Insurance - Modifications??

[Ibanez33]

we get it guys, elephant & admiral aren't the greatest, I didn't mean for it to start this length of debate.
please can we get back on the op's discussion.

S

Well it was somewhat insightful... That was where my best quote was from. Can anyone recommend any insurers to go with bearing in mind I'm under 25..

[trix]

i only just turned 25 when I picked mine up & got my best quote (with factory fit options covered without question) from Zurich Connect but as I have mentioned on most previous threads regarding insurance everyones circumstances are different & will be construed differently by different companies so worth covering all the main bases (screen scraper sites & major insurers not included & 'mod friendly' companies if you can before taking the best handful & narrowing down the specifics

S

[Ibanez33]

i only just turned 25 when I picked mine up & got my best quote (with factory fit options covered without question) from Zurich Connect but as I have mentioned on most previous threads regarding insurance everyones circumstances are different & will be construed differently by different companies so worth covering all the main bases (screen scraper sites & major insurers not included & 'mod friendly' companies if you can before taking the best handful & narrowing down the specifics

S

Thanks! I will check them out. Well I'm hoping the car will be here in a week and a bit so may just cover it for a shorter period as I will be 25 in a few months so should save be some money... rather than having to wait 12 months before the premium goes down..

[chr15]

Im 23, with a company called Keith Michaels. http://www.keithmichaels.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Paying £700 including remap and exhaust! Got to be worth a try for you.

[mordred1973]

hey Chris....how much extra did they charge on the insurance for the remap? Chris

[chr15]

They didn't charge for it as in incentive, but the salesman said it would normally be £30.

[bunrotha]

The RBS brands (Direct Line, Privilege etc) have been fairly kind to me although I'm a bit over 25 these days... I hear of Adrian Flux as being competitive for younger drivers. Following Trix's comment above, I have no further comment to make on Admiral or it's other brands. <ahem.>

Regarding the modifications thing- I work near enough to insurance to have experienced this a lot.

Declare Everything. Every Option. Every Mod. Send them the original dealer invoice if you can.
As Evil Derboy said, it depends on the insurer as to what they count, but if you tell them everything, they can't weasel out of any claims by saying you never told them...

If you claim, undisclosed mods can be a good reason for the insurer to, in ascending order of pain:
Short you on a repair, to bring it back to standard.
Pay less on a total loss (theft or write-off,) valuing your car as the standard model.
Deny your claim, because you, in industry lingo, "misrepresented the risk."
Void your whole policy from inception, on the basis that if you'd been truthful, they'd never have insured you in the first place.

The last one means you've been uninsured, and third parties will now come after you.
The last two are usually reserved for the most blatant mickey-taking rather than not declaring a change of alloys, but I have seen it done.

The insurer can always listen back to their call recordings if you take out the policy by phone, so they know what you told them. If that doesn't match the car that turns up at the repairer, they are going to want to know why.

Same deal goes for lowering your premium by more nefarious means: if you don't claim, you'll *maybe* get away with it... but if you claim, it could hurt a lot.

I'm a well-behaved type, so I end up paying the full premium...

[trix]

key point

Declare Everything. Every Option. Every Mod. Send them the original dealer invoice if you can.
...if you tell them everything, they can't weasel out of any claims by saying you never told them.

Very well said Bunrotha!!

S

[trix]

perfect story to reitterate the words of bunrotha
http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/8164221 ... rm/?ref=mr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

obviously this relates to performance mods rather than factory fit mods but its still very thought provoking

S

[ashley1407]

I hear of Adrian Flux as being competitive for younger drivers.

I beg to differ on this. My renewal came through the other day and even with the club discount, they quoted me over £5,000!

Anyway back on topic. Always declare mods. Personally I'd be so worried driving around with undeclared modifications that I probably wouldn't get any enjoyment out of the car. Better to be safe than sorry.

[AgaZaKa]

I resigned from remap after checking insurance quotes. Cheapest quote for non-mod car was around £550 (London), but cheapest one with mods (remap) came around £1000. I decided it's too much. And I'm older than 25 and have driving licence for 16 years.

[mordred1973]

well I am now on the insurance hunt, my existing insurer MoreThan (RSA) has decided that they will not renew the policy because I had the remap done and they will not cover any vehicle that have been modified to increase performance.....

[denmade]

my existing insurer MoreThan (RSA) has decided that they will not renew the policy

thanks for that post, i've been with MoreThan just over 2 months and was thinking of starting to mod the 'roc (2800 miles)...

Had a feeling they wouldn't be mod friendly - was the cheapest quote i had by a big margin (£940 vs £1300-1500 !!!)

Looks like i'll have to wait another 10 months before mods or swallow the cancellation fees (not looked at the policy for £££ yet)

Have a Liverpool postcode which makes things difficult for Adrian Flux / Chris Knott etc...

[maisbitt]

Trix: Those insurance companies are serious liberty takers according to your echo story:-

As well as the alloys and the lowered suspension, it is claimed the car had a vent added to the bonnet to give greater air intake, an induction air filter and a stainless steel unit on the exhaust silencer.

Other changes included extra lights, rear lamp clusters, foot pedal covers, gear lever knob, carpet mats, seat covers, multi-disc player and head unit.

Most of those extras might make the car more desireable to some charva bad taste car thieves: extra lights, rear lamp clusters, foot pedal covers, gear lever knob, carpet mats, seat covers, multi-disc player and head unit Same also for the lowered suspension and alloy changes, the stainless steel exhaust might be considered to be a dazzling hazard because it doesn't rust

What would the vent and induction system add: 2 to 10BHP?

Don't forget that Diamond only insure women drivers because they are safer drivers!

I just know that those people wouldn't have been injured/killed if the owner hadn't put non standard carpet mats in the car.

[trix]

I know some don't need to be regarded maisbitt it was more the general, imo quite hard hitting, point of what your insurance company may do (ie sue you) should you not declare modifications, not the specifics of the story which are just gumpf to fill out the article.

[maisbitt]

Trix: Not a criticism of you, but the writer of the article - I can just imagine the insurance company in court citing a list of all those irrelevant add ons in order to wriggle out of a claim.

In that situation I would expect that an engineering report would be compiled to assess performance increases only over the standard stock, and that everyone would be paid out except the driver.

At the end of the day it was idiot behind the wheel who was dangerous. A nutter in an 80PS car is far more dangerous than a sensible driver in a Bugatti Veyron.

If I were you, i'd declare your covered cup holder to your insurance company - you never know!

All those Corsa Mods look like they were done for the benefit of the son driving the car - I doubt if a middle aged woman with an 18 year old son would mod the car like that for herself. So you have to ask - was she really the main driver on the policy, or was the car and the insurance her son's in all but name? As for the person who was flung out of the windscreen, I doubt if he was wearing a seatbelt.

If the flung passenger wasn't wearing a seatbelt then they shouldn't get a penny in compo, and if they could prove that the son was driving the car far more than the insured then again they shouldn't pay out on the car.

[trix]

easy to swap back & probably slows me down abit if anything it means things aren't on display to potential thieves.

the key item of the case which I would have been interested in yet very surprisingly not mentioned was: was the guy actually insured on the vehicle as it was certainly not in his name yet he was clearly very familiar with the car & I would think drove it regularly.

A nutter in an 80PS car is far more dangerous than a sensible driver in a Bugatti Veyron.

lol I actually saw a very basic corsa with big bore exhaust at lunch with a sticker on the back (intel inside style) saying "nutter inside"

[mordred1973]

Well I have been quoted by Chris Knott, at £592, so the remap looks to have increased my insurance cost by £165 at the moment. Adrian Flux was so far off the mark it's silly though.....

anyone got any other suggested brokers/insurers for quotes following a remap?

Cheers

[trix]

try:
Greenlight (contact details should be in sponsors )
Sky Insurance is one I have heard mentioned recently

from a recent thread on PH companies recommended were;
Hendersontaylor
Aplan
Competition Car Insurance

gives you some to at least try, let us know how you got on

S

[mordred1973]

Cheers Trix....

C