Just been reading one of the threads re air filters and find it hard to believe that a straight replacement 'green cotton air filter' would be classed as a modification.

Are there any more 'grey areas' we should all be aware of? in another post one member was saying that his insurance went up by installing a 'tracker' :eek:

Its all nuts if you ask me.

Could tyres, oil, bulbs ever be classed as Mods?:confused:

Insurance will grab you by the danglies for anything.

Bigger, better brakes should make your car safer, so less of a liability, right? Not if you're an insurance company it doesn't. It means you're probably going to drive faster and more recklessly, therefore you need to pay more premium.

Fitted a PiperCross Panel filter because you want cleaner air flow and don't want to change the cotton one every year? That's another £30 on the premium please. Alright, the packet claims to improve performance by 5 BHP but we all know that's stretching the truth in the real world.

What about a Forge DV? It doesn't improve speed, bhp or anything else really, it's just less likely to fail and can be serviced rather than replaced. That's yet another £30 on the premium please.

Like you say, it's nuts. What about aftermaket dust caps? £20 extra?

it is daft but look at it this way, say your car is a total write off, do you really think an insurance company would notice that the panel filter is not the oem one and that the brakes all though OEM parts are slightly larger than they should be?

some how i dont think so

I've heard of insurers refusing a pay out because a car had undeclared stickers. An urban myth? Who knows?

My last insurer would allow me to have a leather seat re-trim - I had to wait until my policy was due for renewal and switch to another company.

I find that a bit hard to believe, but a sticker is quite obvious, then again, what about the stickers dealers put in your windows?

If you can use other parts as "OE" replacements with no performance gain, then I think you're OK.

Having said that, some insurers would class 18" Zeniths as a modification because they were an upgrade from the standard specification of the car. Same with sat nav, climate control, maxidot... where does it end??

The sticker was because it advertised the business and so meant the car was being used for commercial purposes on a domestic and pleasure only policy. Eg not enough cover.

I declared my brake modifications and they added zero to the policy.

To be able to use a part as OE equivilent it has to be E marked to regulation ECE90 IIRC.

http://www.efiltd.co.uk/reg90.html

I'd suggest that the cheapy cheap insurance you get will have you for everything they can, same as the budget airlines. The initial flight is cheap, however if you want luggage, food and potentially even use of the toilet then it's going to cost you.

Edited 16 March, 200917 yr by cheezemonkhai

it is daft but look at it this way, say your car is a total write off, do you really think an insurance company would notice that the panel filter is not the oem one and that the brakes all though OEM parts are slightly larger than they should be?

some how i dont think so

Fully agree with that,..........maybe the k04 urbo might go unnoticed:rolleyes:,

I doubt many of theyre insurance specialists would have a clue between most things unless theyhave brand names planted over them or they are obvious such as exhaust or air intakes

Do you want to take the risk of them maybe noticing and not paying out? There are insurers out there who are more reasonable with respect to mods; one of them is a partner on here.

If you want to alter your car away from the manufacturer's standard specification, insure with someone who'll allow it and not charge unreasonably

Steve

agreed, mine are all declared and due to it being a german company they havent up'd the premium.

If a car is in an accident the police my decide to pull it to bits to find out the cause. They will find any mods during the process. If a fault with the car is suspected, the insurance company may submit it for an engineer's report, during which mods will be found.

Insurance companies may not know all the technical details, but they employ people who do. Is it worth it?

Many years ago, I used to know a guy who didn't tell his insurance company that his Escort had an RS2000 engine. This obviously invalidated his insurance, but he didn't bother as he couldn't afford the extra premium and he was "a good driver" who didn't intend to have accidents.

After the truck had hit him and concertina-ed his car, the insurance company found out about his mod and invalidated his policy. He was also prosecuted for having no insurance. No matter how good a driver you are, is it really worth it?

Phil

Insurance comapnies view modifications as any item/part that is not factory standard fit. For example if you bought an Octavia Elegance and the extras to make it like an L&K these will all be viewed as modifications. Whereas if you bought the L&K then all these 'extras' come as standard therefore no modifications to declare.

Generally modfications carry an increased premium because there will be a higher cost to replace/repair the car due to the non-factory standard extras that have been fitted. If performance enhancing modifications are made then these will carry a heavier added premium due to there being greater risk as the driver is 'likely' to drive quicker. (to be honest if your car has greater performance you are going to use this to some degree)

LOL it is a bit silly but this is how these companies operate and 100's of drivers are fitting induction kits and panel filters all the time.I reckon even replacing your dust cap for a nice attractive one would probably be classed as a mod,but im hardly the person like many who is going to contact my insurance over little minor things.The more honest you are the more they hit you in the pocket for it,so it's no wonder why so many don't bother saying anything and take the risk instead.

The more honest you are the more they hit you in the pocket for it,so it's no wonder why so many don't bother saying anything and take the risk instead.

Not always the case! It all depends...

My old company wouldn't cover any "performance enhancements" so i went to a specialist broker (& site sponsor), told them what I was planning to do and got better cover with them for less than my old "direct" insurer! They were also a pleasure to deal with, as i realed off the modifications I was intending, they knew what I was on about and i didn't get the "whats one of those?!?" questions. It was a refreshing experience as they made me feel like an individual valued customer

Long may they keep it up and if my premiums stay at the sort of level they are at the moment, then it will help offset some of the cost of the modifications

soooo, here is one, you go to your local exhaust and tyre specialist who put on 4 new tyres which are not the bridgestone ones that were on the car as new and a new cheap exhaust which isnt a performance exhaust or loud but a cheaper version of the skoda. will you then have to declare them? lastly your brakes are running low and you go and buy some pads from halfrauds and probably the halfrauds own make.. do you have to declare these too as they not OEM?

As long as these are maintenance jobs and aren't performance enhancing then there shouldn't be an increase in premium.

But some companies do want to be told about these as they view them as a modificiation, but they don't apply any additional premium.

then again, what about the stickers dealers put in your windows?

They really get my goat for some reason. I remember once buying a new car and specifically asking the salesman to make sure they didnt add one. I told him "i am only going to take it straight out anyway and then i'll have to clean the inside of the back window to get the sticky off What's the point?" It still had one when i picked it up :(

They really get my goat for some reason. I remember once buying a new car and specifically asking the salesman to make sure they didnt add one. I told him "i am only going to take it straight out anyway and then i'll have to clean the inside of the back window to get the sticky off What's the point?" It still had one when i picked it up :(

If you see my post above you'll see why the sticker point is mute.

Regarding the dealer you can have it put into the contract that you want no dealer stickers or advertising put on the car and that if they fit one they agree to pay you "£X" per day for advertising

At that point you can walk away or charge them advertising fees

soooo, here is one, you go to your local exhaust and tyre specialist who put on 4 new tyres which are not the bridgestone ones that were on the car as new and a new cheap exhaust which isnt a performance exhaust or loud but a cheaper version of the skoda. will you then have to declare them?

Some tyres are so poor they ought to be banned.. I wonder how many accidents could be prevented every year by forcing people to buy good tyres.

The annoying thing is that it's generally the mod scene that are happy to spend £1500 quid on some BBS alloys and then shod them with the cheapest chinese Nankang crap they can find! And it's usually 18" and 19" rims that are the worst culprits.

generally because there more bothered about how it looks than what it actually goes like, look at some of the stupidly lowered cars you see (and im not talking about lowering a vRS 30mm), useless on a public road, just do it because they think it looks good, same as with the wheels, look good, doesnt matter what tyres