Was looking at an Octavia diesel with a few options on it, asked Briskoda insurance (Chris Knott) for a quote. They asked me to list all the options. As it was a new car I was looking at I had the configuration so I knew what was standard and what was option.

 

Then the quote came back, about double what I have paid for anything in the last 20 years, and ironically more than another car I was looking at which has all the stuff and more as standard, an Audi RS4 with more than twice the power and twice the price (even second hand)

 

I called up to be told "well it is a modified car" I asked for a quote for a car with no options and to this day have had no reply.

 

Many insurance companies ignore factory-fit options. If you have a factory-fit option on your car I would find one of those companies, Chris Knott is not one of them.

 

It does beg the question that if you have not bought the car from new and spec'd it up yourself how do you know what is standard and what is option, especially when these days Skoda UK don't even know what is standard fit on their cars.

 

Something to keep in mind if your buying a spec'd up car.

Just being nosey,  but what actual Factory Options are you talking about?

Well I have a fairly extensive list of options on my Octavia and while I did have to list them all at the point of getting the quote, it certainly wasn't twice the price of my previous cars - it probably added somewhere between 5 and 10% to a vanilla car.

That was through Chris Knott, though some insurers including Skoda's own, did give stupid quotes as you found.
 

my insurance company told me  modifictions is  different to factory options by manufacturer

 

as you say if a used car what would you know where extras unless you had original paperwork, one year a car comes as standard with xyz, next year it could be classed as a extra.

 

bloomin insurance companies for you

Whenever I've been asked about modifications it's been specifically regarding non-factory fitted options, for most people buying second hand I doubt they'd have a clue what is an optional extra and certainly for V.AG based cars and I'm sure others the varying yearly spec makes it difficult to work out what is standard spec.

 

John

LV were not interested in knowing the long list of factory-fitted options on my Yeti.

I declared that I intended having a flappy paddle steering wheel fitted and that was accepted with no change in premium.

I'll give them a call next year.

There's a lot of misinformation regarding this subject & people saying I always declare this or I never do.

The actual truth is that different insurance companies require different information.

Some accept the addition of factory options as a standard car, others require all options listed. Some don't actually charge any extra (or very little) for these options. Some hike the price massively for trivial factory fit options.

The only way to be sure of what each insurer regards as declarable is to ask or read the policy book.

This doesn't sound quite right. Please PM me your real name and postcode and I'll have a look.

Best,

Nick

Hi,

If a vehicle has factory fitted options, we do not class these as modifications.

If your car has had factory options retrofitted after it left the factory (IE. You went back to Skoda and paid to have an item such as a styling pack, or cruise control fitted as an example) then this would be classed as a modification and we would cover it on a like for like basis in the event of a claim.

 

If you need any help with insurance please feel free to drop me a PM.

 

Regards,

Dan.

Just being nosey,  but what actual Factory Options are you talking about?

TBH not a lot that you would consider "performance" stuff like spoilers or anything 1" up on the alloy size and stuff like sat-nav, sunroof, park-assist, etc nothing I would expect to double the premium from a basic search on comparison web sites.

 

This doesn't sound quite right. Please PM me your real name and postcode and I'll have a look.

Best,

Nick

All insured elsewhere now with someone that does not class factory-fit options as modifications. Did not sound right to me either, that is why I called back to confirm and was told how modified my car was and why ultimately it is insured elsewhere.

 

Just thought i would post my findings so others are aware if they have a similarly "modified" car

But that's what I'm saying - factory fitted options are not mods. As Dan says if they are retro fitted that then becomes a modification. If it came from the dealer new with the options fitted they're not modifications.

But that's what I'm saying - factory fitted options are not mods. As Dan says if they are retro fitted that then becomes a modification. If it came from the dealer new with the options fitted they're not modifications.

That was my understanding too. Unfortunately it seems not to be the understanding of the two people I spoke to (one who insisted I list all the factory options I was having fitted and the other who told me the premium was due to me having a modified car) or the underwriters who looked at the factory options and basically doubled the premium.

Like the post title said there is obviously a premium with some companies for factory fit options, Chris Knott is obviously one of them. If there is no issue with factory options why ask to list them on a quote for a new car and use them as justification for the premium?

I am just posting my experience when getting a quote so others can be prepared when getting theirs

It's perfectly reasonable that insurers want to know about options as they affect the value of the car and any claims.

What's less reasonable is doubling a quote when you've added 10% of the value of the car in options.

It's perfectly reasonable that insurers want to know about options as they affect the value of the car and any claims.

Unless you buy it second hand, does everyone know what is a factory option what is standard, aftermarket? how about pre- delivery dealer-fit options are they mods or not?

What's less reasonable is doubling a quote when you've added 10% of the value of the car in options.

Especially as I can insure an RS4 costing twice as much for 30% less

I use Swift cover for mine at the moment and when you get an online quote there is a box that asks if the car is modified so I ticked yes and it gives a list of all the mods they allow.

This Includes non standard wheels, stainless exhaust, tints, towbar, roofbars, and any factory options that have been professionally fitted.

This suits me as I don't need extra performance and not into slamming it.

I have a Mk1 Octavia 4x4 1.8 and it cost me £240 full comp so I am happy with that.

That was my understanding too. Unfortunately it seems not to be the understanding of the two people I spoke to (one who insisted I list all the factory options I was having fitted and the other who told me the premium was due to me having a modified car) or the underwriters who looked at the factory options and basically doubled the premium.

Like the post title said there is obviously a premium with some companies for factory fit options, Chris Knott is obviously one of them. If there is no issue with factory options why ask to list them on a quote for a new car and use them as justification for the premium?

I am just posting my experience when getting a quote so others can be prepared when getting theirs

 

As I said, this doesn't sound quite right. Please can you PM me your real name and postcode so I can take a look at the quote and maybe listen to the call. I'm not saying you got it wrong but I'm wondering why our guys would load the premium for FF options. Armed with specifics I can investigate.