winter tyres and insurance

D

dhobbs

Senior member
Not sure if this is the correct place to post but...

I just found this regarding winter tyres and whether you have to tell your insurance. Go to this website
https://www.abi.org.uk/Insurance-and-savings/Products/Motor-insurance/Winter-tyres

There is a download which details each insurance company whether you have to tell them and if it affects the amount of cover.

Seems like most of them are fine with it (finally some sense!)

:)
 
dhobbs said:
Seems like most of them are fine with it (finally some sense!)

:)
Click to expand...

It's crazy to think fitting winter tyres could have a negative impact on your insurance.
In Germany if you have an accident on summer tyres in wintry conditions (ie cold, frosty etc not just snow) most insurance companies won't pay for damage to your car. They will pay for damage to others as they were not at fault. They won't pay for damage to you or your car as driving with unsuitable tyres is negligent and so the damage was self inflicted.
 
A few years ago they would charge you more because they didn't understand and the operators treated it like a modification.
 
Where I live in Pennsylvania and most Northern states winter tires are required from October or November until March or even early April. Should you get stuck and are blocking a road you will be given an expensive ticket. If you have an accident you will be given a ticket and assigned fault for the accident. No effect on your auto insurance as far as I know other than if you are assigned fault for an accident.
 
Frankly I find it ludicrous that the ABI, as the trade body of the Insurance industry so to speak, does not require ALL of it's members to accept the fitment of winter tyres with no additional premium or any variation in cover - so long as they are of an appropriate size!

Thankfully as motor insurance is an annual contract the duty of disclosure only arises at renewal, and my renewal is at the end of April at which time my E46 is on it's summer wheels! (It may run on original fitment BMW wheels with winter tyres from November to March, but they are off by renewal date)! :lol:

And better still, it's insurer is on the list that doesn't charge or alter cover. :thumbsup:

Sad to see such a mess of incompetence within an industry in which I worked for over 30 years, but by the time I left the motor/household arena was so dumbed-down most monkeys would have been over-qualified! :headbang:
 
Winter tyres are a requirement for most of northern Europe, unfortunately as the UKs winters are unpredictable it's not required here.

I kept my summer tyres on last winter and it wasn't a problem.
 
Mr Tidy said:
(It may run on original fitment BMW wheels with winter tyres from November to March, but they are off by renewal date)! :lol:
Click to expand...
Winter tyres are an original fitment on BMWs. They are listed in the manual, denoted by 'M&S'. If you are running winter tyres of one of the listed sizes on the correct BMW wheels there is no modification to report.

Unpredictable winters cuts no ice with me !! Unless you are in a position to leave a car with summer tyres at home on cold days there will be days when your summer tyres are underperforming. I'm lucky to have one car with good summer tyres on, one with good winter tyres. And yes there is a huge difference in grip between the two on cold days.
 
NickDE said:
Winter tyres are an original fitment on BMWs. They are listed in the manual, denoted by 'M&S'. If you are running winter tyres of one of the listed sizes on the correct BMW wheels there is no modification to report.

Unpredictable winters cuts no ice with me !! Unless you are in a position to leave a car with summer tyres at home on cold days there will be days when your summer tyres are underperforming. I'm lucky to have one car with good summer tyres on, one with good winter tyres. And yes there is a huge difference in grip between the two on cold days.
Click to expand...

That's an interesting point about them being potentially OEM.

And I couldn't agree more with you on the difference, even when there is no snow. Like you I have one car on winters and my Z4 stays on summers - as you say the difference is really noticeable. :thumbsup:
 
I chose 103 alloys for my winter wheels as they are OEM, less of a chance for the insurers to wriggle out of a claim.
Also the drop is size from 18 to 17 inch is better for the potholes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom