Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Aero 8, 2012< Plus 8, SuperSports, Coupe & Aeromax Alarm on S3

My insurers are saying an alarm is needed in addition to the immobiliser already fitted on the car.
Has anyone else experienced this? If so, any recommendations regarding type and installers?
I am wondering whether a tracker might be a better option, and again would appreciate recommendations.

I insure with Boncaster and no alarm/tracker required.

I'm with Gott & Wynne and they assure me that there is no requirement for either an alarm or tracker on my new +8.

Worthers +8

That's strange, Gott and Wynne wanted me to fit a tracker to my aero 8, they said if the value was over £50.000 their underwriters required it

All insurers change their minds on requirements, sometimes from one minute to the next!

I prefer trackers over alarms.

Exactly the same, no tracker and no alarm, G&W said that the BMW Immobiliser is enough. They provided cover with unlimited mileage, personal business use and an insured value of £79,000.

A further comment: when it looked as if I'd have to get an alarm I talked to a very experienced fitter, he told me that alarms can only be fitted in a limited way to soft top cars, just tilt and movement sensors.

He said on the phone that he could wire the alarm into the door switches and seat sensors so if the door is opened or the anyone sits on the seat it goes off. Also there are proximity sensors that might work, they detect people as they approach.

Then when he actually looked at the Plus 8 he said "forget it": the bonnet needs to be secure to protect the control box. He couldn't work out how to fit anti tamper micro-switches to the Morgan bonnet.

Bottom line: for an alarm to be accepted by an insurance company it has to meet specified criteria of coverage and resistance to tampering. He couldn't see a way to achieve this with a Morgan so the installation wouldn't be accepted by any insurer.

Thanks all. Very helpful.
I agree, Shooter, that a tracker looks a much better option than an alarm, so if the underwriter won't accept just an immobiliser, that'll be the way I go.
It looks as the £50k+ was the trigger, so maybe it'll be a move to G and W at next renewal. Currently with Heritage.
I'll report back later.

Good outcome - the underwriter has accepted the immobiliser without alarm, so now all ready to pick up on 1st September. Can't wait!
Thanks again for for the advice - the power of TM helps again. What a great website!

Good result. No point in wasting money.

I was with Heritage, great bunch but their underwriters don't seem to like high value cars.

As well as exploring the alarm option I reluctantly looked into getting a Tracker fitted. It wasn't going to be cheap, and then I was told fitting trackers to Morgans was "difficult" because there were so few places to hide it. When they realised the car is a Canbus wired vehicle they said they would need me to take the car to a Tracker centre, it couldn't be done at home. I got the feeling I'd be an "experiment".

By this time I was somewhat irritated and started calling all the Morgan Specialist insurers, when I spoke to G&W it was all simple: it was cheaper to cancel the policy with Heritage, I lost 1 months premium, and start again with G&W, by a long, long way.