Chassis Number Insurance
– VIN, Kit Car & Q Plate Cover
Chassis Number Insurance
– VIN, Kit Car & Q Plate Cover
Compare chassis number insurance quotes for vehicles that cannot be identified by a standard registration plate. Whether you have a VIN-only vehicle, a kit car, or a Q plate, we help you find cover from brokers who work with vehicles that have no registration yet.
Get Your Chassis Insurance Quotes
Cover for VIN, kit car and Q plate vehicles
Quotes provided by a panel of specialist insurers.
Get Chassis Quotes →An Introduction to Chassis or VIN Insurance
All cars in the UK need to be registered with the DVLA to be able to be driven legally on the road. In 99% of cases, the car you are buying new or on the second-hand market is already registered or in the process of being registered with the DVLA. However, some vehicle will not be registered for a number of reason that include. The most common reason is one of the following.
- A Kit Car
- Jap or American Import
- A vehicle that has undergone a major rebuild.
- MOD Vehicles
Registering a new car is a common process and will be looked after by the car sales franchise or the car dealer. One of the requirements of the registration process is proof of insurance. All high street insurance companies will provide insurance for cars with a UK registration mark. Cars without a UK registration fall into a grey zone that mainstream providers will not insure, and therefore register with the DVLA. In light of this, a small set of specialist insurance companies will insure based on the VIN or chassis number. Acorn and Adrian Flux are two household names that will provide chassis number insurance, but Brady and 2Gether insurance can also provide this specialist insurance
Insuring A Vehicle Without a UK Registration
Cars without a UK registration fall into a grey zone that mainstream insurance companies will not insure unless the vehicle is already registered. Leading to a problem as without insurance you will not be able to register with the DVLA. In light of this, a small set of specialist insurance companies will provide insurance based on the VIN or chassis number. Acorn and Adrian Flux are both household names that will provide chassis number insurance, but Brady and 2Gether insurance can also provide this specialist insurance
Reasons For Needing Chassis Number Insurance
This form of insurance has increased in demand, fuelled by the influx of import cars into the UK. Below, we have summarised a few reasons why you may need chassis number rather than its registration plate or Q plate Insurance,
- The increase in the number of Japanese cars being imported to the UK and Northern Ireland, examples include the Nissan Navara, Mazda Bongo and the Mazda MX5.
- An expat returning to the homeland and wishing to bring back your prized car. The first issue that you will encounter is that it is not registered in the UK with the DVLA. Solution may be VIN insurance.
- Building a project Kit car
Can I Get Insurance Using Chassis Number Only?
Yes, the specialist providers can provide temporary chassis number insurance enabling you to register the vehicle with the DVLA at which stage you can then apply for standard car insurance a UK registered vehicle.
What is The Difference Between Q Plate and VIN Insurance
So called Q plate insurance is reserved for cars that have origins can not be verified. A standard non q plate registration will contain information such as the area where the vehicle was registered and the year of its initial registration. The Q plate indicates that the history is unclear.
VIN insurance is a temporary form of insurance that enables cars, mainly imports, to get registered with the DVLA. After they have been registered, they will be issued a standard non registration. At this stage, the owner can then apply for standard car insurance.
Chassis Number Insurance Questions
VIN stands for Vehicle Identification Number. It is the unique code assigned to a vehicle when it is built, seventeen characters on any vehicle made since 1981, and it stays with the vehicle for life regardless of how many registration plates it carries.
Where a vehicle has no UK registration mark, some insurers will use the VIN instead. Not all of them will, which is why a comparison site usually returns nothing.
Every vehicle carries it in at least one place, usually several. The common locations are stamped on the engine firewall or bulkhead, on a plate riveted inside the driver or passenger door opening, and visible through the base of the windscreen on the nearside.
On a registered vehicle it also appears on the V5C. If the vehicle came from Japan, the frame or chassis number may be shorter than seventeen characters, which is normal for a domestic market vehicle and is what a specialist broker will ask for.
Yes. The principle is the same as for a car: specialist providers can arrange cover on the frame number where no registration exists. A motorcycle frame number does the same job as a car VIN.
It is most often needed on an imported bike awaiting registration, or on a rebuilt machine going through the registration process.
Because the vehicle still needs protecting while it sits, and because you may need to move it. A vehicle being stored, worked on or transported can still be stolen, damaged or catch fire, and none of that waits for paperwork.
Registration can take weeks. The process is set out in the gov.uk guidance on importing vehicles into the UK, and until it completes there is no registration mark for a mainstream insurer to quote against.
Tell your insurer as soon as you have it. The policy is usually updated to the new registration mark rather than restarted, but that is for the insurer to confirm and it needs doing promptly.
Leaving a policy showing only a chassis number after a plate has been issued is the kind of gap that causes problems at claim stage.
Their pricing systems are built around the registration mark. Enter one and the system returns the make, model, engine and Thatcham group rating automatically. Without it there is nothing to look up, so most quote engines simply stop.
A specialist broker underwrites the vehicle individually instead, which takes longer but is the route that actually produces a price.
Discover Other Specialist Vehicle Cover
Quotes from a panel of specialist brokers who work with non-standard vehicles
Japanese Import Insurance
Cover for JDM and grey imports never sold new in the UK
Q Plate Insurance
Specialist cover for vehicles issued a Q registration
Modified Car Insurance
Cosmetic, performance and full rebuilds, all declared properly
Nissan Elgrand Insurance
Imports, day vans and camper conversions of the JDM MPV
Mazda Bongo Insurance
Cover for the imported Bongo, standard or converted
VW Camper Van Insurance
Classic and modern VW campers, including self builds
