In January 2019 Thatcham Categories for vehicle security changed, but is the change a benefit to owners?

Classic Tracker offers near identical functionality to Thatcham CATS5, but without much of the detail which is arguably irrelevant to most.

Whilst deciding whether to fit accredited solution to your car, see if you can honestly answer the following:

Can you trust the installer with your vehicle? Did you know that the Thatcham Recognised Installer program was discontinued in January 2019, so anybody with a van, a pair of crimps and cutters can present themselves at 'an accredited installer'. Classic Tracker is self-install, or you hand the installation to a known entity.

Do you feel that your insurance company and their associated underwriter is concerned mostly with the welfare of your car or their loss-ratios? Insurance companies expect you to fund the acquisition, installation and annual subscription fees simply to maintain lower pay-out ratios across their businesses. In exchange, they give you a 'discount' on your annual premium. Ask them for a comparative quote without the tracker and they will fall silent........

Are you looking to reduce your insurance premium, or protect for your own peace of mind? Insurance underwriters will specify a Thatcham accredited solution for cars of a value in excess of £75-85k and whether the specific make/model has a history of theft. Most classic vehicles age precede the available theft data, so ambiguation in the Thatcham tracker necessity is already there.

Did you want to receive a call from a tracker operations centre each time you fail to offer your tracker key-fob to your dashboard? This is a standard and required element of Thatcham CATS5. To confirm that you are an identified driver, you offer your tracker key-fob to the dashboard to 'check-in' to the car. In the event your keys and fob are stolen, how does this help?

We have produced an more detailed document on this topic available here.