Haha, you do humour me although I am sure that is not your intent.
My NM35 Stagea was insured over 5 years ago and no, it wasn't listed in Redbook nor in Glasses Guide, nor do I belong to a car club or hold a CAMS license.
Your first paragraph reeks of a lack of effort or excuses... or both. Maybe try a little harder like ringing Shanons back and speaking to another operator. Not difficult. Just because you couldn't get it done doesn't mean it can't be done, but I understand we are all speaking from our relative experiences.
Second paragraph is nice, thank you for your well wishes. Very classy.
I did actually have my car written off last October as pv35gt8 correctly stated. My car was insured for well over what it was worth (called agreed value for your reference) and Shannons paid it out (4 business days) after the assessor spoke to me about the possible repair bill, the difficulty in obtaining the correct parts and then signing it off as a repairable write off.
Reference - my car mods included had a full front end update to the series 2 model, suspension, turbo back exhaust, intake, intercooler kit, turbo, additional coolers, Fcon etc etc.
Like I said, as long as it is listed on your policy, it is part of your agreement with the insurer and their agreement with you.
Whilst you are online, feel free to find me a price on a 2001-2003 250t RS Four Stagea in Redbook... actually scratch that, I'll do the work for you
http://www.redbook.c...ilo=Spec&eapi=2
OP - Shannons, Lumley, Just Car, Famous are four just off the top of my head that insure imports. Give them a call and find out for yourself instead of asking for Epinions (factual or not).