Hi

Firstly I'll just say that this is not my vehicle/policy.. I'm asking on behalf of a friend

Basically a friend had a minor accident whereby she bumped a wall and cracked her bumper, then during recovery the recovery company cracked the rear bumper

The vehicle is old and of low value and has been written off by the insurance company who have valued the vehicle at £700

She accepted this value and was told that they would send a cheque. The next day she received a call from the insurance company who stated that because the vehicle has alloy wheels which she has not told them about, they have calculated an additional premium which should have been charged for the time the policy has been running (8 years). This premium equates to £800 meaning she has been told she actually needs to pay the insurance company £100 and will receive nothing from the claim... And will lose the car.

Now, the vehicle does indeed have alloy wheels, but they're standard for wheels and have been on the vehicle since she bought it... I suspect they were specced from new... They're not bling bling 19's!

She had no idea that the vehicle was anything other than standard and the insurance company didn't mention the wheels when the vehicle was inspected following a previous accident in 2005.

Personally I think that the insurance company are just trying to wriggle out of a claim and it would seem to me that if the wheels were fitted as a factory option then it's not a 'modified' vehicle.

Does she have a leg to stand on?

On all insurance I've had they're not interested in things that are factory or dealer options.

Sounds like they're taking the mick :(

Tell her to contact the insurance ombudsman with all the info, and any info she can find relating to the car when purchased new relating to std spec etc.

if the wheels come as standard the car is insured as thus...the car has no added mods so no notification is required...tell her to get a solicitors letter sent threatening legal action if the claim isnt settled.

Edited 21 February, 201016 yr by warwick hunt

Thanks for the replies, they're along the lines of my thinking.

I just had a look on the Financial ombudsman website and it talks about 'innocent non disclosure' in which case the insurance company is expected to pay out in full.

I'll pass this info on and report back with the outcome.

Just to play devil's advocate here.

Factory upgrades DO need to be declaired when getting insurance.

All cars have a standard specification.

If the model of car in question came with steel wheels as standard but there was a factory fit option of alloy wheels, these need to be declaired to the insurance company.

The same goes for all these people ordering Xenon lights on their Octy - they are not standard, they are not part of the "standard specification" and need to be mentioned.

If a standard car is smashed at the front it will cost a lot less than one with Xenon lights - it's only logical that the premium would be higher.

What the insurance company have said is that if she had declaired the upgraded wheels when she applied for insurance then her premium would have been an extra £100 per year.

Now that is a lot, and I feel this is your only point of argument.

Declairing alloy wheels should add no more than around £20 a year on the premium.

I think you'll find that the insurance company are actually within their rights to do what they are doing.

Your point of argument should be that the back premium charges should be no more than around 8x £20, which comes to around £160 and not the £800 they are claiming.

It is so important to mention everything when you get insurance - they have a list of what was on the standard vehicle you bought and so if it came with alloys and you mention them it will not increase the premium.

It could actually have been worse.

If the insurance company had said that by declaring the alloy wheels they would have refused to offer an insurance premium you could end up in the situation where no repair work on your own vehicle takes place.

That is a more difficult one, and certainly would be difficult for any insurance company to claim alloy addition means they won't insure you.

Indeed upgrades do need to be notified, if you know they are there.

Insuracne companies will try and place pressure on people for inconsistancies to avoid payout, It is essentially a bully tactic on their part to save money. They nearly always back down as soon as they get aggressive stance from the insured and realise they are going to actually have to justify it, provided it is nor performace related.

I don't mind it its items such as remaps, or lowering but half the time tey take the ****.

Thanks for the replies, they're along the lines of my thinking.

I just had a look on the Financial ombudsman website and it talks about 'innocent non disclosure' in which case the insurance company is expected to pay out in full.

I'll pass this info on and report back with the outcome.

Exactly, if she didn't know, then it can't be helped!

Exactly, if she didn't know, then it can't be helped!

3rded. The protection racketeers' weasel-wording to avoid payouts has just reached a new low!

Ok let's break this down into what we know so far:

1)The vehicle was damaged in an accident

2) The vehicle was damaged again by the recovery company

Ask the insurance company to break down how much the accident damage would cost to repair, and then how much the damage caused by the recovery company would cost to repair. Then demand that the damage caused by the recovery company is repaired free of charge - your friend was not responsible for the damage caused by the recovery company and it CANNOT be dealt with as part of your friends claim.

The insurance company is arguing that through your friends material non-disclosure of modifications, they do not have to deal with the claim until an additional premium is paid. The insurance company have examined the vehicle in 2005, either using their own claims inspector, or a repairer approved by them to undertake work on their behalf. At that point they had the opportunity to decline the claim and void the policy due to material non-disclosure, but at that point the vehicle was obviously NOT considered to be modified. They cannot argue that what they accepted as a standard vehicle in 2005 is now non-standard. Ask to speak to the Claims manager and ask for details of their internal complaints procedure.

In any case whoever is dealing with this at the insurance company doesn't have a clue what they are talking about - even if they were correct about the additional premium thru non-disclosure being payable, it's limited to 6 years by statue of limitations.

Exactly, if she didn't know, then it can't be helped!

Totally agree. We had an incident last year where the value of Nicci's car was reduced due to not declaring "optional factory fitted options". Now for us "geeks" we could accept this but what about joe blogs who knows nothing about cars. How would they know the car has had factory fitted options fitted to a car that maybe 15 years old? Also what happens when it comes to fitting oem style parts? Their not the original so do we all have to declare are brake pads or wipers we fitted from the local motor factors?

I'm not a big fan of insurance companies :(

Oh an when we renewed Nicci's replacment car with a new company I told them about the factory fitted options and was told it doesnt matter lol

Edited 22 February, 201016 yr by faboka vrs

Totally agree. We had an incident last year where the value of Nicci's car was reduced due to not declaring "optional factory fitted options". Now for us "geeks" we could accept this but what about joe blogs who knows nothing about cars. How would they know the car has had factory fitted options fitted to a car that maybe 15 years old? Also what happens when it comes to fitting oem style parts? Their not the original so do we all have to declare are brake pads or wipers we fitted from the local motor factors?

I'm not a big fan of insurance companies :(

Oh an when we renewed Nicci's replacment car with a new company I told them about the factory fitted options and was told it doesnt matter lol

Exactly, it's one thing saying your car isn't modified when it's got after market alloys, it's lowered etc, but in this case how was she to know?

For previous insurers I've always answered that as "not as far as I'm aware".

Indeed upgrades do need to be notified, if you know they are there.

Insuracne companies will try and place pressure on people for inconsistancies to avoid payout, It is essentially a bully tactic on their part to save money. They nearly always back down as soon as they get aggressive stance from the insured and realise they are going to actually have to justify it, provided it is nor performace related.

I don't mind it its items such as remaps, or lowering but half the time tey take the ****.

Indeed. One company I used a few years ago counted additional badges as a mod.

This is exactly why I HATE insurance companies. They charge us a fortune, which we pay in good faith, and then if you ever need to make a claim they don't want to know. Luckily, touch wood, I've never needed to make a claim, but I dread the day I do.

Just to play devil's advocate here.

Factory upgrades DO need to be declaired when getting insurance.

All cars have a standard specification.

Playing along with your game, do I need to declare my spare wheel as that's not standard any more.

Little wonder some people drive with no insurance. These insurance companies need to clean up their act.

A good few years ago , i had a lancia thema turbo written off and was offered stupid money , they told me to speak to the engineer who appraised it , which i did , i told the guy i had fitted a new turbo that week , which he promptly told me i could have back , he didnt know it should have been there , i was very polite and said , thank you and promptly rang the insurance company and was rather ascerbic to say the least , suggesting they send me an engineer that actually new what he was looking at , not the clown they employed .

They doubled the offer and i think i got more than if i'd sold it , it pays to be rude sometimes .

This is exactly why I HATE insurance companies. They charge us a fortune, which we pay in good faith, and then if you ever need to make a claim they don't want to know. Luckily, touch wood, I've never needed to make a claim, but I dread the day I do.

Playing along with your game, do I need to declare my spare wheel as that's not standard any more.

If your car was stolen you would expect to get a new car with a spare wheel - insurance claim should mean you end up like for like.

If the insurance company see that the spare wheel wasn't standard then they wouldn't pay out on it.

I'm not trying to be awkward, just giving it as it is.

Insurance companies have a list of what is "standard" in a particular model/trim-level of a vehicle.

It is assumed this is the equipment you have unless you tell them differently.

If you want your Xenon's covered, or your leather interior then you need to make sure the insurance company knows you've got them.

If your car was stolen you would expect to get a new car with a spare wheel - insurance claim should mean you end up like for like.

If the insurance company see that the spare wheel wasn't standard then they wouldn't pay out on it.

I'm not trying to be awkward, just giving it as it is.

Insurance companies have a list of what is "standard" in a particular model/trim-level of a vehicle.

It is assumed this is the equipment you have unless you tell them differently.

If you want your Xenon's covered, or your leather interior then you need to make sure the insurance company knows you've got them.

Then, in keeping with the principle of entering into a contract "of great good faith", they should supply you with a proper schedule of what is being covered, including the standard equipment specification for the make, model and year of your car. This must include things like a list of standard paint colours, photos of wheel (trim) designs, whether it had mud flaps etc.

So do you have to declare metallic paint? And if you don't declare it, and if you get a new car in the first year, then will you not get one with metallic paint?

If your car was stolen you would expect to get a new car with a spare wheel - insurance claim should mean you end up like for like.

If the insurance company see that the spare wheel wasn't standard then they wouldn't pay out on it.

I'm not trying to be awkward, just giving it as it is.

Insurance companies have a list of what is "standard" in a particular model/trim-level of a vehicle.

Of course Stoofa, didn't mean to imply otherwise.

The point I was trying to get at was would the insurance refuse to pay out because I have a spare wheel that is not standard and I've forgotten to tell them that. How low would they stoop to get out of paying up. Maybe my example is a little facetious but as this thread demonstrates perhaps it's not that unreasonable to ask

Or to put it another way, if I have non-standard alloy's added and had not told them (similar to the situation in this thread), could I expect them to pay up minus the cost of the alloy's (ie, just standard steel wheels) or is it reasonable to refuse the claim in it's entirety.

So do you have to declare metallic paint? And if you don't declare it, and if you get a new car in the first year, then will you not get one with metallic paint?

Or worse they refuse to pay out because you didn't declare it!

I thought about that example Babs, but don't most insurance policies include the colour of the car, so it's declared? That's why I went with the spare wheel example - another common non standard accessory

Will my insurance pay out for my mats? I'm not sure if they were standard back in 1997

BBC: Insurers warn on modifications

BBC: Insurers warn on modifications

Ludicrous...

"...we've had an insurance company try and throw claim out on the grounds that they had a roof box."

I passed all your thoughts on, and I'm pleased to report that the insurance company backed down today and have agreed to pay out in full.

I don't know the exact details of the discussions yet, but it's a good result.

Thanks again,