Notify Your Insurance Company for Winter Steels

[KayakJim]

Although I have posted this in another thread in the general area of this site, I thought it was an important enough point to need its own thread for discussion in particular here as it seems to be the hot topic.

The seed of doubt was sown in my mind by various comments in different threads about swapping to steel wheels with winter tyres for the colder months :( So I called AA Insurance. They had not come across what the rep called a 'downgrade' from alloy to steel wheels and winter tyres before, which I found surprising, but confirmed that the change would invalidate my policy if I had not notified them. So there might be quite a few people driving around with invalid cover

The AA rep spoke to the underwriter directly (L & V trading as ABC) who asked wheel and tyres size and if they were Skoda steel wheels (which they are being stamped with VW). From the tone of the last question I suspect if they were not standard Skoda recommended option then there might have been a problem and an extra charge would have applied. There also seemed to be a query regarding who they had been fitted by, as I had mine fitted by the local tyre centre then this was not a problem, but I suspect when I come to swap the wheels around again that I will need to have a receipt for this from the garage and doing it myself could invalidate the policy. He seemed unsure if I needed to call back when I changed back to summer ones, but better to call back to be sure when I did.

As it was there was no extra charge applied to my policy.

So thank you to those on this forum who advised on this and be warned!

[foo]

Did the 'fitting' relate to the tyres on the wheels or the wheel/tyres to the car?

Also - it seems incredulous to me that they cared about the wheels and not the nature of tyres (and motivation behind the 'sidegrade') themselves.

Edited 14 January, 2010 by foo

[Babs]

So changing the wheels yourself would invalidate your insurance? So you'd not be allowed to change to a spare wheel?

AA insurance are retarded, then!

[KayakJim]

Did the 'fitting' relate to the tyres on the wheels or the wheel/tyres to the car?

The fitting question related to the wheels to the car, I assume this has something to do with making sure they are fitted correctly. It was not clear from the way the question was worded as to if the wheels needed to be 'supplied and fitted' and I did not push this point having not got the wheels directly from my Skoda dealer.

As far as tyres go, I assume insurance companies are only interested in if tyres are legal.

Edited 14 January, 2010 by KayakJim

[KayakJim]

So changing the wheels yourself would invalidate your insurance? So you'd not be allowed to change to a spare wheel?

AA insurance are retarded, then!

I guess you could argue that when you put a spare on you are expected only to use this for a 'get me home' type situation and then go to a professional tyre fitter to get your puncture repaired and your wheel fitted again. He did not specifically say the policy would be invalidated if I had put the wheels on myself, I would think it more likley that they would have applied an extra premium for the added risk if this was the case.

I also suspect that AA are not the only insurance company that will not be able to deal with this type of situation.

[Babs]

Chris Knott didn't ask who was fitting my new alloys lol!

[TsvRS]

I think there is a sensible side to this and another side which is a bit silly. The insurance companies must ensure that they are not inadvertently insuring some idiot who is putting entirely inadequate parts on his vehicle but at the same time stipulating that in plain language so that all staff and customers can understand becomes very difficult. A really easy way for the insurance company to do that is to say that any uninformed changes invalidate the insurance but that then leads to some very silly inconsistencies like those pointed out on this thread and doesnt really help you the customer at all.

Short answer though seems to be to make sure you have approved wheels and if in doubt write to your insurance company. What happens to people who fit after-market alloys?

[KayakJim]

Its also about insurance companies looking for any way possible to avoid having to pay out in the event of a claim, after all they are in the business to take your money not to give it to (cynical me)

So even if you have 'approved' wheels fitted, the thing is that they are not the wheels listed as the 'standard' specification for your car. If the insurance company are unaware of the change they will use this to contest a claim. Its not that the wheels are not appropriate it is the fact that the changes were not notified that they will be interested in, to avoid having to pay out.

If they can get some extra cash from those who do notify by identifying areas of additional risk such as non OEM wheels or non professional fitting then all the better, they can justify an additional premium.

There is a great thread here, which makes my experiance with the AA quite a good one http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=42714&start=40

Edited 14 January, 2010 by KayakJim

[Babs]

Easy get out, my dad fitted them. He's a mechanic

[foo]

I wonder if Churchill would resist having a brain fart over this:

Churchill - Winter Tyres

I doubt it.

[foo]

Or Admiral

[M12MKD]

I wounder if I should tell my insurance company about the airfrenshed I've just fitted..........maybe I should have paid halfrauds to fit in so I've got a receipt for the fitting to prove it was fitted by a idiot I mean qualified person. I mean afterall an airfrensher has increased the price of the vehicle.

Ive been saying this for years insurance is just legal muggin! If they can make you pay extra they will and if they can get out of a claim they will! My last accident (rear ended) they wanted to split the blame as both parties way insured by them, thereby both parties loosing their NCB and having to pay more.........they got a very firm and swift no.

It does bring a good point at which stage does this all become rather stupid come the time when I need to replace my tyres like said above what happens if I choice a different brand that original fitted does that mean I have to pay extra to change my policy?

[Gillywibble]

I am pretty sure this would not wash with the Insurance Ombudsman. If I had winter steels, I wouldn't notify my insurance company. What a load of tosh.

[cheezemonkhai]

Mine are a joke.

Winter tyres on the original wheels shouldn't be a problem, but steel wheels would count as a modification and so will be put down as that. There will be no note of the type of wheel fitted, so it would be the same as fitting after market alloy wheels and most likely make the policy price increase.

Edited 14 January, 2010 by cheezemonkhai

[Steve vRS]

I would love to see the clarification around this issue of not being allowed to change your own wheels!

Steve

[The Plumber]

When I switched to winters I had a look at the insurance policy docs, in which it stated any modification to the factory standard spec should be notified.

As you can't order a Yeti SE with steel wheels never mind winters I thought best check. Very helpfully even though it was an overseas call centre and they had no idea what winter tyres were

Anyway steel wheels + winter tyres were not on there list of modifications, so they made a note of my call and told me I was covered.

TP

[KayakJim]

I am pretty sure this would not wash with the Insurance Ombudsman. If I had winter steels, I wouldn't notify my insurance company. What a load of tosh.

You could be right provided the steels you fitted were 'approved' for the car, this was my initial thought, but it could be a right pain in the rear to have to take an insurance company to the Ombudsman if you needed to get a claim sorted in a reasonable length of time. My insurance policy clearly states that the policy 'could' be invalid if they are not informed of 'any' vehicle 'modifications'. Not worth the risk for the sake of a phone call. Probably more appropriate is to go the Obudsman for any unreasonable extra premium applied for such a modification.

[KayakJim]

I would love to see the clarification around this issue of not being allowed to change your own wheels!

Steve

Steve, I don't think anyone was saying you were not allowed to change your own wheels, just that I got the impression if mine had not been fitted professionally then this would be added risk for my insurance company and incure an additional permium. I did not want to push the line of enquiry further at the time as I had the answer I wanted, which was that I was covered. Would be interested if other got asked similer questions when informing their insurance companies though.

[Bodge]

Ha!

Just use common sense. When I put my steel wheels on with winter tyres, I won't tell my insurance. Why would I?!

All this over excitement about declaring absolutely everything to your insurer is all a load of balls. If it's something that increases the performance or enhances its appearance, then obviously you should declare it.

I mean they don't need to know what tyres you're using! Why would they give a ****! That's what an MOT is for. Who are they to decide what's safe and what's not.

Actually, I better tell my insurer what CD's are in my glovebox. The Dire Straits ones are priceless! I also haven't washed the car in a few months so it looks pretty filthy, and as a result less desirable, so I recon I should get a premium reduction!

[carrock]

Ha!

Just use common sense. When I put my steel wheels on with winter tyres, I won't tell my insurance. Why would I?!

All this over excitement about declaring absolutely everything to your insurer is all a load of balls. If it's something that increases the performance or enhances its appearance, then obviously you should declare it.

I mean they don't need to know what tyres you're using! Why would they give a ****! That's what an MOT is for. Who are they to decide what's safe and what's not.

Actually, I better tell my insurer what CD's are in my glovebox. The Dire Straits ones are priceless! I also haven't washed the car in a few months so it looks pretty filthy, and as a result less desirable, so I recon I should get a premium reduction!

Can see that fitting Carlos Fandango super wide alloy wheels would affect your insurance, buy why would fitting snowies on steel wheels- it makes your car safer and less likely to crash, and the steelies are less likely to be nicked than the alloys.

Theoretically, you should get a small rebate as you have reduced your risk!!!!

[cheezemonkhai]

I am pretty sure this would not wash with the Insurance Ombudsman. If I had winter steels, I wouldn't notify my insurance company. What a load of tosh.

You know, that's a very good idea.

I feel a letter coming on to my insurer and 5 weeks later to the FSO if they don't reply appropriately.

Can see that fitting Carlos Fandango super wide alloy wheels would affect your insurance, buy why would fitting snowies on steel wheels- it makes your car safer and less likely to crash, and the steelies are less likely to be nicked than the alloys.

Theoretically, you should get a small rebate as you have reduced your risk!!!!

I explained this to my insurer and demanded that they asked the underwriter as it's mad that they want to increase the cost of this.

OEM Steel to OEM steel = no increase

OEM Alloy to same OEM alloy = no increase

OEM Alloy to OEM steel = Increase

WTF!

I'll report back when I get an answer.

Edited 14 January, 2010 by cheezemonkhai

[KayakJim]

Ha!

Just use common sense. When I put my steel wheels on with winter tyres, I won't tell my insurance. Why would I?!

All this over excitement about declaring absolutely everything to your insurer is all a load of balls. If it's something that increases the performance or enhances its appearance, then obviously you should declare it.

I mean they don't need to know what tyres you're using! Why would they give a ****! That's what an MOT is for. Who are they to decide what's safe and what's not.

Actually, I better tell my insurer what CD's are in my glovebox. The Dire Straits ones are priceless! I also haven't washed the car in a few months so it looks pretty filthy, and as a result less desirable, so I recon I should get a premium reduction!

I think it’s the fact that a modification has not been disclosed that 'may' void a policy in the event of a claim and not the nature of the influence of such a modification.

So the question is what classes as a modification that requires notification? This is more tricky to be clear about, I think we can assume that insurance companies adopt a reasonably common sense approach in this area and that any change that might reasonably affect (positive or negative) the handling, safety or likely hood of theft and is a ‘change’ to the original manufacturer specification is a modification (not the addition of an air freshener).

There is a whole separate question about additional premiums or refunds for fitting of winter tyres on steel rims and this I think is something that the UK insurance industry are not equipped to deal with at present, which is why we get crazy costs applied for alloy to steel as they just see the change aspect and not the saftey element.

[cheezemonkhai]

They don't

For me to run winter tyres on alloy wheels = no charge

For me to run winter tyres on steel wheels (the only wheels you can run snow chains on) = £80 per year increase.

That went to the underwriters and on the basis of that answer I've raised it as a complaint and await contact from the insurer.

[KayakJim]

They don't

For me to run winter tyres on alloy wheels = no charge

For me to run winter tyres on steel wheels (the only wheels you can run snow chains on) = £80 per year increase.

That went to the underwriters and on the basis of that answer I've raised it as a complaint and await contact from the insurer.

Out of interest who are the undewriters on your policy?

[Babs]

Satan!