Peter James Insurance Blog
Why classic car and motorcycle meets are good for our health!
Every weekend seems to bring another national rally, local gathering, road run, concours, breakfast meet or club tour. From what we can see, the calendar is more packed than ever, and the historic vehicle community appears to be thriving. That is encouraging for many obvious reasons – but there...
The Engine That Mobilised the World
Few engines have achieved the iconic status of Volkswagen’s air-cooled flat-four. Instantly recognisable by its distinctive exhaust note and remarkable simplicity, it powered everything from humble Beetles to sports cars, military vehicles, beach buggies and racing machines. More than 80 years after its introduction, it remains one of the...
Restoring a Classic? How to avoid prosecution due to a costly insurance oversight!
Recent headlines about pop star Ed Sheeran receiving a penalty for an uninsured classic Aston Martin have surprised many enthusiasts, especially as the car wasn’t being driven on the road at all. The DB5 was reportedly undergoing restoration at a specialist workshop, yet the case has highlighted a point...
DVLA Registration Reforms Welcomed by Peter James and the Historic Vehicle Community
Peter James Insurance has welcomed the latest changes to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s (DVLA) historic vehicle registration policy, describing the announcement as another positive step in helping enthusiasts preserve and enjoy Britain’s motoring heritage. The DVLA registration reforms, announced on 3 August, represent the latest stage of...
Mud, Maps and Madness: Surviving the Land’s End Trial
Dave Youngs – Head of Classic at Peter James Insurance and part of the Kingfisher Motorsport team – takes to the navigator’s seat in the TR7 V8 “Wedgie Warrior” for the Land’s End Trial, tackling 250 miles of mud, hills and midnight decision-making in one of motorsport’s toughest surviving...
Peter James Insurance supports FBHVC for Drive it Day
There’s a moment each spring, on the last Sunday in April, when something quietly extraordinary happens on the roads of the UK. You’ll see it if you’re out and about on the roads of the UK when, seemingly everywhere you turn, you are greeted by the sound of an...
Donald Healey, how he links Triumph, Austin, MG and Jensen
Not many people realise there’s a direct line that runs from Triumph, through Donald Healey, to the Austin-Healey that became a household name. Yet that thread — engineering ambition, competition experience and a sharp eye for opportunity — tells the incredible story of this Cornishman’s career. Born in Cornwall...
Vehicle Excise Duty (Road Tax), what is effect on modern classics?
There has been an increase in confusion about UK ‘road tax’ in recent months, much of it driven by headlines suggesting older cars and modern classics are about to face dramatic increases from April 2026. The reality is a little more straightforward and hopefully, we can shed some light....
DKW: The founding father of two-stroke tech
The foundations for the eventual takeover of Grand Prix racing by the two-strokes from Japan in the 1970s were actually laid in Germany four decades earlier. For, without doubt, the DKW designs of the 1930s were the most significant in the entire history of the two-stroke engine. Every major...
Citroën’s Century of Innovation – Part 2
It’s often said that the Ford Model T motorised the world, and while that is true to some extent, in that it definitely showed the way forward was the mass production of internal combustion engine cars, it only really motorised North America and some nations where Ford built factories....