Declaring cosmetic mods to Insurance company

H

hype

Member
 Nottingham
Having recently made a few cosmetic improvements to my zed it got me thinking about the whole insurance thing - I mean where do you draw the line when if comes to notifying your insurance company about the changes you've made? Aero skirts? New alloys? Black grill? Forum sticker? :wink:

And at what point would an insurance company refuse to pay out if they found you had undeclared mods on your car? I'm fairly confident that most would do everything they could to void a claim, but maybe some people on here with experience may know more.

Discuss...
 
i don't see why you should have to declare a cosmetic mod, understandable if the car is bumped then you should only expect the car to be put back to its original state - before the cosmetic mods
 
I have declared all as it happens, just wondered what others thought. Admiral added £16 for the black grill and roof wrap, that's only for the remaining 5 months of my policy, although it could just be an admin charge I guess. As Taz said, I can't really understand why having a black grill increases my premium?!?!
 
Best to tell them of aything & everything. They make think you're mad for informing them of a forum sticker that'outof obstructing your vision, but better safe than sorry.

If it makes it more desirable then they my claim it's not covered for theft, but fine for an accident.

The problem comes when you use a company who simply don't/won't insure ANY modification as they may cancel your insurance, and then you have to declare that cancellation to other insurance companies when you try to get new premium.

I'd declare wheels and aero kit, but not grilles or sticker, plus anything else you're expecting the insurance company to replace in the event of a claim.
 
I should add that I haven't declared a forum sticker, I was just using it as an example! :D

Something else that makes no sense though, Admiral have told me that in an event of a claim my after market alloys wouldn't be replaced, I would instead receive oem wheels. Surely if they did their research they'd realise the oem alloys are going to cost significantly more than my new ones...
 
hype said:
I should add that I haven't declared a forum sticker, I was just using it as an example! :D

Something else that makes no sense though, Admiral have told me that in an event of a claim my after market alloys wouldn't be replaced, I would instead receive oem wheels. Surely if they did their research they'd realise the oem alloys are going to cost significantly more than my new ones...
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I know, that one always confuses me too. They are happy to pay £1400 for a set of OEM wheels rather than £700 for a set of aftermarket alloys...

I always notify the insurers of everything I do, a.s.a.p. Part of the time they don't care, sometimes they put a small premium loading on for it. So long as they note it on the policy... because you can guarantee that if the worst happens, some insurance assessor will come round, spot the aftermarket splitter and say 'sorry, we're not paying out as this wasn't disclosed to us'. Then you're shafted.....

Most insurance assessors can spot a mod a mile off.
 
Taz x said:
i don't see why you should have to declare a cosmetic mod
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Because it potentially changes the risk. The insurance company may think that your car could be more attractive to thieves if it has cosmetic mods. There was a case a few years ago where a Ford Fiesta was stolen, and the insurance refused to pay out because it had been fitted with a pair of fog lights.
 
Admiral just added both my roof and grill as "changes to external appearance" - or something along those lines. It did take me a while to explain the black grill to the lady on the phone though...
 
insurance :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:

its just a rip off, they insist you declare everything only so they can try and refuse to pay out if you haven't declared everything

also its just another way they can rip you off by charging you an admin fee

i hate insurance with a passion
 
This is a very interesting subject, I am thinking about doing a few subtle cosmetic mods to my Zed.

Do you guys use the comparison sites still to get quotes, or do you call companies directly? If so who are the better ones to use? I am 29yrs so not sure if some would t cover me due to age?!

Cheers
 
I use the comparison sites to get an idea, and then follow them up directly to see if a better deal can be done. If you're thinking of any mods it's worth checking which insurers will allow them before doing the deal, some are much stricter than others iirc. I have to say that Admiral have been great so far, even with he subtle mods I've made. I was with Direct Line for 10 years before that but got fed up with the content increases in renewal quotes...
 
hype said:
I use the comparison sites to get an idea, and then follow them up directly to see if a better deal can be done. If you're thinking of any mods it's worth checking which insurers will allow them before doing the deal, some are much stricter than others iirc. I have to say that Admiral have been great so far, even with he subtle mods I've made. I was with Direct Line for 10 years before that but got fed up with the content increases in renewal quotes...
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Im guessing you havent had a renewal quote from Admiral yet?

Mine usually goes up, I go on a comparison site, get the quote from Elephant, then ring Admiral, they fire up the same computer programme and match it.

Every bloody year :D
 
For my Scirocco I declared every mod, the list was over 25. Most were cosmetic and they didnt care about it nor did it alter the price BUT I insisted it was on the paperwork and thats the way you should play it.

For the Zed I have not declared my stubby (as it came with the car) my black grills as they are OEM or my BMW tax disc holder as its not really a mod .. or is it? Theres a thin line to mods / not really mods always safest to declare but I think using common sense should stand you in good stead.
 
bluestreak56 said:
For my Scirocco I declared every mod, the list was over 25. Most were cosmetic and they didnt care about it nor did it alter the price BUT I insisted it was on the paperwork and thats the way you should play it.

For the Zed I have not declared my stubby (as it came with the car) my black grills as they are OEM or my BMW tax disc holder as its not really a mod .. or is it? Theres a thin line to mods / not really mods always safest to declare but I think using common sense should stand you in good stead.
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Black grills were never OEM, they always had silver around the outside unless you mean the M slats as opposed to 3.0 grey ones


Tapatalking on my iPad.......
 
Some insurance companies only bump up the premium for performance mods.

My car i add in my mods i plan to do at renewal time so i dont get stung by an admin charge. In my case, aftermarket wheels + lowering springs added £50 , M front and rear bumper added £30, Aero skirts added £20 and the exhaust £50.

But as others have said its worth declaring everything to be safe.
 
aquazi said:
Some insurance companies only bump up the premium for performance mods.

My car i add in my mods i plan to do at renewal time so i dont get stung by an admin charge. In my case, aftermarket wheels + lowering springs added £50 , M front and rear bumper added £30, Aero skirts added £20 and the exhaust £50.

But as others have said its worth declaring everything to be safe.
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who's your insurance with? Ive been quoted vastly increased premiums for mine potential mods & I'm only 2 yrs younger than you.
 
The rule is - declare everything, and that way you are 100% safe.

If you want your mods insured for indemnity purposes, of course you should declare. If you have after market CSLs for example, then your car gets stolen. If declared and insured/agreed with your insurer, they may provide a payout to take into account the fact you had spent £££ on CSLs.

In general, I have a strong dislike for insurance companies. But mine has been kind to me over the years....

In all likelihood, your insurance will not be voided by a stubby. And, it's unlikely in the event of a claim that they will spot your car has 107s instead of 103s.... It's a lottery, they might spot it, they may not.
 
aquazi said:
Some insurance companies only bump up the premium for performance mods.

My car i add in my mods i plan to do at renewal time so i dont get stung by an admin charge. In my case, aftermarket wheels + lowering springs added £50 , M front and rear bumper added £30, Aero skirts added £20 and the exhaust £50.

But as others have said its worth declaring everything to be safe.
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surely an umodded but declared as modded is still modified but undeclared if you get my drift - I bet an insurance company would try it on!!


Tapatalking on my iPhone.......
 
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