JLR providing £150 a month in direction of insuring new Range Rover fashions

JLR has started offering £150 per month towards the cost of its in-house insurance for buyers of new Range Rovers to encourage sales in light of theft concerns.

The British car maker – formerly known as Jaguar Land Rover – launched its own insurance product in October in response to the sharp rise in premiums on Range Rover and Land Rover vehicles as a result of high theft rates in the UK.

Last month, This is Money exclusively revealed that some used JLR models – namely the Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Discovery Sport – have tumbled in value in the last 12 months as a result of security fears and sky-rocketing premiums.

JLR’s new offer announced this will applies only to new Range Rover and Range Rover Sports registered between 1 May 2024 and 30 September 2024.

The Range Rover Evoque and Range Rover Velar do not qualify for the discount, nor do any of the Discovery, Defender or Jaguar new vehicles.

Only those covered under Land Rover’s in-house insurance product are eligible and the car’s value cannot exceed £150,000 – meaning the deal excludes the ultra-exclusive range-topping SV variants of both models, with the Range Rover Sport SV ringing in at just under £162,000 and the Sport SV a whopping £168,500.

JLR says that it has already provided more than 37,500 quotes to owners of its cars since October, saying the average monthly quoted premium is ‘less than £180’.

However, with that still working out at over £2,000 a year for cover, it is almost three-and-a-half times the average motor insurance premium cost in Britain, which is £635 according to the latest report from the Association of British Insurers.

Patrick McGillycuddy, managing director at JLR UK, says the company is ‘working hard to support clients’ and the £150-a-month offer is a ‘further, bespoke insurance initiative’.

He added: ‘JLR has an ‘all-fronts’ strategy to tackle the negative impact organised criminality is having on clients, insurance premiums, and the insurance industry itself. 

‘Our efforts and investments include a raft of initiatives with police forces, port authorities, international law enforcement agencies and, of course, UK insurers.’

This is Money in January exclusively revealed that the Range Rover Sport was the fifth most stolen car in the UK last year.

While 1,631 were pinched from owners in 2023, thefts were down 29 per cent on the year previous.

JLR says this is testament to its effort to bolster vehicle security, which so far has cost the company a massive £15million.

The British brand has been retrofitting older models dating back to 2018 with its latest anti-theft technology, so far updating 150,000 vehicles that have been on the road for up to six years.

And the company announced earlier this year it will offer security upgrades for even older cars dating back to 2016.

JLR said it has ‘sustained collaboration with 30 leading UK insurers and industry stakeholders’ to make ‘significant progress’ on its pledge to provide industry-changing intelligence about the anti-theft security measures fitted to its vehicles. 

Why are Land Rover models being targeted by thieves?

According to ONS data, vehicle theft compared to 2014 is up 86 per cent across England and Wales.

A higher than usual percentage of the vehicles being stolen are premium models, with well-funded criminal groups coming equipped with expensive technology to steal cars to order based on black-market demand.

And it’s JLR that has been thrust to the forefront of this mounting luxury car theft problem, with global desirability of its SUVs making them prime target.

Thousands of owners of expensive Range Rover and Land Rover cars have become the unfortunate casualty of these well-funded organised gangs seeking out high-end motors to steal, often to quickly load into containers to keep them out of sight before shipping them overseas without a trace.

While the number of Land Rover models being stolen is on the decline (according to DVLA figures), some 5,400 examples of its popular Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Velar, Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Discovery Sport were pinched last year, records show. 

Car insurance premium hikes 

Most insurers have responded to the rising crime statistics surrounding Range Rovers by jacking up premiums to sky-high levels – especially in London where motor theft is rife.

This has pushed the average annual Range Rover premium to just below £1,000, Money Mail reported back in February. This was far higher than what the typical driver faced, and at rates above the average increase of 58 per cent.

Drivers have contacted the Daily Mail regarding their own experience of unaffordable insurance quotes, some of them ringing in at thousands of pounds. 

And some insurers have refused to offer renewal premiums on the advice of the experts who underwrite their policies, leaving owners scampering for alternative cover. 

This led to JLR taking the unprecedented step of launching its own insurance product last year to help customers cover their vehicles when other providers refused to. 

Yet some drivers have been refused cover even through JLR’s own insurance scheme.

JLR told us: ‘Insurance is a dynamic marketplace with its own unique market conditions. 

‘Increased premiums are unfortunately affecting the whole insurance industry irrespective of manufacturer. However, we understand the negative impact the challenges around insurance have been having on our clients.

‘Jaguar Insurance and Land Rover Insurance was launched in October in 2023 for clients of new and used Range Rover, Defender, Discovery and Jaguar vehicles. 

‘We have so far provided more than 33,200 clients with quotes, averaging less than £178 per month.

‘Crucially, we are also working very closely with leading insurance providers to find out what information they require in order to insure our vehicles, and ensuring they have the information they need. 

‘Through our continual dialogue, we are sharing our latest security innovations and data to help increase the range of insurance options for clients on the open market.’

What else is JLR doing to solve the problem?

The British car maker – owned by Indian mega-firm Tata – has pumped million into its efforts to fend off organised car thieves to pour water on the insurance premium inferno. 

JLR is on course to spend £15million upgrading older generations of its cars with the latest Body Control Module (BCM) security technology that’s fitted to its newest models in a bid to help protect owners.

This is to prevent thieves from being able to drive away in its cars without having the key.  

JLR told This is Money that it is updating the security in vehicles as far back as 2016 models. 

‘We have made strong progress with more than 135,000 vehicles so far being updated, and theft rates continue to improve as updates are completed,’ a spokesperson told us last month.

And the company says it will also pump extra financial backing into the battle against the nation’s car crime epidemic. 

It will spend ‘hundreds of thousands of pounds’ to increase policing at British ports to intercept the number of high-value stolen vehicles being exported out of the country.

‘Our teams are working with police and port authorities to exchange intelligence; analyse recovered stolen vehicles; and support criminal investigations in bringing offenders to justice, while also giving us insight into emerging theft methods as they evolve,’ the spokesperson added. 

‘As a result, we can research, develop, test and deploy security technology faster than ever before.’