The UK American Blog

Checking out the forums on some of the UK’s American car club sites, you’ll frequently find the same post. Sure, it’s written by different people and posted at different times, but the message is always the same:  

Me/my daughter would love to arrive at the wedding/school prom in an American car. I’ve got some quotes from local firms, but they all charge £200/300 and that’s a rip off. If anyone has an American car and would like to help out on Sat 12, give me a call at the number below. I’ll gladly pay around £50 and provide lodging if necessary. Thank you …  

The people who post these requests annoy me on many levels. Obviously a professional limousine company is going to have more costs to cover than someone stepping up to help on a one time basis, not least of all premises, advertising, professional drivers and tax. But they have another cost - limo insurance. Of course anyone replying to the post will likely have fully comprehensive, but it comes with the caveat that it is not valid for “Hire or Reward”.  

From the second the hirer slides onto the back seat until the moment they leave the vehicle, it is uninsured. So what these people are doing is asking car owners to break the law. The hirer no doubt has no concern if the driver is taking a risk – after all, the driver will be liable if caught. Their level of concern will increase though if the vehicle is involved in an accident.  

If it’s a fender bender that runs the insurance company for a front grille and a couple of headlights the claim will probably go through. But what if personal injury is involved? That’s when zeros are added to the claim, and the insurance firms make it their business to discover if there’s a way to avoid making a settlement. That’s a whole world of additional misery for the injured, be it the hirer, their loved ones or a third party, as well as a good chance of jail for the driver if he manages to crawl from the wreckage. And why? Because someone wanted to save a few pounds.  

Associates in the trade tell me that a small professional limo firm could be looking to claim at least £100 per each day of hire for the insurance alone. This isn’t the sort of 365 days a year business like taxis – the number of hire days per year will be substantially less, and the insurance runs deep into 4 figures. And to this sum you can then add all the other associated costs.  

My advice? If you’re too tight to use a professional limo firm, start looking forward to arriving in a Volvo.  

I’m out.  

Wrench

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