Lloyd - although the insurance company said that it does not need to be Thatcham approved, they are going to want some proof, no?

How do you handle that? Send them a copy of the receipt from Maplins? And a picture of you fitting it?

 

No proof required but if it ever came to being stolen (touches wood) you will then need to prove to the Police by giving them its location from the GPS signal.

The trouble with Tracker is it has minimal coverage in comparison to mobile networks, this makes this type of tracking more effective.

 

I like it! On the phone to my insurers now.....

 

I spoke to my insurers when I was considering getting a tracker fitted but they told me it would make no difference to my quote. I might have to shop around a bit more.

 

Just been told by Admiral that a non-Thatcham is fine. But won't make any difference mid-policy. Have to wait for renewal then!!

 

from the maplin FAQ for the device

Q) Can it be powered by 12v to keep it permanently switched on and left in a car? - Steve
A) No it an can not.

 

Why seemingly intelligent people's brains turn to mush when insurance contracts are concerned I don't know.

If a company insists on a tracking system as part of the contract it will have to be an approved system i.e Tracker Network, Siemens Datatrak etc despite what any call centre monkey has told you.

The chances of you having a successful claim following a theft with this device which looks like it came out of a Christmas cracker are virtually zero.

Tracking systems cost money for a reason. And the

 

Jel - I agree to a point. Do you work in insurance?

If you are told something over the phone, then surely that has some legal standing? Might be worth recording the call.

Also - if an "approved" system is a requirement, this will have to be in their T&C's - so any discrepancy can be spotted easily.

It sounds as if Trackers are not 100% reliable anyway.

Has anyone had any experience of a car being stolen with a tracker in it? Did the tracker help recovery? What if the thiefs removed the tracker or it did not function, what then?

 

Also, does anyone know what technology Tracker used to communicate with their devices anyway? I imagine must be a combination of GPS and GSM phone network? If so, their is actually no reason why trackers should cost so much - its purely historical.

 

Sadly I am of the insurance industry.

After theft systems (trackers) have to be Thatcham Cat 5 AND fitted by VSIB approved installers (Tracker themselves are approved and usually fit their own systems).

This will only be a problem if a) it is a requirement to have a device fitted (such as with most insurers of Boxsters) or b) you have accepted a premium discount for a device.

S2k owners can get one of the Maplins jobbies if if makes them feel better, those above though are wasting their money and risk being told where to go.