Winter tyres - Insurance ripoff

[DrvRS]

Been following this thread with interest.

Have 2008 pre-FL vRS. Changed from 18" Zeniths with 225/40 R18 W XL summer tyres to my Skoda-supplied 16" winter steelies with 205/55 R16 V XL Vredestein Wintrac Xtremes a month ago.

To be honest, had never thought about insurance implications but spoke to DirectLine today and very happy with response.

Asked call handler specifically to speak with underwriter via his team leader and they have agreed that, given the safety benefits:

a) this is not a modification as using Skoda approved rims and winter tire size

I will not be charged an admin fee when changing summer-winter or winter-summer wheels

I have specifically asked for a note to be left on my policy re the latter as there is no chance I will speak to the same person in March. Discussing with the underwriter was the key.

May be different for those of you using non-OEM rims but hope this helps.

[IndianaBlues]

Morning ive just fitted a set of goodgear ultragrip 7+ on steelies to my 4x4. ( got them from mytyres, delivered 3 days early so a thumbs up from me there!). This whole issue seems a tad silly to me, ive got no intention of informing my insurance company, as i do not believe that putting winters on can be classed as a modification.

I have put them on to enhance the safety of my car, so for any insurance firm to penalise me for doing this is irrational.

Also, if as a result of my insurance company telling me they would increase my premium i had decided not to fit them, and then had a related accident, i believe they could be held at least partially liable for any resulting claim and costs. after all, they would be acting against the elves and the safety people, ( and basic common sense your honour )

I agree with other posters who say that this is just a way for insurance companies to make a few extra quid.

Also, apon searching for advice on line, i checked out the aa website. they say that you should not have to inform your insurer if you do this ( look under 'tyres: winter tyres in the uk )

Im really interested to see how my 4x4 performs in the snow, last year my old mondy scored nil points from me in the 'going anywhere' catagory, but scored highly in the 'omg my life is flashing b4 my eyes' section.

laters.

Insurance companies, the scourge of Middle-Earth...

I put some Pirelli all-season M&S tyres on my wife's car and the difference in these conditions is immense. Perhaps next year I'll do the same on the vRS, so happy to see that Admiral have already been mentioned as not caring.

[mgrolf]

There's a topic over on the ICE, Security and Insurance forum that lists insurers that do/don't charge, require notification etc. Probably worth taking a look at that when choosing an insurance company...Insurance topic

[toonfan66]

Called LV today and as steel wheels are the same size as the alloys that are about to be replaced they aren't interested as it's not a modification. Common sense prevails in some places.

Edited 30 November, 2010 by toonfan66

[radioone]

Am I wrong in thinking that they want to charge a percentage of the modification cost?

Well I would argue that the steel wheels DE-VALUE the car, so infact, they should pay you a percentage of your premium back.

See how they like that one!

[icarusi@hotmail]

it seems like it may be the change of wheels that's the problem, or rather the 'value' of the wheels, not the tyres. It's counter productive though as the better way of using winter tyres is to change the wheels to the most suitable type, which can be a different/cheaper wheel but then it 'is' a material change. It probably needs a specific change in the law like the one which allowed car sharing payment without needing 'taxi' insurance.

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/

[VWD]

Am I wrong in thinking that they want to charge a percentage of the modification cost?

Well I would argue that the steel wheels DE-VALUE the car, so infact, they should pay you a percentage of your premium back.

See how they like that one!

Been the same for many a long year - way back in the late 70's I had an old Vauxhall 2000. Found that the master brake cylinder was leaking and got a replacement ,which turned out to be wrong one ,as previous owner had replaced both servo and master cylinder with that off of the bigger engine, so fitted bigger master cylinder . So back to the insurance to claim as a safety mod - they weren't interested - as it didn't up the performance . No mention of the fact that it dramatically increased the braking performance ,which the car could cope with being a heavy old brute .

[kenbo]

I am in the process of getting winter tyres. Will get 16" alloys (from 18") and different make of tyre

Checked with my insurance company, First Direct, and after checking with the underwriters they confirmed there will be no extra charge or admin fee.

They agreed with my point that it would make the car safer in snowy conditions like we had earlier this year. I will have to inform them that I have put the winter tyres on the car

In relation to Tesco insurance -- my wife's car was insured with them in 2004 when it was stolen. They were not easy to deal with, and only gave 2 weeks hire car and then we had to pay. We changed as soon as we could and will never consider them again for car insurance

I'm not a fan of these companies getting into a market they don't understand, some don't even offer cover for commuting to and from work or for business use. However, 2 weeks car hire after a theft is the norm. If your car was recovered with repairable damage, your courtesy car would be provided until repairs were completed

[solwood]

Another Direct Line customer here with a more positive story.

Our car is already listed as having "upgraded tyres" cost nothing and at the time I informed them that I would be getting Winter Tyres - no charge

Called today to confirm fitment (I had forgotten to do so - well in fact assumed I did not need to as had already had the conversation)

I was told that tyres are not considerred a modification as long as they are on the orginal wheels ( we have 2 sets of zeniths. Our tyres are the same size /load index and speed rating as our summer tyres so no charge !

It is the changing of a car that cause problems - so putting steel wheels is a modification (one that makes the car less attractive to a thief ) but a mod none the less - thats why we went the original wheels and more expensive tyre route - oh and I just don't trust the lower speed rating on the 16" tyres - any reason not to pay out is often sought by insurance companies!

Cheers

Gary

[FatblokeVRS]

Hi All

Got my 16x6J steel wheels today so my wife called the insurance company to enquire about putting them on the car for the winter.

The insurance company (Tesco) want to charge £15 administration charge which I thought was a bit expensive considering they will have to change the insurance again in the spring and charge another £15.

That is not my main problem. They also want to charge a percentage of the cost of "the modification" every month until the winter wheels and tyres are taken off again.

It doesn't seem to matter that you are going to the bother of getting and fitting smaller cheaper steel wheels with winter tyres on them to help stop your wife sliding off the road that the council will no doubt not grit properly, so that your wife and child are as safe in the winter as you can make it and also that you minimise the chance of claiming against your insurance company.

They seem to be penalising sensible, safety consious people.

Let us not forget the complete chaos that was caused by the councils not having enough salt for the roads last winter.

I am unimpressed with Tesco Insurance for classing changing to winter wheels as a modification and also wanting a percentage of the cost..

Cheers

Dave

Hi All

Thats the steel wheels and the Continental winter tyres on the vrs (the tyres are so good, I got another set for my astravan).

My wife called Tesco and let them know that they were on and that they were reducing the overall value of the vehicle, made the vehicle safer to drive etc etc.

They still charged us an admin charge and increased the premium - there is also an admin fee when we change them back.

The total charge will be an extra £54 - We will be looking around for a different insurance company after the winter.

I was speaking to my local councillor about the state of the roads etc the other day and it now seems that he listened and the Scottish National Party have voiced concerns about the lack of legislation on winter tyre use and they also think that there should be insurance incentives for people using winter tyres during that season.

It may be worth contacting the Scottish Government about this so that they raise it in parliament. There has already been some parliamentary time discussing the massive unjust insurance premium increases.

Surely insurance companies cannot just get away with reaming us.

Cheers

Dave

[jrw]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11969958