Just a quick straw poll to gain people's opinion

This query refers to what people tell their insurance companies about %age power gains

With a remap you generally know what power increase you end up with - in my case my CR170 Octavia vRS has gone from 170 to 200, ie 30 bhp gain, and straightforward to calculate %age power gain

With the DTUK tuning box, it would appear from the numerous threads that there are various settings, eg 2.1, 4.3 etc etc, none of which appear to be itemised as to power output, and from what I've seen, very few appear to have rolling road outputs

So to my question.....

How do you notify your insurance company of the power gain? Is it basedon the lowest potentcal gain, using it at it's lowest setting, or on the highest potential gain, using it at it's highest setting?

Or do you just not bother notifying them at all because you can easily remove it at any time if you need to to avoid them knowing about it?

Honest answers only please

You get Insurance from an Underwriter provided by a Specialist Broker that understands Vehicles & Modified Vehicles.

Have valid Insurance cover, not just a Policy that allows the car on the road, provides 3rd Party Cover to others and 

which you might end up covering the costs of all claims mde against you,

(maybe even need soap on a rope if the worst happens.).

 

You declare in Detail what you Have Done to the car,

you have Receipts etc.

Then you have Valid Insurance in the event of the worst happening,

That is the Car being Inspected and forensically examined, by a VOSA or Police Examiner or just the Insurance Loss Adjuster.

 

All declared and safely fitted and that is one less worry.

You might not always be there able to get some tuning box off your car while it is in some pile up and there are fatalities.

 

Far fetched !, well not really.

 

george

I know the theory, George, I was enquiring about the practice

Surely that is the practice, Declare all and have Valid Insurance cover.

 

Idiots go boasting about other ways, Remove the Box etc

"I only use it on a Low Setting, only there for the better Economy".  "I have a NOS kit installed but never press the button."

The threads on the Undeclared Mods and no Insurance Cover are in the Insurance and Legal Section.

 

Those that do not declare can end up in tears, or moaning at the unfairness of it all..

 

Even when you go for the likes of a Warranty Claim with a Manufacturer, some think remove the Box or Chip and they do not know,

well their Warranty is a Insurance Policy with someone footing the bill,

If they ask if the Vehicle had any Modification or Tuning or Performance Enhansment Device Fitted,

then ask you to sign a Declaration, that is going to require a Truthful answer or not.

Also costly if caught out.

Yes, I'm aware of what people SHOULD do

But with a removable box, with claimed power output (in the case of the CR170) of up to 226bhp, do those who declare them quote the power increase as 30 or 56bhp, bearing in mind most insurers base increases on percentages?

Get the Broker to provide in writing their policy on  Increased power output above the Manufacturers standard figures,

if it is actually 15% or the likes

and that will also require that copy from the Underwriter. Not just the word of a Call Handler on a phone.

 

Then best get a Professional to put the car on a Dyno and see the actual power output, then you will know what figures to declare,

you can have some piece of mind on actual insurance cover,

otherwise it is all a guestimate until someone does check it out.

But then you enter the dyno lottery.

Don't bother with it,to much trouble,especially with warranty.As for taking the box of after a R T A who exactly would be checking it at the scene? Police don't have the knowledge they are interested in Brakes Steering Tyres anything they can see that would obviously be contibutory. I once saw a MGB GT standard 1800 model with a V8 out of a MGB GT V8 shoved in smashed up after a RTA nobody had even noticed the engine change let alone a box. That's not to say you should not inform, but I bet at least 50% don't bother. It's similar to people who say there car is kept in a locked garage when it never is, then there are parents who insure cars for there children with them as the main driver when they rarely drive the son or daughters car, not telling the truth is fraud end of.

I too would be interested to know what people declare and what it costs.

I know people directly who have lost any chance of removing parts from their vehicle due to accident and hospitalisation, who have then lost the car and thousands in claims due to voided insurance because of undeclared mods.

I want a remap but do not intend to follow these shallow-thinking chumps to destitution.

Brownfox,

nobody is likely to be checking it at the scene, but cars that are recovered to Storage Pounds for Accident Repair,

for Quotes or disposal of.

or to a Police Pounds where are quite often checked, obviously only if the circumstances require that,

& Qualified Engineers will remove a ECU, that might be for the Insurance Loss Adjuster, not the Police,

but it can be for both.

 

2014 now, not just a Micky Mouse set up these days, well not all over the country.

Insurance companies are not inclined to pay out where they may not need to,

& Modified Insurance Declaring a Maximum power output or Just full details is hardly expensive.

 

*They do actually go into checking Named Drivers,or Main Drivers,SDP just, or including Commuting use, regular place parked etc,

simple to ask for fuel receipts to see if the Vehicle actually stays or is used during term time at the other end of the country when a break in is reported and you say the car was away for a weekend just.*

 

http://wisegeek.com/what-does-a-loss-adjuster-do.htm

 

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/motor-valuation.html

 

re Warranties.

VW, Skoda like all other manufacturers may have the Vehicle or the ECU checked for Engine & Drivetrain Failure claims.

Not so long ago in the Performance Section a Briskoda Member raised a Warranty Claim and it was rejected after proof was provided of the Soft Ware Modifications that had been carried out.

We are waiting for an ECU to come back from a well known insurer for a car that has been repaired and is otherwise ready to go.

You provide them with a reliable figure. One that's there or thereabouts for the mod undertaken. IMO a relatively reliable method for a simple remap or tuning box. For far more modded engines/vehicles, the RR printouts probably exist to support more exact figures.

You provide them with a reliable figure. One that's there or thereabouts for the mod undertaken. IMO a relatively reliable method for a simple remap or tuning box. For far more modded engines/vehicles, the RR printouts probably exist to support more exact figures.

How much does tuning like the ones mentioned add too the annual insurance cost?

How much does tuning like the ones mentioned add too the annual insurance cost?

 

That will depend on your insurer and your driving record/experience/where you live.

 

I general most companies that will insure you have bands for power increase and will  charge you based on how much extra PS it delivers, e.g. 0-<10%, 10-25% and 25% and above.

 

One exception I found is LV who just apply a straight increase because the car is mapped/chipped etc and don't take how much in to consideration.

 

The CRD-T is quoted at 230PS for the Octy III vRS TDI on the DTUK website if you select 'Skoda' down the left hand side of the homepage so if that was the car you were fitting the CRD-T to I don't see you'd have any option other than declare that?

NORMAL INSURANCE COMPANIES or SPECIALISTS?

That will depend on your insurer and your driving record/experience/where you live.

 

I general most companies that will insure you have bands for power increase and will  charge you based on how much extra PS it delivers, e.g. 0-<10%, 10-25% and 25% and above.

 

One exception I found is LV who just apply a straight increase because the car is mapped/chipped etc and don't take how much in to consideration.

 

The CRD-T is quoted at 230PS for the Octy III vRS TDI on the DTUK website if you select 'Skoda' down the left hand side of the homepage so if that was the car you were fitting the CRD-T to I don't see you'd have any option other than declare that?

THANKS.

NORMAL INSURANCE COMPANIES or SPECIALISTS?

 

Each have their own rules, Esure and Admiral use the catagory system above, but I don't know what others do because you often have to ring them, they ask how much extra PS then they give you a figure or say 'no thanks'!

 

I haven't got one myself but have been looking to see how much extra one would be as my insurance is due soon.

All these costs ,including the loss  of warranty are part of the justification for the adrenalin fix I guess. 

 

If indeed you go through that mental process or just fly by the seat of your pants.

What makes the whole thing annoying is that insurance companies can choose not to insure modifications or place a large loading on the premium for them, and the number of companies that do offer premiums is relatively low.

 

The key issue is that the ability to insure your modification - and the level of increased premium associated with that modification - is neither fixed nor guaranteed. My insurance quote for a 110 Yeti is £150. With a remap giving 180bhp, a 64% increase, the quote is £170. There's nothing to stop the insurer increasing the premium to thousands on renewal though.

 

Where it then becomes problematic is that that even if your map is switchable to allow you to run the manufacturer's map with standard settings, the contents of the ECU will not be as it came from the factory and will still be "modified", so at renewal you couldn't simply set the car to "standard map" and insure as unmodified to keep the cost down.

 

[someone will now indicate that anyone that has a switchable remap and claims to run it on the stock map is a liar].

 

That's what's putting me off at the moment; with my last remap, the mapper would have able to re-write stock map when I sold the car, but now whilst they could rewrite the ECU to factory settings, I don't think they could re-apply the factory protection so the only option would be to buy a new ECU...

 

BTW, whilst I much prefer the idea of a remap to a tuning box, at least with the box you can remove it if the burden of insurance becomes too much.

It usually dealt with as a gain of under 25%, so a small increase.

 

But a tuning box can be removed... so I'd guess some people don't tell the insurance company.

Just like they won't tell Skoda if it needs warranty work.

 

Just like some people with remaps...

Tuning box companies and mappers will be setting up insurance companies next!?

Need too link this up with other thread running today. Common issues!