Informing Insurance about Mods
- Thread starter jsing
- Start date
But there's a better class of driver in the E89slick said:metal licker said:I'm with esure cost me nothing to go from 17" RFT to 18" normal so you might be ok
I'm with E sure too and they charged me £78 for going from 17 rfts to 18 nfts ( with aftermarket alloys on the 18s)
chrissrush
Member
So the general and firmly expressed consensus here is to tell the insurance company of all mods and whenever mods are talked about on the forum there's usually a few voices reminding us that they should be declared.
I agree with that, in my view a few quid up front is a lot better than the risk of no payout (and worse) further down the road.
This is partly why I bought another set of Std. Z4M wheels for my winter tyres so I'd not need to tell them of any changes as they'd already stated they have no issue with winter tyres.
Paradoxically, I was reading a thread yesterday where some one had gone from (IIRC) 225/255's to 235/265's i.e. a non standard fitment (otherwise known as a modification?) and I don't recall anyone suggesting that this had to be declared to the insurance i.e. that a safety critical feature had been changed from an approved standard?
Not trying to start anything, but I'm wondering why would this be any different?
I agree with that, in my view a few quid up front is a lot better than the risk of no payout (and worse) further down the road.
This is partly why I bought another set of Std. Z4M wheels for my winter tyres so I'd not need to tell them of any changes as they'd already stated they have no issue with winter tyres.
Paradoxically, I was reading a thread yesterday where some one had gone from (IIRC) 225/255's to 235/265's i.e. a non standard fitment (otherwise known as a modification?) and I don't recall anyone suggesting that this had to be declared to the insurance i.e. that a safety critical feature had been changed from an approved standard?
Not trying to start anything, but I'm wondering why would this be any different?
Road Traffic Act 1998 section 143:
"a person must not use a motor vehicle on a road [or other public place] unless there is in force in relation to the use of the vehicle by that person such a policy of insurance or such a security in respect of third party risks as complies with the requirements of this Part of this Act,"
section 144 then goes on to say:
"Section 143 of this Act does not apply to a vehicle owned by a person who has deposited and keeps deposited with the Accountant General of the [Senior Courts] the sum of [£500,000], at a time when the vehicle is being driven under the owner’s control."
Anyone got 500grand? 8)
"a person must not use a motor vehicle on a road [or other public place] unless there is in force in relation to the use of the vehicle by that person such a policy of insurance or such a security in respect of third party risks as complies with the requirements of this Part of this Act,"
section 144 then goes on to say:
"Section 143 of this Act does not apply to a vehicle owned by a person who has deposited and keeps deposited with the Accountant General of the [Senior Courts] the sum of [£500,000], at a time when the vehicle is being driven under the owner’s control."
Anyone got 500grand? 8)
BMWZ4MC said:
Probably because they don't have it??? nor have they met the conditions laid out in the road traffic act... as pointed out above...
At least someone can do a bit of research... :roll:
Of course, the £500k has recently been changed... it used to be only £15k
so quite a big jump...
BMWZ4MC said:the cueball said:
It's a far more efficient use of my time to question your comment then wait for it it to be justified
Added my mods straight away.
Not all insurance companies will replace the mods if not OEM, so in my case CSL wheels are BMW spec so they will replace, whereas suspension isn't so there's a chance they won't but as with all cases you negotiate with the garage how your money is spent and you can sort out what you want with them and get them to buy parts in.
informing insurance is more about make sure you are insured as a whole and not found with undeclared things that they can use to void your insurance.
Specialist insurance will replace mods like for like.
Not sure if Chriss Knotts will but I know Sky insurance does.
I was tempted of transferring my insurance but i'm happy paying a bit extra now and keep the additional years no claims.
Not all insurance companies will replace the mods if not OEM, so in my case CSL wheels are BMW spec so they will replace, whereas suspension isn't so there's a chance they won't but as with all cases you negotiate with the garage how your money is spent and you can sort out what you want with them and get them to buy parts in.
informing insurance is more about make sure you are insured as a whole and not found with undeclared things that they can use to void your insurance.
Specialist insurance will replace mods like for like.
Not sure if Chriss Knotts will but I know Sky insurance does.
I was tempted of transferring my insurance but i'm happy paying a bit extra now and keep the additional years no claims.
So what if you genuinely don't know about a modification that has been done by a previous owner? If it were not for this forum I wouldn't have known to declare my strut brace that was there when I bought the car.
RubyBlueZ4MC said:
It's your job to tell the insurance the truth, and to find out what your car is/spec etc and let them know if they have it wrong... the onus isn't on them...
There was a case recently that I previous posted... the insurance company got the spec of the car wrong, then is was stolen and they didn't pay out...
The court found in favour of the company and said the customer has the duty to inform them.
guy I used to know had NOS in his BMW for use when going to santa pod.
He got pulled over and police searched his car as they would normally and found the NOS system in his boot albeit disconnected.
Asked if he declared this to his insurance, and his reply was, it's not connected and only used it on tracks.
Turns out this is a no no as since it's all piped up it's still part of the car and available to be used on the road ( I say disconnected I mean the connections to the engine were pulled out)
His car was seized and due to be crushed if he didn't pay the backlog of excess he would have paid once having it fitted.
I'd rather pay the extra now than the headache and extra plus later
He got pulled over and police searched his car as they would normally and found the NOS system in his boot albeit disconnected.
Asked if he declared this to his insurance, and his reply was, it's not connected and only used it on tracks.
Turns out this is a no no as since it's all piped up it's still part of the car and available to be used on the road ( I say disconnected I mean the connections to the engine were pulled out)
His car was seized and due to be crushed if he didn't pay the backlog of excess he would have paid once having it fitted.
I'd rather pay the extra now than the headache and extra plus later
You can find the specification of your car as it left the factory from the VIN. Using this information and the list of available options for your model it is possible to establish what is not standard (either OEM or aftermarket additions) and declare everything. Of course, "hidden" modifications such as engine internals or suspension might be harder to recognise if you didn't make those modifications yourself.
I make the assumption that any potential insurance assessor will be a vaguely reasonable human being - I've previosly declared all modifications that I have made with new parts, but haven't declared that I removed the CDV and expect "modified intake" to cover all of black kidney grills, RPi scoop and aFe intake. Also, previously I haven't told them that I have brake pads that are decribed by the manufacturer as "race-only". Technically they are not road-legal as they exceed the relevant European Standard for brake performance by more than a stipulated amount (they need be within xx% of OEM). Admiral refused to insure my car with a strut brace fitted, so I simply removed the centre section for road use and replaced it for the track. Of note, Admiral are one of the companies that will happily increase the premium for modifications but will return the car only to stock in the event of a claim.
Once I'm back in the UK, I plan to make further modifications to my car that will render it uninsurable by mainstream companies, so I will then use a specialist company and declare everything I have changed or that is non-standard down to the skid plates on the front bumper.
I make the assumption that any potential insurance assessor will be a vaguely reasonable human being - I've previosly declared all modifications that I have made with new parts, but haven't declared that I removed the CDV and expect "modified intake" to cover all of black kidney grills, RPi scoop and aFe intake. Also, previously I haven't told them that I have brake pads that are decribed by the manufacturer as "race-only". Technically they are not road-legal as they exceed the relevant European Standard for brake performance by more than a stipulated amount (they need be within xx% of OEM). Admiral refused to insure my car with a strut brace fitted, so I simply removed the centre section for road use and replaced it for the track. Of note, Admiral are one of the companies that will happily increase the premium for modifications but will return the car only to stock in the event of a claim.
Once I'm back in the UK, I plan to make further modifications to my car that will render it uninsurable by mainstream companies, so I will then use a specialist company and declare everything I have changed or that is non-standard down to the skid plates on the front bumper.