Hi all,

I plan to fit vRS alloys to my Y reg Fabia 1.9 TDI Comfort and the insurance company want an extra

Direct Line are supposed to be quite good for mods if you are over 25?

One word comes to mind : *****.

Did you tell them they are OEM Skoda-Approved alloys?

No I didn't. Will give that a go and see if it helps. I remember when I was 20 I put 205 1.9 gti alloys on a standard 205 and they only wanted an extra

Seems a bit excessive, expecially seeing as some people on here have had their vrs remapped for only

Also remind them that they will be fitted using locking wheel nuts

Will defo go back to them and see what they can do. I may even consider cancelilng the policy and insuring through someone else if they don't play ball.

Definitely worth saying that they are the Skoda standard ones from another model - I did that a few years ago with DL when I put 15's on a 1.4 and they didn't raise the premium at all ....

When i put alloys on my fabia,my insurance told me that my policy didn't allow modifications,so they cancelled my policy and gave me a new one for

sounds like Direct Line are taking you for a ride on your premium anyway unless you stay in a very bad postcode.

my fabia is a 2006 1.9TDi Ambiente (read Comfort) and I have non-standard alloys/tyres and lowered 30mm which is all declared, same age and also no convictions.

my premium is only

Anything happens just say they were already on the car when you bought it,

Skoda alloys Skoda car

I have in the past added alloys on to my various polices, and when declaring non factory wheels that were bigger than standard, i have a

Direct Line are supposed to be quite good for mods if you are over 25?

One word comes to mind : *****.

Did you tell them they are OEM Skoda-Approved alloys?

Direct line charged me an extra

elephant just upped my premium by

If I was putting Skoda alloys on a Skoda, I wouldn't bother to declare it to my insurance company at all. My car already has 14" Skoda alloys which I am planning to replace with 16" Skoda alloys, and my insurance company won't be hearing a single thing about it.

Thanks for all of your advice guys. I wish I had not told them about adding OEM alloys now as they have made a record of the request on my account so if anything happens and I haven't told them I won't be insured.

Learnt my lesson I guess.

all insurance companies are crooks tbh mate

What irritates me is you're allowed to do anything to your house and they don't mind. Wanna fit your combi boiler with a turbo? Go right ahead.

Neon washer nozzles on your kitchen taps? No problem.

When it comes to cars they just down right con everyone. It's your property, in the same way a house is. You've paid for it and yet even so you're not allowed to touch it without their say so and then they charge you the earth to do it.

I can understand them charging for performance mods etc, things that actually make the car go faster like remaps.

But charging extra for fitting larger OEM alloys? Strut Braces? ARB's? Bigger brakes?

Bit of a ****take really. Though I suppose there is the argument that adding bigger brakes encourages you to drive faster... knowing in your mind that you can stop quicker... going faster = more risk of accident

And I suppose adding alloys does represent a greater risk due to theives.

Same could be said for house insurance I guess.

Buy a big LCD telly and and mount it in full view of the window and you've got greater threat from theives.

Knock some bricks out of the chimney stack (common one this) and the house could fall down. They don't really check with houses in the same way they do with cars which is my point.

Anything under a certain amount and the assessors don't even pay a visit.

Even if they do call round it's only to prove that whatever it is does need replacing etc and you're not just trying to rip them off.

I suppose it must all be down to risk. A lot of 'mods' done to cars suggests a desire for increased performance in one way or other as you say. More going/ stopping power, better handling etc. The all suggest greater risk to the insurers than what a standard car would be. Looking at houses in the same way would be a) a minefield, and not worth their time.

I wonder what their payout stats look like for car insurance compared to house.

Which carries the biggest loss compared to income....

Then again you could say that plenty of people drive like idiots without uprating their cars handling.... surely they are more at risk than someone who has?

Good point! Or people that do remaps without uprating their brakes.....the standard brakes on the vRS leave much to be desired.

I think that insurance companies could be a lot better about mods. Cosmetic things increase the risk of theft therefore I think guidelines should be in order, such as the fitting of locking wheel bolts and a Cat1 alarm could be compulsory for all such things.

Remaps could only be allowed with beefed up brakes and a certificate should be provided by the mapper to show the insurer that the work has been done to a set standard (your engine will not blow up) and that the brakes of the car are up to the job of stopping it.

Brake mods alone are not a reason in my mind to warrant an increase in premium. If you're gonna drive fast, you're gonna do it anyway whether you have big brakes or not. Being able to stop better can only be of benefit.

Just changing your pads for non OEM ones for reduced dust etc is not a reason for insurers to poo their pants. If anything, such a mod shows the driver is enthusiastic about car maintenance and cares about its safety and the ability to stop promptly if required.

Suspension mods should once again be certified but I think again a line should be drawn. Outright handling mods encourage people to throw the car about more and go into bends with more speed and so may result in greater risks, but things like uprated bushes to stop the standard ones falling apart is going too far....they wont mean the car handles any better. They just improve feel and longeivity.

IMO it all needs to be re-thought out, but the insurers wont bother because the current system makes them lots of money as they are un-discriminating between certain types of modifications.

IMO I think uprated brakes should give a slight drop in premium

Agreed.

What irritates me is you're allowed to do anything to your house and they don't mind. Wanna fit your combi boiler with a turbo? Go right ahead.

Neon washer nozzles on your kitchen taps? No problem.

When it comes to cars they just down right con everyone. It's your property, in the same way a house is. You've paid for it and yet even so you're not allowed to touch it without their say so and then they charge you the earth to do it.

What U been drinking mate? can i have some. lmfao :rofl: turbo boiler, neon washer nozzles sound funky

I totally agree with what your saying chris( apart from the having to buy big brakes with a remap i cant afford

Just changing your pads for non OEM ones for reduced dust etc is not a reason for insurers to poo their pants. If anything, such a mod shows the driver is enthusiastic about car maintenance and cares about its safety and the ability to stop promptly if required.

Agreed.

Imagine if i were a numpty (too easy i know) and never got my car serviced and never checked the braking system or performed weekly checks on say the lighting system. Do you think my insurance should be more?........ cos i bloody do!