Insuring a repaired category S car

I did have problems a few years back insuring a cat D - some do, some don't. What's interesting is that they never asked the question (any modifications is obviously asked) but they will doubtless have it marked on their systems when you give them the reg. In the end I gave up asking/telling them - they must know yet still took on the contract.
Also interesting to note is I've heard a few people say that during Covid the assessors were often 'assessing' remotely so far more likely to err on the side of Cat S rather than Cat N. I've seen a few that were def. Cat N but assessed as Cat S.

It was crashed, sold repaired and re mot'd inside a month they claim it was only panel damage certainly doesn't look much in the pictures, I wonder if it was assessed remotely. it is about 25% down on the market value. Value isn't really important for him because it is likely to be his last car and he'll keep it as long as he can drive(he's 80).

I've told him to get some quotes to insure it.

There is a lot of misinformation on this thread. Mostly from facts that have been misinterpreted innocently, but to try and dispel a few myths.....

No inspection is required for a Category S repaired vehicle. A physical inspection has never been required. You used to require a VIC check, but that was abolished a few years ago. That was purely an identity check devised to catch out "ringers", which never involved seeing the vehicle. It was abolished due to being seen as an unnecessary expense as approximately 40 vehicles were caught out as being ringers out of just under 1 million checks.

In all my years of being involved with such things, I have never known any insurance companies not insure a damaged/repairable vehicle. Some may charge an increased premium, but this is quite rare now. As with all insurance policies, it is prudent to agree a value.

No vehicle classed as "damaged/repairable" has ever been subject to a Q-Plate or any kind of re-registering. If it is Cat N or Cat D, nothing happens to the V5 anyway. If it is Cat C or CAT S then the V5 has to be re-applied for, which is just a case of sending off a V62 form and that is it.

The only way a "damaged" vehicle would end up on a Q-Plate would be if it were a Cat B, which is listed as damaged, not repairable. But these categories are more "gentleman's agreement" than actual law, so there are ways that the vehicle would be returned to the road, but the only legal way to do it would be to put it through an IVA and re-register it on a Q-Plate and have it marked on the V5 as a previous Cat B and these ARE the most difficult vehicles to insure. Only the likes of Adrian Flux and a few others would entertain insuring these for road use.

Also, whilst in theory, Cat S is listed as Structural damage, there is no way of saying for certain without seeing the vehicle pre-repair whether it sustained any structural damage or not. The same as there is no way of saying whether a Cat N (non-structural) sustained structural damage or not. My Elgrand, which I bought for Copart earlier this year is a Cat S, but the damage was limited to a cracked sideskirt and slightly scraped 2 doors and front wing. It wasn't even close to anything structural...

If the vehicle is listed at 25% below market value and it is otherwise fine, it sounds like a good buy to me. The way the used car market is at the moment, everything is selling for way OTT prices, so seems like a good deal.

Yes, correct, but the car will be otherwise registered as before. It should also be stated on the V5 notes section at the bottom, but that isn't always the case. I have no doubt that some insurers out there will. The same as I once came across an insurance company who wouldn't insure any E36 BMW of any kind, but it would be a real rarity.