If you own a car having an insurance cover is mandatory. Sometimes, premium costs may be high, especially if you choose a comprehensive cover for an expensive vehicle. However, there are ways you can reduce your insurance premiums without changing your cover type. One way of reducing your car insurance costs is by fitting a vehicle immobiliser or additional alarms in your car. This guide is about the available additional vehicle security features that can lower your car insurance cost.
What is a motor vehicle engine mobiliser?
When asking for car insurance quotes, you may be asked if your vehicle has a factory-fitted immobiliser. This is sometimes a hard question to answer if you have little knowledge about cars. So, how do you know if your car has one?
An engine immobiliser is an electronic device that stops your car engine from starting unless you have a digital key. This feature protects your car from theft because it will not start if the wrong key or hot wiring is used in a theft attempt. Since factory-fitted immobilisers are mandatory in car models manufactured since 1998, most cars nowadays have the device. You might be required to have the basic immobiliser fitted in your car if it was manufactured before then.
The major challenge is that car thieves have come up with clever ways to bypass the system. For example, a thief can use a device to pick up your car key signal and clone it. Since the car will recognise the clone key as the correct key, the thief will open and start the car without any issues. To avoid this, most car owners are using aftermarket immobilisers as an additional security feature.
The aftermarket immobilisers will protect your car from being driven away even when the thief has your original car keys. Most of these immobilisers use unique PIN code sequences that you must enter for the engine to start. Therefore, only a person with the PIN can start and drive the vehicle.
If you plan to use an aftermarket car engine immobiliser, make sure that it is Thatcham approved to enjoy lower car insurance costs.
What is a Thatcham-approved device?
Thatcham is an independent institution responsible for rating the car security systems available in the market. Having a Thatcham-approved car security device fitted in your car will most likely lower the premiums you pay because Insurance companies use Thatcham ratings to determine their car insurance price. Thatcham uses classes to rate car security, as explained below.
- Class 1. Immobiliser and electronic alarm: Thatcham considers this combination as the most complex system in the market. Alarms in this class have their battery, and the immobilisers can activate on their own.
- Class 2. Electronic immobiliser: This is an immobiliser similar to that in class 1 but without an alarm.
- Class 2/1. An electronic alarm update to a car with an immobiliser: Though the security is similar to that of class1, this cannot push you to class 1because the alarm is an aftermarket device.
- Class 3. Mechanical immobiliser: This class involves the use of mechanical security devices like a steering wheel lock. The user must physically fit these systems whenever they want to secure their vehicle.
- Class 4. Wheel Locks: This system uses special wheel-locking nuts that can only be removed using a special key.
- Class 5: Post-theft tracking: This is a system that tracks the car’s position to make it easier for the police to recover it. The systems also allow the user to immobilise the vehicle remotely.
- Class 6. Car tracker without the remote car immobilisation feature: This system will only help you track the car.
- Class 7. A simple version of the class six tracker: This is a tracker with simple features but can still help the police recover your car.
If your security device is not among these groups, it is not Thatcham approved hence a Q class device. Such devices may not have an impact on your car insurance cost.
How do security devices impact your car insurance?
Insurance companies lower the cost of insurance for cars with high-level devices as they will make it harder to steal your car. Insurance companies prefer factory-fitted Thatcham-approved immobilisers, but you can still install one if your car doesn’t have one. However, you should ensure that the aftermarket immobiliser is Thatcham-approved if you wish to enjoy lower insurance costs.
What happens when the immobiliser is faulty?
If your immobiliser is not working, you should check if the battery in your key fob is flat. This is the most common issue which is easy to solve by simply changing the battery. If the problem persists after changing the battery, you can contact the dealership where you bought the car.
