Rowan Atkinson sets record for biggest ever car insurance claim

[csv8]

Rowan Atkinson sets record for biggest ever car insurance claim
Yahoo! Finance UKYahoo! Finance UK – 15 hours ago




We may grumble about our premiums, but sometimes something happens that might even make you feel sorry for insurers.

For example, the people covering one of Rowan Atkinson's cars have just forked out a staggering £900,000 to fix it - the biggest repair bill in British history.

Atkinson, 58, suffered a shoulder injury in 2011 when he crashed his beloved McLaren F1 for the second time, but it wasn’t the medical expenses that did the damage.

While the comic recovered quickly, his 240mph supercar spent more than a year in the hands of McLaren’s expert technicians in Woking, Surrey.

The result was a £910,000 repair bill for a car which Atkinson paid £640,000 for in 1997 - making the bill three times bigger than the most expensive repair claim previously documented, a £300,000 claim paid by Aviva to fix a crashed Pagani Zonda in 2010.


Rowan Atkinson. , worth a reported £71 million, hit a slippery patch of road near Peterborough in August 2011, he lost control of the F1 and hit a tree - leaving the car’s 6.1-litre engine 20-yards away from the rest of the vehicle. It was the second time Atkinson had crashed his F1, with the actor front-ending it into a Rover Metro in 1999.

Technicians at McLaren Special Operations spent four weeks calculating how much the car would cost to repair, with the figure standing at £910,000.

The job was given the go-ahead by the insurance company because the F1’s value has soared, with one immaculate model selling for £3.5 million last year.

Now, 16-months after the accident, Atkinson is back on the road in the car and wants to continue to use it as regularly as possible and not keep it hidden away.

The star’s full experience is documented in this month’s ‘Classic and Sports Car’ where he explained getting behind the wheel after more than a year was like "putting a familiar sweater on".

He told the magazine: "I'm not a collector. I don't like the toy cupboard syndrome that causes so many good cars to evaporate.

"It depresses me that they are hidden away like investment art, or gold ingots in a Swiss vault.

"The McLaren is just so usable, it is a crime not to use it. No gritted teeth, you just get in and drive."



McLaren built just 64 road-going F1s and they are now regarded as the most sought-after modern car. Their desirability has seen collectors and enthusiasts comparing them to the 1960s Ferrari 250 GTO, currently the must-have classic car, which commands a £20 million price-tag.
http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/row...091922086.html

[Yellow_Festiva]

Wonder what a policy for full comprehensive would be for one of those per year?

Still, is a cheap fix compared to buying another one... at least they came to the party on the repair. Probably worth a lot to them as free publicity.

[R-Design]

I'd like to see his premium and excess next year, lol.

[DJM83]

It said in the paper it was £60k pounds a year.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by DJM83

It said in the paper it was £60k pounds a year.

Sounds like a lot doesn't it... till you look at his apparent wealth. Probably a weeks worth of bank interest!

[R-Design]

Originally Posted by DJM83

It said in the paper it was £60k pounds a year.

[Vincenzo]

They said last night on telly that his yearly premium had jumped to just over Aud $90,000 for the year.

Cheers Vincenzo

[satria]

Originally Posted by Vincenzo

They said last night on telly that his yearly premium had jumped to just over Aud $90,000 for the year.

Cheers Vincenzo

That's well worth it considering the bloke drives the car a lot. Unlike most cars that have a big prang and never end up quite the same, I'd be pretty confident this Mclaren will be just like new after the repairs.

I admire his attitude that a car is made to be driven and enjoyed, i grew up idolizing the cars I do because i saw them being driven on the street, not for sitting in someones hidden garage.

[UberKnee]

Its great to see someone owning a car like an F1 and actually driving it.

[Jason[98.EL]]

Originally Posted by satria

That's well worth it considering the bloke drives the car a lot. Unlike most cars that have a big prang and never end up quite the same, I'd be pretty confident this Mclaren will be just like new after the repairs.

I admire his attitude that a car is made to be driven and enjoyed, i grew up idolizing the cars I do because i saw them being driven on the street, not for sitting in someones hidden garage.

agree big time with the bold bit

he is a great guy and from when i met him about 15 yrs ago when over in the uk for work he was well how can i say it a car nut nearly everything was taken back to his cars and how he relates all things in life to his car collection he has one for ever mood he is in
(well he did back then )

[XrRabbit]

I don't see the point in owning a car that just sits In a garage and doesn't nothing. I understand having a really nice car you only drive on the weekend and special occasions. But its pointless not to use it. That's like a fat kid buying a Brussels sprout, or a vego buying a steak for dinner, they are just going to let it sit there and let it go bad :(

[Hawkeye84]

He's got to stop driving it like a mini and stop bumping into those reliant robins

[WMD351]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye84

He's got to stop driving it like a mini and stop bumping into those reliant robins

Maybe he was getting dressed in one of the passenger seats while driving when he pranged?

[AndyXR6T]

Trying to use a broom to brake and pedal while sitting on the roof again?

[XBROO]

Hope he hasn't got barrel bolts on the doors.

[mike_nofx]

[mike_nofx]

[mrghia]

He isn't the only one that drives it. It's his car that they use on top gear. Love to know what his premium would be if he told them that

[WMD351]

Reckon he'd save a fair bit if he cut back to 3rd party fire and theft.

Then again, $70 mil at 5%pa, that's about $96 grand a day unless I've stuffed up my math!
Don't know if you could get 5% over there at the moment, then again rocking into the bank with that sort of coin's gotta give you at least some room to negotiate with the manager lol.

edit: oops, that's 70 million GBP sorry

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by WMD351

Reckon he'd save a fair bit if he cut back to 3rd party fire and theft.

Then again, $70 mil at 5%pa, that's about $96 grand a day unless I've stuffed up my math!
Don't know if you could get 5% over there at the moment, then again rocking into the bank with that sort of coin's gotta give you at least some room to negotiate with the manager lol.

edit: oops, that's 70 million GBP sorry

Yep, you've stuffed ur maths, more like 9.5k a day

Looks like you needed to move your decimal one to the left ;)

[WMD351]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Yep, you've stuffed ur maths, more like 9.5k a day

Looks like you needed to move your decimal one to the left ;)

Oh, is that all?

[Cobramad]

Australia's biggest motor vehicle claim, IIRC, also involved an Macca F1, crashed in Perth I believe and sent back to Old Blighty for repair. Damage bill close to a million, covered by Dawes Underwriting.

[aussie muscle]

Originally Posted by csv8

The result was a £910,000 repair bill for a car which Atkinson paid £640,000 for in 1997 -

why didn't they write it off?

[csv8]

Originally Posted by aussie muscle

why didn't they write it off?

The job was given the go-ahead by the insurance company because the F1’s value has soared, with one immaculate model selling for £3.5 million last year.

[LTDHO]

Maybe someone should learn to drive a McLaren before buying one?

Still, I'd had to be insured with the same company as him.

[mcnews]

Apparently he is a damn good driver. I like that he uses his toys.

[csv8]

Originally Posted by LTDHO

Maybe someone should learn to drive a McLaren before buying one?

Still, I'd had to be insured with the same company as him.

Maybe it was teddy

[IceValk85]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Wonder what a policy for full comprehensive would be for one of those per year?

next renewal? 910,000 quid lol!

[RedHotGT]

What about that Veyron claim in the USA (that was contested)???
The one where the guy drove the Veyron into the lake - and someone happened to be filming it?!?! You'd all remember the story for sure...

Maybe they didn't pay out on the car - not sure... but that would have been 'up there' in the way of figures...

There's been a couple of HO Falcons claimed and paid since the peak/boom in 2007 too... Various reasons...

[FPV+fteT3]

Had a hard life his Mclaren first bent in 1999 then again in 2011 both relatively big hits. I would say his insurer would be having a serious look at the premiums applied to this car from now on.