Royal cars and how much their insurance costs
The British royal family is known for its prestigious car collection. But how much does it cost to insure their Rolls Royces (RR.L), Jaguars and Range Rovers?
Rivervale Leasing compared over 900 offers based on fictitious profiles of seven members of the British monarchy.
Prince Philip’s insurance is the most expensive of all the royals: for his Land Rover Freelander, the cost is up to an incredible 9,900 pounds (13,000 dollars) per year.
This is the most expensive policy in our overview of the royals, although this is not unexpected given the Duke’s age and expensive car choice.
Although Prince Philip gave up his driving license after a car accident in 2019, he was photographed driving near Windsor Castle a few months later.
Even though the 99-year-old is probably no longer on the road, he would not be denied insurance coverage entirely, as 2% of providers would still offer him a policy, according to the study.
As part of the Royal Prerogative, the Queen is the only person in the UK who does not need a driving licence. But that does not mean the monarch is uninsured.
The Queen would have the second most expensive policy in the royal family, with prices up to £9,500.
In addition, only 2% of providers would insure the 94-year-old monarch and her Jaguar Daimler V8 Super LWB – one of her favorite private cars.
In third place is Prince William with his Range Rover SDV8 Autobiography, which would cost a whopping £8,100 per year.
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And it’s not as if the Duke of Cambridge has much time to shop around, as the study found that only 6% of providers would offer him a policy.
Many members of the royal family love a Land Rover. This includes Kate Middleton, who owns a Land Rover Discovery and may have to pay a whopping £7,900 to insure it.
After all, the Duchess of Cambridge has more options than previous members of the royal family: 12% of providers offer insurance coverage – although that still doesn’t leave much choice.
For a climate change activist, it’s no surprise that Prince Harry recently purchased an Audi e-tron 55. But while switching to electric cars might reduce congestion charges, it won’t help lower his insurance premium.
The Duke of Sussex’s policy would cost £5,300 – but he would have a few more options to choose from, with 36% of providers offering cover.
Meghan Markle is the member of the royal family with the cheapest insurance, paying £4,300 per year. While that’s still £3,815 more than the UK average, it’s much less than other members of her royal family.
The Duchess of Sussex, recently spotted driving a Cadillac Escalade in Beverly Hills, may not have chosen the most environmentally friendly option, but she would get cheaper insurance.
And since a quarter of all insurers offer insurance coverage, she has at least a few more options than her in-laws.
According to the investigation, Prince Charles may not be able to find insurance through conventional providers and will instead need a specialised provider for his historic Aston Martin DB6.
When comparing offers from over 100 providers, no insurer was able to offer the Prince of Wales a policy.
“The technical answer to this revolves around the data needs of insurers,” explains Shaun Lenton, car insurance expert and director of One Broker.
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“Many cars are given an ABI code. This is an industry-recognised code to identify the make and model etc. and allows insurers to collect information.
Most vintage cars do not have an ABI code assigned to them, which makes their easy recognition difficult or even impossible.
He added: “Cars also typically require certain policy features, such as ‘agreed value’, which actually requires a human interface to handle.”
While you can be exempt from car insurance by paying a £500,000 deposit with the Chief Accountant of the High Court, this is a large sum even for a royal, so it is probably more cost-effective for them to take out a policy.
However, according to Lenton, it is unlikely that the royal family will be able to significantly reduce their bonuses.
“Many insurers have lists of professions for which they simply no longer make offers. These include celebrities, professional athletes and other ‘well-known’ personalities.
“A limited number of people, often calling themselves ‘specialist brokers or insurers’, offer coverage for people in this category. However, with such a limited market, higher premiums are inevitable.”
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