxon team are doing the same as I was. Start small and work you way up, cars led to homes which lead to more homes and then on to yachts….we do it all.

One thing is for sure, my customer service levels have not changed. Still chomping for new clients, still taking a single car, still taking calls, and always available on the evenings and weekends, still delivering that first class service every client deserves.

Staying ahead of the curve is crucial to success.

What’s your story? I’d love to hear it!

How Much Does It Cost To Own A Supercar?

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 10:15:00 GMT

Supercars are what dreams are made of, as a boy I used to have posters on my wall with the brightest Supercars ranging from a Rosso Corsa Ferrari F40 to a luminous Lamborghini Diablo! On that note do people still have posters up of their dreams?

As time goes on and you find your way in the world supercars get closer to your grasp, I would even say the majority of people use these icons as goals to achieve when enough success comes their way. We are all told by experts to set goals and look or read them daily, to feel like you already are living in this dream and that life will manifest in to reality sooner than expected!

So once you’ve hit the goal and bought your first dream supercar, assuming your Significant Other lets you, what is the real cost of ownership and what things do you have to consider?

First off and most significant is the cost of purchasing a supercar, in my eyes they range from £100,000 to circa £450,000 for something like a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ. Hypercars on the other hand are north of £1,000,000 for a Bugatti Veyron that’s a few years old now or a full carbon Pagani Huayra. If you’ve got the money to spend on a toy that’s going to give you endless smiles for miles then I would certainly recommend you fork out that hard earned cash and get a supercar in your life.

Cost: £200,000 (for a half decent one!)

Now you own one what else is there to consider?

Security

The security fitted to your pride and joy and where you keep it. This is important in more ways than one, yes I have to mention the topic of insurance here but this is to save you pain later on. Security of where your car is kept and what devices you have installed are critical to an underwriters decision to insure your car or not. For example, a semi detached home without a garage or gated driveway in a rural area is not an attractive risk however a home in a private estate with a large, alarmed, garage behind secure gates with CCTV is an attractive risk. So before you buy make sure your car can be kept in a secure location.

Then get the best security fitted to your car, after all you don’t want to lose it and have a huge claim on your record! Thieves are intelligent and have mastered every which way to steal your car! Whether that’s programming a key that’s emitting a signal from your hallway to the car, they can incept it, or the ability to access the OBD port to reprogram the cars ECU via the frames car door windows, that’s doable too. Think ahead and get the best security, my advice is a Ghost Immobiliser, a ADR Tracker and the most basic of all, a steering wheel lock. Believe it or not this is the best deterrent, why, because it is visible and a thief cannot drive anywhere with it on so this reduces the chances of theft significantly meaning the thieves only option is to lift your car up with a truck and that’s not so easy when it is tucked away in your locked garage.

Cost: Top of the Range Security Package £1,000

Storage

Of course if you do live in a semi detached house then you can use a secure storage facility. There are many of these around and they all have to have top level security to satisfy their own insurers so I would recommend this as a great option if you can suffer having your loved one (the car) tucked away out of sight.

Cost: £250 pm / £3,000 pa

Fuel

Naturally you’ll only want to feed your beast the best of the best super unleaded, reading the studies apparently Tesco has the highest octane fuel at a reasonable price so don’t be afraid to tank her up at a Tesco petrol station, if not then head to Shell or BP.

Supercars generally do circa 3,000 miles a year, a supercar does under 15 miles per gallon, there are 4.5 Litres to a gallon so that’s about £1,000 for fuel in a year. Much more if you have a heavy right foot or even capable of some left foot braking Chris Harris style!

Cost: £1,500 for a medium heavy footed driver, which you will be in a new car!

Servicing

Not cheap! Don’t expect to get change from £2,500 when carrying out an annual service, regardless of the mileage, however aim for a Ferrari with a service pack and save yourself a lot vs the other brands. When Ferrari came up with this service plan included in all new cars their sales rocketed.

Cost: £2,500 per annum (for the non Ferrari owners)

Insurance

On to the last cost, or first for most people. Here’s where I’d like to have a little rant :)

Naturally as an insurance broker I am an advocate of our services but what we spend most of our time doing is educating and helping clients with their insurance and why they need us. However, insurance is always a grudge purchase, that’s until you need us the most, so I would like to try and change this stigma attached to insurance brokers. Firstly, we also have to buy our own insurance so not only are we in the same boat as you but don’t you think we have done our own research and so we are buying our insurance from the best possible broker (us). Why does that make us different though? Knowledge is the answer.

Doing this for 15+ years I have learned a thing or two about insurance and realised what position you never want to find yourself in and also the favourable situations you do want to find yourself in. This means we can pass this expert knowledge on to our clients in a knowledge exchange process rather than a sales pitch. When you meet a master of their industry you tend to listen and be steered by them and feel grateful to have someone by your side helping you with this complex issue, that’s us in the world of luxury asset insurance.

Fortunately I would say 99% of our customers appreciate this and having known most of our customers for 10 plus years they rarely quibble or question our integrity. Yes we are here to run a business and earn money but at the same time we take more pride in knowing we have helped our customers purchase the very best insurance available in the whole market which in turn protects their pride and joy they have equally spent a lot of money on being the master of their industry.

So that’s my rant! My tips to you are: find a friendly and knowledgeable broker, not just about insurance but about the asset you’re insuring whether that’s a car or not. Take their sound advice and be happy you’ve got one more contact in your black book nailed and ready to help you at the drop of a hat when you need them the most.

Cost: Priceless

Kidnap & Ransom, Not Just A Risk On Land

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 08:46:00 GMT

In recent weeks, the reports of increased piracy activity, specifically in the Gulf of Guinea, have raised major concerns for anyone at sea. The situation remains critical and vessels travelling through these waters have been advised to be on high alert. Should Yacht owners around the world be concerned?

With economic factors placing pressure on criminal groups to earn money in any way they can during the COVID-19 pandemic, approaches and boardings from pirates demanding ransoms are becoming more frequent than ever before. Since 11th November 2020, we have seen 6 reports of PAG (Pirate Action Group) activity. These incidents have, unfortunately, not all been immediately resolved with one event resulting in the confirmed kidnap of 14 crew and another with the abduction of 4 crew.

Kidnap and Ransom insurance is becoming a necessary form of specialist cover as violent criminal activity develops across the globe with concentration in areas such as Latin America but also extends into the maritime industry. A standalone policy gives flexibility and includes coverage (per event) across crises such as:

Kidnap
Extortion
Threat
Disappearance
Hostage
Express Kidnap
Extortion
Hijack
Detention

The bespoke part of the policy comes when you wish to add on more coverage for crises you may be faced with, such as:

Assault
Stalking
Tiger Kidnap (read about this on our next article)
Emergency Evacuation

Although many assume that tankers or cargo ships, due to their slow speed and manoeuvrability, are the only targets for armed pirates, superyachts with their vast size and slower speeds are not dissimilar to a product carrier. These reasons, coupled with a lower freeboard in comparison to a cargo ship, a swim deck for easy access and the unlikelihood of a citadel means they present themselves as easy targets. Not to mention their capacity to accommodate a number of important people, mostly family members and often with a majority being High Net Worth or High Profile.

Product carriers backed by multi-million pound companies create the opportunity for a drawn out kidnap where crew members are taken away from the ship and held until the ransom demanded (which can be in the millions) is settled. Superyachts, on the other hand, could be susceptible to scenarios such as an Express Kidnap, which could over in a matter of minutes.

Express Kidnap example on your superyacht

The goal of the criminal is they take as much as possible in the shortest length of time so you are likely to remain onboard during the incident. The bigger the yacht, generally, the more opportunity for valuables being taken. Armed criminals could board and hold private individuals, crew and any on-board security hostage on the condition that a release occurs if their valuable demands are met. Individuals may be forced to extract money and valuables from safes around the yacht. The criminals might destroy or temporarily disable the transmission to give them more chance to escape without apprehension. Within an hour, the event could be over.

How insurance will react in this instance

Your Kidnap and Ransom insurance policy can provide coverage on the following; the ransom, the provision of response consultants, extra expenses and if an accidental death and disability arose from the event then this could also be covered.

Traditional Kidnap and Ransom example on a superyacht

This type of attack is likely to be carefully planned. If you own or charter a superyacht, it is clear to the perpetrators that the guests will have access to large amounts of money (cash or in the bank) or other liquid assets. The planned attack could consist of a significant other being kidnapped and taken away from the superyacht. Following this, a ransom is likely to be demanded.

How insurance will react in this instance

During the event, your policy will provide unlimited access to crisis consultants who help to mitigate harm to the kidnapped individual and negotiate the demands of the criminals. Also, you are covered for the ransom, a ransom in transit, legal liability and temporary security costs. Following the event, you can also receive covered psychological rehabilitation.

Kidnap and Ransom insurance is the only insurance we arrange that protects a life over an asset.

Specifically, Kidnap and Ransom insurance for yacht owners and yacht crew is one of the most overlooked insurance policies in the industry. With yachts being some of the most expensive assets in the world it isn’t difficult for Organised Criminal Gangs (OCGs) to detect and target yachts and the people on board.

You may be able to add Kidnap and Ransom insurance to your Protection & Indemnity policy however this does not provide adequate protection whereas a stand alone Kidnap and Ransom policy from one of our market leading providers does.

Protect your life, your family and your crew first, an asset can be replaced at any time but a human life cannot.

Please contact me directly to discuss how Kidnap and Ransom insurance can protect you and provide peace of mind as you travel around the world, even in the most hostile environments.

Charlie Firth

Why You Should Not Solely Rely On Your Contractors Insurance Policy

Thu, 05 Nov 2020 16:03:00 GMT

The total collapse of two buildings (from roof to ground level) in Chelsea, London this week has drawn attention to the necessity of having your own renovation insurance policy in place, on top of your contractors insurance. The properties were thought to be worth around £4,000,000 and were reportedly, undergoing work to build a large basement to convert the property into one. Fortunately nobody was thought to have been living in the buildings at the time and no injuries have been reported however the nearby houses were evacuated.

The Party Wall Act (1966) plays a very important role in these destructive collapses because this act makes you responsible in England and Wales for damage that your project could do to your neighbour's property. Understanding this act is especially important for terraced houses who have neighbours on both sides and therefore are at higher risk.

Examples of a party wall include:

Walls separating terraced houses
Walls separating semi-detached houses
A structure that leans against a wall that is owned by the other neighbour

The Act prevents building work undertaken by one neighbour from undermining the structural integrity of the shared walls with neighbouring properties. The Act is also designed to avoid and mitigate disputes that could arise with neighbours. If you plan to carry out work on a party wall or structure then it is crucial that you provide your neighbour with a Party Wall Notice.

Types of work that the Party Wall Act covers:

Converting a loft (cutting into boundary walls to support new beams)
Underpinning
Increasing thickness of a wall
Extending above a level which lies on the boundary
Building a new wall for an extension
Excavation work for new foundations

Events like this display the necessity for a comprehensive High Value Property Renovation insurance policy which many people are unaware of. Property owners in London, where values are high and proximities are close, should be especially aware of having their own renovation insurance policy rather than just relying on the builders or contractors insurance, to ensure that you are accurately covered in the event of a loss.

A total loss can be caused by a variety of factors, some of which could be affected by COVID-1 9:

Worsening weather conditions as we move into winter.
The impact of COVID-19 on work forces (reducing the number of experienced workers).
Added pressure to complete projects affected by COVID-19 could result in work being rushed.

A private renovation insurance for your own High Value Property, alongside your contractor’s insurance policy can provide peace of mind throughout a stressful process such as a full renovation of a terraced house in one of London’s most esteemed neighbourhoods. Remember that it is important to notify your insurer of any works taking place.

I am sure you can understand why this example is a valid reason to why you do not solely rely on your contractors insurance. Please contact us if you wish to discuss more about this specialist renovation insurance.

The Necessity Of Corporate Kidnap And Ransom Insurance

Thu, 29 Oct 2020 14:04:00 GMT

We recently arranged Kidnap and Ransom insurance for an international company that travelled widely and to areas with high kidnap rates. The company required reputable insurance and did not understand the complexities of this niche market. We spent time with them to understand their requirements before approaching our market and they have proceeded with cover from one of the market leading insurers in this specialty through Saxon.

We are seeing a surge of Corporate Kidnap and Ransom enquires with us as companies begin to resume frequent travel to high risk areas. According to reports, there are 10 high risk countries which are responsible for 92% of all kidnaps. International businesses are expanding and with this, have more presence in countries, some of which have high kidnap rates.

High Risk Areas for foreign nationals are mainly concentrated in LATAM, Africa or the Middle East (spanning from Mexico to Mali, Nigeria, Syria and down to Yemen). For established international companies where employers visit High Risk Areas, if the situation suddenly changes then it is crucial to have a bespoke kidnap and ransom insurance policy in place to mitigate risk and protect employees through access to a specialist risk consultancy.

A Kidnap and Ransom insurance policy could cost you thousands but you have the peace of mind knowing that in the event of a Kidnap where the ransom demanded is millions, you are fully covered. If a destination is imperative to a business’s interest and travel is necessary then a Kidnap and Ransom insurance policy should also be beyond question to ensure safety.

If you require assistance arranging market leading Kidnap and Ransom insurance to protect your employees and provide peace of mind in the event of a kidnap then contact us now.

Charlie Firth

Is The Risk Of Kidnap On The Rise?

Wed, 14 Oct 2020 13:20:00 GMT

Often perceived by many to be working towards a ‘greater good’, putting themselves at risk in order to help less fortunate people and respected for what they endure. A typical description of a brave humanitarian aid worker. Talking in terms of likelihood, you would assume these people would be at the bottom of a list to be targeted by criminals.

In recent years attacks directed at aid workers have risen, usually unprovoked which is a worrying thought for threat posed to the rest of society. Since 2014, there have been around 100 aid workers killed each year. A shocking fact for such an omnibenevolent industry. These attacks have been catalyzed by factors such as social degradation of the environment the workers are in or extremist groups not wanting aid to reach the groups the humanitarian workers are helping. Aid workers all over the world are sometimes the only western people operating in the area and therefore the only target. An employee of a western business is likely to be more attractive to a criminal organisation for a kidnapping in comparison to a local employee because of the opportunity to demand more ransom. The kidnappers link western individuals to money and with economies becoming fragile all over the world this urge for money is now taking ruthless and more criminal forms.

In June 2020, reports surfaced regarding the abduction of 4 aid workers and private security individual in Nigeria, Africa, a worrying case given that a protective personal was also abducted. In this instance, Kidnap and Ransom insurance is critical for different reasons. Society associates insurance with claim payments but with a kidnap, a life is at threat and therefore these polices also cater for a different type of protection. Access to experienced negotiators is provided, these individuals have a deep knowledge of these events and are critical in the process for ensuring the safety of the targeted. Then, from an economic perspective, a bespoke kidnap and ransom policy can mitigate the impact of the ransom demand.

In a wider society, the evidence that docile, western aid workers are now subjected to targeted attacks creates more fear and heightens the risk posed to other groups and individuals such as western businesses travelling worldwide for work or high net worth families that travel for pleasure. Kidnap and ransom insurance can provide the peace of mind that you have a bespoke policy in place to protect the affected and reduce the issues that could arise in the event of a kidnap.

If you require assistance with your kidnap insurance then contact us now.

Charlie Firth

Social Media vs Old Fashioned Marketing For Insurance Brokers: Which One Works For Us?

Mon, 31 Aug 2020 16:40:00 GMT

TikTok
Instagram
Facebook
LinkedIn

Phone calls
Direct emails
Mailshots
Networking

Insurance brokers seem to get thrown in to a category of old fashioned businesses that are hundreds of years old, once family owned but been acquired hundred times by financial giants so they tend not to get targeted for social media or even general marketing because is insurance just too dam dull?

I have first hand experience of being pushed pillar to post in the blue chip companies, prior to forming Saxon I was part of over 4 of the top global operating insurance brokers, I experienced exactly what it was like to never ever have to worry or get involved in social media for the firm I was working for. Then Saxon comes along and being a young business owner with already years of experience under my belt from business ownership I knew how to operate as a modern broker pushing the ‘unsexy’ out to a world that focuses on ‘sexy’.

So this article details how we get involved in modern day social media marketing vs the old fashioned ways I was part of back in the day.

Let’s discuss social media first to weigh up the benefits and drawbacks and then move on to the old fashioned ways we used to have to do it and then lets compare them.

TikTok. Thats a short and simple one for us, even me at 37 are too old for this one so that’s not even on our radar yet but watch this space, we have some spring chickens in the team, Saxon TikTok is coming to a smart phone near you!

Instagram. Good platform if you have the right content. Photo and video driven, your pics have to look spot on to get even the busiest interested enough to engage with you. But, it works, it gets you right amongst the others and by that I don’t mean insurance brokers because most don’t do it!

Facebook. Good for your immediate network, usually we find ourselves sharing our facebook posts to our network some of which are clients or for me most definitely I have prospective clients on my friends list. Do you?

LinkedIn. Great for targeting business connections, get some great content on LinkedIn and you should get some good response but believe me you have to get something interesting on there, don’t be afraid to post stuff on LinkedIn that takes someone off to your website to read more, it works well for that.

Let’s not forget though, if you don’t post regularly, and engage with others social media won’t work for you. These are not one way platforms, you post and engage with others to benefit the most.

We certainly do our best to remain active and even DMs work! If you don’t ask you don’t get right?

Then lets move on to the ‘old fashioned’ traditional marketing. What is this exactly? I’m going to summarise this as everything that social media isn’t. Insurance salesman used to have to walk door to door in their patch to sell insurance to the homeowner, life insurance, car, household etc it was one guy doing the most he could for you on behalf of, probably, the Prudential (have a read of the Saxon Story to read more about how my family used to do it in 1857!).

My question to you is, how much business have you done using your network vs social media. I think I know the answer, it is the same answer for us.

The last few weeks we have really put our traditional marketing hat on (keeping up social media of course) and pushed the phone calls, the emails (modern day equivalent to a typewriter letter sent by post) and even mailshots to a dedicated subscribed list of contacts reaching out to them to see…..how we can help?

I say it like that because these are the most powerful marketing words you can use in any of the methods we mention. Smashing out posts on socials pushing yourself as ‘salesy’ broker simply doesn’t work, no one like being sold to especially in a pushy constant way but everyone loves being asked how they can be helped. Gary V always says, don’t create but document. Socials work when you document your journey and business life. Networking works when you offer to help, and of course, say it with a smile on the phone while you’re standing up to give yourself the best chance of success.

In short, do both. Do them in a way you want to be approached.

Good luck!

If You've Got It, Spend It...A Covid Moto?

Mon, 31 Aug 2020 15:31:00 GMT

It is a bank holiday Monday and time for me to get pen to paper again, I don’t feel I write enough and I also don’t feel like I am experienced author however for articles and web updates I enjoy it. I also like being able to give you an insight in to what goes on here at Saxon Insurance Brokers, even on bank holidays.

We are slap bang in the middle of a global pandemic and although we are back in the office and business is as normal for the Saxon team there is a weird eery feel in the air, the market and with our customers in particular new ones.

Just so you know, we arrange and manage insurance for High Net Worth clients who own high value assets. You are probably thinking this time has hit them hard, perhaps their stock portfolio has halved in value? Or the property they own is now plummeting in value as the UK hit a recession but somehow we are seeing the opposite affect, and I can tell you the reason why so you don’t have to guess. Boredom.

Hey? Boredom. What? Yeah, oh yeah…. people are bored stiff and need something to do! Let’s face it, the majority of the world went in to lockdown at some point and whoever you are you still had the internet. Social Media, web traffic, sales (for some) rocketed. In particular the art market went bonkers, some galleries we work with are telling us they have had record quarters driven by online sales, and online auctions giving the wealthy something to do while stuck at home!

Thats why we’ve also seen record web traffic, enquiries for us rocket over the weekends (luckily we are online 24/7), people are in need of our help. High value art collections being bought, people buying more jewellery pieces than I have ever seen. Jewellers and art dealers unable to get their hands on quality stock to sell to these investors. We don’t get involved in trading art or jewellery but we certainly have the buyers spending their hard earned money on items running in to the millions each time.

So to summarise this short article on client boredom I would give it a title ‘If you’ve got it, spend it’. Have people taken this time to step back and review how they live? What they enjoy spending money on? Has the realisation kicked in that a pandemic can affect us all and life is simply too short to not do what makes you feel happy. I’d say the answer is yes to all these questions but remember assets don’t make you happy but perhaps the process does….

A big warm welcome to our new clients who join us as an important Saxon client and of course a existing clients for their loyalty, these are the ones that know first hand what it feels like to have an insurance broker as one of their black book of contacts ready at the drop of the hat to insure that new prized possession.

New to Saxon? Contact us anytime to discuss how we can help you.

Predictions of Political Unrest: What Could It Mean?

Fri, 28 Aug 2020 10:14:00 GMT

A wave of political violence is predicted coming out of the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It can be best represented on a scale with countries at the top using their resources and infrastructure to implicate a ‘new normality’. At the lower end lies the LEDC’s; unable to recover from not only the health impact of COVID-19, but the financial implications too. There is an overwhelming risk of crime rates increasing, such as Kidnap and Ransom.

Both the countries at the extremities and everything in between are at risk of facing increased Political Violence. It needs to be mentioned that Political Violence is not just people fighting against the government, it works both ways when individuals or groups use violence to achieve political motivation.

In the post peak era we are currently in, acts of state repression (state forces targeting civilians) have increased by around 30%. To use a case study, Mexico has already seen a 5% surge in violence targeting civilians! This exemplifies that perhaps, state actors are using the disarray of a country to regain control or tighten their political grip. Of course, the risk of political violence arises here as state violence towards populations is often met with retaliation.

It is expected that societies will react to the, as some would say, oppressive techniques exerted by the government on society. Groups in society may use this force exerted by governments as an excuse to retaliate against the state for issue present before the pandemic. COVID-19 has in some ways, facilitated an environment for a surge of political violence in societies already on the brink of disarray.

It is almost a given that there will be a disparity between countries implicating a ‘new normality’ by using a variety of resources available, at the other end of the scale, many countries will be left struggling to recover. With this struggle, it is predicted that crime rates including Kidnap and Ransom will increase along with a sharp spike in Political Violence.

Societies reacting to governments management techniques of Covid…

People using Covid as a means to ensue a violent reaction to the state, already unhappy with the state in places where there is a large economic disparity (distrust in the government) – people feel that political entities are using the pandemic as a means to exert unnecessary force over population. Protests over the requirement to wear masks are happening all over the globe are perhaps just the tip of the iceberg…

Businesses at threat – A growing demand for SIR insurance

Soon, people will start to ask questions and the blame game may take off at unprecedented levels. The same leadership that is obeyed and followed at present will be blamed for the devastating loss of lives of loved ones tomorrow. It starts in Italy today and it may grow and reach high levels in other countries somewhere in the autumn of this year.

A strong unified message about necessary changes as an outcome of this crisis is needed to prevent a breakdown of trust in international structures and governance. A breakdown with huge consequences. All ingredients are present for a second crisis after the immediate one. A crisis characterised by the deepening displacement of trust between states and their citizens.

States are presently strengthening their control over their citizens. But today’s obedience must be handled with great care. Control over people must be handled with a delicate hand, to keep a vulnerable and delicate level of trust in place. Governments should not make the mistake of stretching the rubber band too far.

Today, most people obey the strict measures but the obedience is conditional. The state will lead the potential victims of this disease into safety. The condition is that the state proves that the trust is deserved. Trust must be reciprocal. Obedient citizens expect that they will be given back the space they left. The space that is offered for the state to guide and heal them. Any perceived betrayal of that trust may come at a price.

Cancelled: Cannes Yachting Festival 2020...

Fri, 21 Aug 2020 13:24:00 GMT

The 2020 edition of the Cannes Yachting Festival has been cancelled.

According to Superyacht Times , show organisers Reed Expositions have recently announced the decision following a recent surge in the number of Covid-19 cases on the French Riviera.

Earlier this week the French Government announced an extension to the ban of mass gatherings of over 5,000 people. This decision affected confidence across the docks, with many ticket holders announcing they will not be attending as a result.

Cannes Yachting Festival is one of the largest Yachting shows on the Cote d’Azur and attracts 50,000 visitors every September.

The show was scheduled to take place from September the 8th to the 13th, with over 420 vessels booked to attend.

The 2020 Cannes Yachting Festival will be marked down as the first year in over 40 for the event to have been cancelled.

Kidnap Hits Are On The Rise!

Fri, 21 Aug 2020 08:33:00 GMT

��: 3 Minute Read…

Millions of website views but no way near the number of conversions! Why?

At Saxon we track our website traffic closer than any other insurance broker out there. We have every gadget and bot available to see the full analytics of our site, from what page the visitor enters on, their journey, the clicks, the time spent, the pages they read and a LOT more!

Having these tools shows us one section of our website gets way more hits than the others; however, it produces fewer leads. Yep, you guessed it! Kidnap Insurance.

To me it is obvious why but to others reading this it may not seem as clear.

If you are interested in Kidnap and Ransom Insurance the first thing you are likely to do is search on the internet. Even if you’re not in the market for purchasing kidnap insurance, simply ‘googling’ this topic is still extremely interesting, it’s like watching Narcos on Netflix!

In recent years, Drug Cartels have shot into the limelight, thanks to Netflix series and various documentaries; how they operate is just intrinsically fascinating! Naturally, the same goes for kidnap insurance! Even if you’re just a tiny bit interested, you’re going to dive deep into the topic and continue searching to see what you can learn about Kidnapping and the insurance needed to protect yourself.

Let’s face it property, car and fine art insurance doesn’t get many ‘clicks’ unless you are actively searching for it, and it’s certainly not something anyone would write a book about!

So, the question is, is this a waste of our time? Do we benefit from creating content surrounding Kidnap and Ransom Insurance? If our website traffic is high, but the visitors don’t convert into clients, should we bother? And the answer to that question is, absolutely.

Kidnap and Ransom Insurance is the only insurance available that protects lives instead of assets. It is without doubt, the most important insurance we can arrange! Many of our clients stumble across our Kidnap and Ransom pages without realising how much risk they are in; many of our clients own millions of pounds worth of assets, from Supercars to Private Aircraft and Fine Art collections. But they often don’t realise the most important part of their collection is themselves and their family! We are protecting lives and it makes us feel great.

Here are a few things you should know about Kidnap insurance

The policy is a reimbursement policy. This means you have to pay any ransom yourself first, this is why it’s usually more popular for High Net Worth Individuals and businesses.
A policy covers a lot more than Kidnapping and Ransom. A few other benefits include Extortion, Cybercrime and other digital threats and much more…
You’re never left alone. You may think that in the event of a Kidnap you’re on your own, but that’s not the case! The most significant benefit of our Kidnap and Ransom Insurance policies are the specialist liaison team. In the event of an incident, our clients benefit from some truly expert knowledge, including an expert ransom liaison team. This is what you’re paying for. For someone to save your life using their knowledge and previous experience.

There are many more points and areas we could discuss with kidnap insurance however we can cover them another day when we record a video about kidnap insurance.

Stay safe and be careful who is around you.

Samuel Cise

A Landmark Case In Tackling Kidnap And Ransom...

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 15:28:00 GMT

��: 2 Minute Read…

A Nigerian court has successfully implemented their new anti-piracy laws to fine a hostage team a sum of 10 Million Nigerian Naira. Hostage teams are widely implemented to safely evacuate individuals held for ransom.

The convicted were accused of criminal conspiracy for terrorism and kidnap due to their involvement in facilitating a $200,000 ransom payment. Although the perpetrators of the kidnap itself are still untraced, with links being made to the hostage team’s involvement, there is hope that this incident will be swiftly resolved.

The ransom was demanded after 3 crew were kidnapped from an Equatorial Guinea vessel near the end of March. The abductors demanded and received a ransom payment of $200,000, the captive crew members were subsequently released, albeit nearly 2 months after the kidnap incident.

These advancements in anti-piracy laws which intertwine with kidnap are promising however the risk of kidnap is not yet eliminated, both on land and at sea. Therefore kidnap and ransom insurance is becoming a widely recommended product.

For information on High Risk Areas and Piracy Protection, contact Charlie Firth using the button below.

Contact Charlie

How Much Does A Bugatti Veyron Cost To Insure?

Mon, 15 Jul 2019 13:37:49 GMT

The team here at Saxon Insurance Brokers have an incredibly varied and exciting role, our dedicated brokers have the pleasure of insuring the world’s finest assets, from superyachts in the Mediterranean to supercars in Dubai.

Our privileged position provides us an insight into the lives of some incredibly interesting clients, with incredibly varied collections of luxury assets. We are proud to have dilligently arranged insurance policies ranging from €500,000 Classic Car collections, to €2,500,000 Private Jets and €25m Superyachts!

If you are in the fortunate position to own a Bugatti Veyron, how much will it cost to insure? Well, wait no more! We dive into the ownership costs for a Bugatti Veyron below…

The words ‘Bugatti Veyron’ are often thrown around conversation with ‘McLaren P1’, ‘Koenigsegg Agera R’ or ‘Pagani Zonda’ - These are the supercars dreams are made of, bedroom walls are adorned with and #Insta is plastered with! But if you want to do anything more than dream, gaze or double tap one, you are going to need to insure one…

Below is list of the expenses attached to Hyper Car ownership:

Purchase price: £2,000,000
Fuel: c. £5,000 depending on the mileage covered
Professional Storage : £40 per week x 52 = £2,080
Annual Servicing: £20,000
Depreciation: Well, hopefully none!

But what about the insurance? How much is a Bugatti Veyron to insure? Insurance at this level can be calculated at circa 1% of the vehicle value, so for a £2,000,000 Bugatti Veyron you can expect to pay around £20,000 for insurance per annum. Note the policy excess, which is usually around £50,000, so if you crash or lose your Bugatti Veyron, the policy holder is responsible for paying the first £50,000 in repairs.

Prestige Cars are often considered a worthwhile addition within a diversified investment portfolio, these annual costs are regularly justified and reassuringly priced. Our clients value the best cover available.

Regardless of the annual mileage of the vehicle, Hypercars should be serviced annually, oil and other consumables have ‘shelf-lives’ and must be changed regardless of use - this approach is standard practice among prestige vehicles, and so annual maintenance remains a constant. It is imperative to protect not only the mechanicals, but the future re-sale value too.

We estimate a total of £47,080 of expenses for one Bugatti Veyron. Roughly 2.5% per annum. But what a fantastic asset to own, and one certainly worthy of protecting.

We are fortunate to work with some of the worlds leading underwriters for supercar insurance like Bugatti Veyron’s and also specialist Classic Car insurance underwriters who insure our clients famous collections across the world which include Ferrari 250 GTO's, Bugatti Type 57, Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing, Lamborghini Muira SV and many more!

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If it Floats, Flies or catches FIRE then proceed with caution.

If it Floats, Flies or catches FIRE…then proceed with caution

‘FIRE FIRE FIRE’ shout the yacht crew

A distress call that I am sure some of my readers have heard before.

They will not say ‘do not charge the item in an enclosed lazarette’ nor for you to ‘monitor the charging’ or at least be in close by, so yacht owners and crew just add some common sense to the mix and all will be well.

Fact: Lithium is highly reactive, it belongs to the Alkaline metal group so there’s no surprise it can self combust on charge and cause catastrophic damage to a yacht filled with fuel!

Reality is when a fire breaks loose the combination of fuel, electrics, GRP (on smaller yachts) is a recipe for a catastrophic total loss, one Captain quoted the yacht was destroyed in 3 minutes. Even aluminium and steel hull yachts can be a total loss from a fire.

Yes, yachts have fire suppression systems but a fire can disable these systems in seconds so again human involvement and supervision is far better than any alarm system that tells you too late!

Here are some examples of everyday items with lithium batteries:

eCigarettes/vapes

Phones

Powerbank

Laptop

E-scooter

E-bike

Electric Vehicles

Yacht toys with lithium batteries:

Seabob

Fliteboard eFoil

Hydrofoil

Hydrofoil eBike

uBoat Worx Submarine

GoCycle

Ok now some prevention advice:

Strategically place ample Lithium Ion Fire Extinguishers around the yacht (no all lithium battery fires are from yacht toys)

Supervise all charging cycles

Charge in an open, cool, space where you can easily dispose of the battery or extinguish a fire without the whole yacht going up!

Do not charge for longer than required

Do not charge or leave the item or battery in direct sun

Only buy items with removable lithium ion batteries

Install a lithium battery storage box to put all batteries in when not in use

Finally, have you ever seen a lithium battery fire? They’re near impossible to put out and last for a long time. Check out some fires here

Land Rover thefts, prevention is better than cure. Or just don't buy one?

Watch our TikTok video on how to prevent a theft of your Land Rover or any car! ⬇️

This is a serious article about Land Rover thefts even though the tone may not seem it at times but I do hope this resonates with you.

If I told you our clients have chased thieves down the road after stealing their Range Rover Sport would you believe me? If I also told you thieves stole our clients' Range Rover from outside their home in London in 40 seconds would you believe me?

Let's rewind. Where and why did this spout of thefts start?

Now onto the current security cars have.

In case you’re wondering, the Range Rover Sport and Range Rover Vogue are the most stolen cars in the UK. You’d never have guessed it, right!

Ok ok, I'll stop with the sarcasm and now be your serious advisor on what to do to help make your Land Rover ownership pain free. And I promise it really can be! Lean in, Mr and Mrs Chelsea (tractor)....sorry sarcasm stops now, promise!

Right. Let’s talk about top tier security for your Land Rover, in fact this goes for any car that you’d rather not get stolen and have a huge claim on your records…after all that is the goal right?

A key box - heard of a faraday box? A little key box that stops your key emitting its signals that thieves use to clone to get access to your car and steal it in 40 seconds. Get one today on Amazon, keep it as far away from your car as you can. Easy peasy.

A garage - out of sight out of mind. If you have one, use it!

Do all of the above and that my friends is all it takes to enjoy pain free Land Rover ownership.

Hold up. I can hear you now ‘Sam, before you go, give us some insider knowledge of the costs to insure my new shape Range Rover please please!!’

Well let’s say this, £120,000 Range Rover Sport with Admiral will cost you £45,000 but may exclude theft cover…

With us it’ll cost £25,000 but granted that's with a previous theft claim. Without a theft claim it'll be around £10,000 or with Admiral without a theft claim probably about £1,000 lol, anyway that's a story for another day…

The moral of the story is. Buy a Porsche Cayenne. Faster and better in every way. You wont regret it, you may just have to wait a while for one because demand is high (from all those Range Rover owners who can't insure their cars, du dum!)

See you in the next article where we talk about watch thefts, yacht fires, footballers being robbed and much more. Oh the exciting life of an insurance broker (that comment isn't sarcasm btw I love what I do)

Ps. this article isn't a Land Rover lead generation attempt.

If you'd like a quote for your cars then just click here

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