If getting insurance on modified cars is so difficult for someone like me...

MTBD

Then how do 17-25 year olds that populate most rural towns get insured on their turbo diesels which are quite clearly modified?

I've been enquiring about getting insurance on a modified car that I may buy and almost everywhere I have tried flat out refuses. Still waiting to here back on a few of them. As it's an N/A car it actually takes a bit of work on induction, exhaust, cams, etc to up the power as opposed to turbos which simply require a remap. Therefore there is lot to declare. However, the end result is the same, a faster more powerful car. It seems unfair that 1000s of people are going around with remapped cars and have no problem getting insurance...or else they aren't insured at all in reality?

Nearly every Golf, Bora, 320D in the hands of the boy racer brigade has been remapped. Are any of these actually insured because I dont believe for a second they would be able to get reasonable quotes on cars that powerful. Not to mention the obvious mods like lowering, exhausts, coilovers, etc.

Surely instead of saying "no we dont insure modified cars" the insurers should be forced to quote reasonable prices for reasonable modifications. Like in England where people cant fathom why you wouldnt declare mods...

Kimbot

Easy answer is they lie, "Is your car modified in anyway", "Nope not at all"

Toyotafanboi

definitely did it when i was younger, but i don't think things were quite as strict then, or maybe i just didn't care.

wouldn't do it now. that said, i don't have my 8 ball gear knob declared.

MTBD

jonny24ie wrote: »

Easy answer is they lie, "Is your car modified in anyway", "Nope not at all"

Well that's what I presume also. So if that is the case, what is the reality of cover when these lads crash? Obviously there must have been a lot of cases by now so there must be hundreds of uninsured driver cases going through the courts?

And if there isn't then why should anyone bother declaring mods if these lads are being covered in the event of crashes anyway? Do the insurance companies even check?

smash

Being back xs-direct. I had fully comp on a modified 3ltr v6 with all modifications declared and an excess of €1000 for about €1,100. I was in my late 20's at the time.

dar83

It's quite clearly a case of these things not being declared in most cases. However I think insurers are actually a bit more receptive to the Diesel remaps than other things, oddly. But try to declare an intercooler or an induction kit and they generally freak out. The more after market parts you attach, the harder it gets. Your best bet it to approach your existing insurer and see what they can do, as most others will decline new business if the car is declared in any way modified.

Liam McPoyle

MTBD wrote: »

Well that's what I presume also. So if that is the case, what is the reality of cover when these lads crash? Obviously there must have been a lot of cases by now so there must be hundreds of uninsured driver cases going through the courts?

And if there isn't then why should anyone bother declaring mods if these lads are being covered in the event of crashes anyway? Do the insurance companies even check?

If a driver crashes into a third party but lied to get insurance, the insurance company is still legally liable to cover the cost of the third parties damage or injuries. Its one of the main conditions of insurance.

They will likely not cover the cost of the policy holders damage if they lied to get a quote but the majority of the claims cost will lie with the innocent party so its going to cost the company thousands and simply has to be paid.

MTBD

Business Cat wrote: »

If a driver crashes into a third party but lied to get insurance, the insurance company is still legally liable to cover the cost of the third parties damage or injuries. Its one of the main conditions of insurance.

They will likely not cover the cost of the policy holders damage if they lied to get a quote but the majority of the claims cost will lie with the innocent party so its going to cost the company thousands and simply has to be paid.

Okay but are insurance companies actually coming after people with undeclared mods? I haven't heard of it but then I don't mix in circles of the modified car crew. This surely is a significant social issue really. Thousand of people with inadequate cover driving around because insurance companies don't want to do their job properly.

JC01

MTBD wrote: »

Okay but are insurance companies actually coming after people with undeclared mods? I haven't heard of it but then I don't mix in circles of the modified car crew. This surely is a significant social issue really. Thousand of people with inadequate cover driving around because insurance companies don't want to do their job properly.

A significant social issue is a bit over the top.

For what it's worth I'v mods declared on a jap import, early 20s with liberty. You may forget about anyone taking you on as new business though you'll need an existing policy before an insurer will start listining to mods etc

To Elland Back

MTBD wrote: »

Okay but are insurance companies actually coming after people with undeclared mods? I haven't heard of it but then I don't mix in circles of the modified car crew. This surely is a significant social issue really. Thousand of people with inadequate cover driving around because insurance companies don't want to do their job properly.

What do you mean by insurance companies not doing their job properly? Firstly, the have to pay out (possibly hundred of thousands) to a 3rd party and then you want them to spend more pursuing someone who probably has no money

The consequence for the driver who lied to their insurer is a forced cancellation and a claims history. This will stay with with them for a long time. Start lying about that the next time and the thing snowballs

duffman3833

If you have mods that have no effect of performance or handling on car id say be OK. Although insurance companies will look for any excuse not to pay out. (Spoiler too big... not paying out)

smash

duffman3833 wrote: »

If you have mods that have no effect of performance or handling on car id say be OK. Although insurance companies will look for any excuse not to pay out. (Spoiler too big... not paying out)

I'd heard of Insurance companies attempting to void policies because of undeclared vehicle wrapping.

Henry Ford III

duffman3833 wrote: »

If you have mods that have no effect of performance or handling on car id say be OK. Although insurance companies will look for any excuse not to pay out. (Spoiler too big... not paying out)

Not sure that's correct.

A mega stereo can cost thousands, and will certainly make a car more attractive to a potential thief. Really fancy and expensive alloy wheels will be probably similar.

duffman3833

smash wrote: »

I'd heard of Insurance companies attempting to void policies because of undeclared vehicle wrapping.

haha, does wrapping give you a horse power gain?

Toyotafanboi

duffman3833 wrote: »

haha, does wrapping give you a horse power gain?

no, but it might give them an idea of the mindset of the driver.

duffman3833

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Not sure that's correct.

A mega stereo can cost thousands, and will certainly make a car more attractive to a potential thief. Really fancy and expensive alloy wheels will be probably similar.

I was thinking more of stickers,different lights or tinted windows. they wouldn't make car more attractive to robbers. Would they? But as i said they would use any excuse not to pay out

Toyotafanboi

duffman3833 wrote: »

I was thinking more of stickers,different lights or tinted windows. they wouldn't make car more attractive to robbers. Would they? But as i said they would use any excuse not to pay out

i don't think they'd withhold from paying out if you had a Jesus fish on the bootlid, but if a lad rings up and insures a white 3 door corolla, no modifications, they are expecting this



then he's flipped it over a ditch, assessor turns up and it looks like this.



sure, it's a stock white corolla and it's only a sticker set, but it tells you a certain few things about the drivers mindset imo.

smash

duffman3833 wrote: »

haha, does wrapping give you a horse power gain?

Go faster stripes do :pac:

But I think it's more to do with the car not being as specified. Like, car details are gathered from info supplied by the VRO. If your car is black and you crash and they arrive and it's orange, then it's not as specified.

Chris_Heilong

As said, If the driver of the Modded car crashes into another car then the person he crashed into gets the same payout they would if the car that crashed into him was unmodified so its not a social issue.

However the driver of the modified car will be blacklisted and most likely have their policy cancelled, they will find it hard if not near to impossible to find insurance again for years to come. Its not worth that kind of risk for a lot of people.

MTBD

Chris_Heilong wrote: »

As said, If the driver of the Modded car crashes into another car then the person he crashed into gets the same payout they would if the car that crashed into him was unmodified so its not a social issue.

However the driver of the modified car will be blacklisted and most likely have their policy cancelled, they will find it hard if not near to impossible to find insurance again for years to come. Its not worth that kind of risk for a lot of people.

Well I dont really see how that is considered an okay solution to an issue that is probably never going to go away. The most likely people to find themselves in this situation are 17-25 year olds who have modded their car and not told anyone. There are dozens of them in every town driving around so its not as if it is uncommon. Young lads are often a bit dense, no matter how many times you tell them they shouldn't do it they will think you are exaggerating. I genuinely don't think most people who do this realise the potential consequences of it.

They arent necessarily dangerous drivers or even deceitful, just a bit naive of the consquences most of the time. Its not very reasonable that the solution to not offering insurance on modified cars at a fair supplementary charge, is to potentially hurt someones future prospects to such a degree that they cant get any insurance. There should be a mechanism that allows modifications to be declared and charged for...reasonably. Not this seemingly random and arbitrary system that exists at the moment.

To Elland Back

MTBD wrote: »

Well I dont really see how that is considered an okay solution to an issue that is probably never going to go away. The most likely people to find themselves in this situation are 17-25 year olds who have modded their car and not told anyone. There are dozens of them in every town driving around so its not as if it is uncommon. Young lads are often a bit dense, no matter how many times you tell them they shouldn't do it they will think you are exaggerating. I genuinely don't think most people who do this realise the potential consequences of it.

They arent necessarily dangerous drivers or even deceitful, just a bit naive of the consquences most of the time. Its not very reasonable that the solution to not offering insurance on modified cars at a fair supplementary charge, is to potentially hurt someones future prospects to such a degree that they cant get any insurance. There should be a mechanism that allows modifications to be declared and charged for...reasonably. Not this seemingly random and arbitrary system that exists at the moment.

Insurance Companies are not your Mammy. They are businesses offering a service in the hope of making a profit. If they want to charge X or decline a modified car, that is their right. Anyone who wants to misrepresent their facts to circumvent the system bring it on themselves. They know what they are doing.

dar83

The reality is, for most insurers it's just easier to say no, so they do. Especially nowadays where we have a lot of "low cost" insurers flooding the market. The have a demograph of ideal low-risk candidates and that's what they want, if you vary outside of that they become not so much of a bargain compared to other companies and if you reach the outer limits of their safe and basic business model they will decline outright.

Your best bet is to be insured with one of the big players (AXA, Aviva, Liberty) and then try and introduce the modifications when you have an existing relationship with them. Whether they can quote you will also depend on what the car is and what risk category it is in before you go adding modification to it.

What's the car you're looking at?

Supergurrier

Does my padre pio sticker count as a mod ?

Henry Ford III

I display this sticker and actually get a hefty discount.

Supergurrier

Henry Ford III wrote: »

I display this sticker and actually get a hefty discount.