Insurance.. How honest are you?
- Thread starter mark1982
- Start date
jonno said:
To keep it simple I don't do any mods
. Insurance is a bit of a scam anyway so best pay as little as you can get away with but without of course lying. Many companies will always try to get away with it or cut their exposure in the case of a claim.I like the idea of using common sense, ie, informing insurers of anything that is likely to affect the performance of the vehicle or attract theft(big wheels or change of address) or increase risk of an accident (such as doing more than agreed miles). I also like the sound of a standarised claims system where by law we all know when to inform our insurers of changes and when not. Informing insurer of every little thing doesn't sound like common sense to me, more of a way to play the system correctly, a system that is maybe a tad dodgy anyway
I think if you failed to inform your insurers for example that you debadged the car and they tried to refuse to pay out of an accident because of it, well, that would be an interesting topic to discuss in court
i told them about my new gear knob and he told me not to worry about it, i guess once youhave them on the phone you may as well just tell them what you have (or are considering to have :wink: ) and see what difference if any it makes. i dont think there that bothered about interior its the outside stuff they want to bump up ur premium with. more desirable to pinch! they wanted £2 extra for my matt black grill. totally stupid but for £2 i know its declared and ill have the upper hand always. if i owned an insurance company i would want to know about every mod but wouldnt bump up premium for any mod that was "cosmetic" but id do everything i could to find out a way not to pay out a claim! even if it ment an undeclared mod.
Having approximately 25 modifications on my Scirocco, I'm careful to declare them all to each and every insurer on the phone and if it proceeds to that level then by paperwork also.
Often some companies are only interested in performance enhancing mods, some are interesting also in visually different mods and some even more than both of those.
I declare my carpets as they cost me a few bob and are significantly different to the standard ones.
This is what I've declared:
16v Injection engine from Mk2 Golf Gti (kr) with MFA
Power Steering from a Nissan Sunny / Metro 100
Uprated Brakes (Discs All round) - mk3 callipers on brackets with 285mm black diamond grooved and vented discs, Rear discs conversion with grooved discs, mk2 servo and 22mm master cylinder
Four branch manifold with large bore Peco exhaust
15" VW Rivage Alloys (Le Castellet's)
Meta Alarm & Immobiliser with Remote Central Locking
Corrado Steering Wheel
Beestinger Aerial
Black / Red Two Tone Leather Seats & Black leather door cards
Lowered 25mm all round (Weitec Ultra GT)
Gti Headlamps
Red / Black SCIROCCO branded mats from JustMatz
OMP Anthracite Lower Front Strut Brace
K&N Air Filter
CD MP3 Player with Bluetooth
Scirocco Rear Windscreen Sticker Decal
Red Tail Lights
Smoked Indicators
Smoked Side Repeaters
Grill Spoiler
Small Fogs
Transformers Mesh Grill
Transformers Badges
16v Badges
Scirocco stickers
Things I havnt declared:
Brass Clips for Parcel Shelf
Transformers gearknob
Blue dash lights
Cant think of anything else
Often some companies are only interested in performance enhancing mods, some are interesting also in visually different mods and some even more than both of those.
I declare my carpets as they cost me a few bob and are significantly different to the standard ones.
This is what I've declared:
16v Injection engine from Mk2 Golf Gti (kr) with MFA
Power Steering from a Nissan Sunny / Metro 100
Uprated Brakes (Discs All round) - mk3 callipers on brackets with 285mm black diamond grooved and vented discs, Rear discs conversion with grooved discs, mk2 servo and 22mm master cylinder
Four branch manifold with large bore Peco exhaust
15" VW Rivage Alloys (Le Castellet's)
Meta Alarm & Immobiliser with Remote Central Locking
Corrado Steering Wheel
Beestinger Aerial
Black / Red Two Tone Leather Seats & Black leather door cards
Lowered 25mm all round (Weitec Ultra GT)
Gti Headlamps
Red / Black SCIROCCO branded mats from JustMatz
OMP Anthracite Lower Front Strut Brace
K&N Air Filter
CD MP3 Player with Bluetooth
Scirocco Rear Windscreen Sticker Decal
Red Tail Lights
Smoked Indicators
Smoked Side Repeaters
Grill Spoiler
Small Fogs
Transformers Mesh Grill
Transformers Badges
16v Badges
Scirocco stickers
Things I havnt declared:
Brass Clips for Parcel Shelf
Transformers gearknob
Blue dash lights
Cant think of anything else
mark1982 said:
But time is money.If you owned an insurance company you probably wouldn't want to employ staff to deal with daft callers stating they've made some non-relevant change to a car
.If I owned an insurance company I would ensure all policy holders know exactly what changes they need to let us know about. Callers who called about other things would be charged a flat fee also
.Also, as a lot of polices are created via brokers I'm not sure how sure if all the time they can actually make changes to a policy anyway once it's started
Darren M said:mark1982 said:
But time is money.If you owned an insurance company you probably wouldn't want to employ staff to deal with daft callers stating they've made some non-relevant change to a car
If I owned an insurance company I would ensure all policy holders know exactly what changes they need to let us know about. Callers who called about other things would be charged a flat fee also
Ah but if your a broker or use various underwriters then the terms could vary so it's not as easy as that.
Darren M said:mark1982 said:
But time is money.If you owned an insurance company you probably wouldn't want to employ staff to deal with daft callers stating they've made some non-relevant change to a car
If I owned an insurance company I would ensure all policy holders know exactly what changes they need to let us know about. Callers who called about other things would be charged a flat fee also
Also, as a lot of polices are created via brokers I'm not sure how sure if all the time they can actually make changes to a policy anyway once it's started
the guy was nice to me giving me advise for 20 mins and even yapped on about his modded corsa! but then im paying 8p a min for this service :| he told me what i needed to know and stupid me was honest about everything. yeh id pay a guy to go check out a totalled car (if it was his fault) and go over it for any addition mods! would only take 20 mins for a quick look to look at alloys, modded bumpers, exhausts, engine bay etc. if it wasnt declared he wouldnt get paid out simple! id make it bold clear writting on the policy any mod other than standard let insurer know.
Nova2k7 said:
Nova2k7 - everyone has skipped over this kind offer, and whilst every company is different, from your experience what's the best approach ? I am tempted just to give them a ring - none of my mods are performance enhancing, yet, but having read this I am tending towards the ''safe rather than sorry" approach.
ranski said:
ranski - wouldn't be so sure. I think every car has a delivery spec recorded and kept by the manufacturer - i think they have to have this by law for their own insurance and protection - not sure you can get it easily, but you may have a copy of the delivery spec at new in the docs that came with the car when you purchased it from it's last owner (I have mine). I'd put money on the DVLA, police and insurers being able to find out exactly how it left the factory if they really wanted to - so in the case of a serious RTA that crippled someone for life which appeared to be your fault for example. You'd be amazed how much information is kept by insurers and 'mined' when required. One of my customers is an IT security company that works for insurers to identify fraudulent claims using reams of data and 'social networking principles'... I don't pretend to understand how it works, but they process hundreds of thousands or pieces of information every night to try and find links between people claiming, past claims, past passengers in accidents, car types that claims are associated with, and so on, including trawling the Internet for freely available personal information - like this site... All a bit
, I know, and not really relevant to those of us not involved in serious fraud, but something to think about.Think I'll just have a chat with Direct Line when I get a moment
Out of interest, why is it only the UK insurance industry that is this anal? There is not a single other country that I am aware off where insurance is this complicated. You insure a car for £50k and that is what is insured, no matter what you do to it and no matter who drives it.
It is great when I go home to NL that I can borrow any car from any family member or friend and can drive it without problems. But not here, I just wonder why.
It is great when I go home to NL that I can borrow any car from any family member or friend and can drive it without problems. But not here, I just wonder why.
Darren M said:jonno said:
To keep it simple I don't do any mods
I like the idea of using common sense, ie, informing insurers of anything that is likely to affect the performance of the vehicle or attract theft(big wheels or change of address) or increase risk of an accident (such as doing more than agreed miles). I also like the sound of a standarised claims system where by law we all know when to inform our insurers of changes and when not. Informing insurer of every little thing doesn't sound like common sense to me, more of a way to play the system correctly, a system that is maybe a tad dodgy anyway
I think if you failed to inform your insurers for example that you debadged the car and they tried to refuse to pay out of an accident because of it, well, that would be an interesting topic to discuss in court
+1 Especially as BMW offer Model Deletion as a none cost option.
I had a few mods done on my previous Z4, and the only thing i informed the insurance of were the change to non runflats. Response - Provided they are road legal and the correct size, then no effect on cover. A good common sense response
Other mods which were not declared:
Stubby aerial - Didnt consider relevant
Removal of 3.0si bdages - Didnt consider relevant
Remus catback exhaust - My then insurer stated stainless steel exhausts were covered in their faq's.
One touch roof module - Not relevant
Strut Brace - On reflection maybe best to inform of this.
And therefore I would be prepared to see them in court if need be. Unfair contracts which I am sure could not be defended in an European court as other countries don't use this approach.
Examples of non fault claims increasing your premium due to some warped statistics usage, having to declare speeding fines and increase premiums again non related matters, making changes to cars which makes the car "uninsured", unable to drive other cars fully comp, unable to drive a car abroad without paying additional premiums, youngsters unable to insure cars and the list goes on ...
Examples of non fault claims increasing your premium due to some warped statistics usage, having to declare speeding fines and increase premiums again non related matters, making changes to cars which makes the car "uninsured", unable to drive other cars fully comp, unable to drive a car abroad without paying additional premiums, youngsters unable to insure cars and the list goes on ...
I had two cars stolen on the same night 4 years ago while I was asleep in bed. 1 off Astra VXR and 1 off Mini Cooper. Still missing !
After the initial shock of being broken into and losing two cars, I suddenly realised both of them were meant to be in the garage, and were not that night, and I had an undeclared 3 points, but only from 3 weeks previous.
I was a little nerous for the next few weeks while the claims went through.
I was with Admiral and had no issues at all. The paid up and I even argued for extra money when unhappy with their initial offers.
After the initial shock of being broken into and losing two cars, I suddenly realised both of them were meant to be in the garage, and were not that night, and I had an undeclared 3 points, but only from 3 weeks previous.
I was a little nerous for the next few weeks while the claims went through.
I was with Admiral and had no issues at all. The paid up and I even argued for extra money when unhappy with their initial offers.