Privacy glass classed as a mod.....

Migwire

Migwire

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Following on from my claim for giant hailstone damage last week, whilst on the phone I was asked what optional extras my car had. As soon as the insurer heard "privacy glass" they enquired when this was fitted. I told them when the car was built and that was it. This morning however, Admiral have emailed me with a new schedule and have added an additional £50 premium on my policy as my car is "modified".

Has anyone else encountered this this before? The website asked if the car was modified. Feel a little as aggrieved.
 
I would get back onto them and state it is a factory fitted option so is NOT modified and where does it state that it is in there rules etc .
I would be flaming mad if they did that to me .
I had to phone them as they sent out my renewal but my card had expired and they hadn't noticed but to be fair they sorted it no problems .
 
Optional "extras" have to be declared on a number of insurers policy's. If you don't have them listed you may not be covered. If they happy for you to pay the extra premium and not void the policy, I would see it as a bonus.
 
If the car was fitted with Privacy glass as standard then the insurance quote would reflect this. If it was fitted as an extra then it could put the insurance up.

I'm guessing if a window was smashed the Privacy glass would cost more!
 
Am with aviva and was told any factory fitted items did not need to be declared all included ... Been very happy with their service and their prices. Last renewal my s1 was less than £250 fully comp protected No claims.
 
This is a new one on me - is there a premium per option then ? That could really drive premiums up !

I'm with M&S and wasn't asked to declare any options only if it was modified after it left the factory.
 
That's ridiculous. I am outraged.
 
To be fair it does state on their website when you go to fill it out that any factory fitted optional extras are classed as a modification and has to be declared.

I am with Admiral and have declared all my factory fitted options.
I know other insurers like Liverpool Victoria (LV) class optional extras as standard.

So next time you join a new insurer, be sure to check up on things like that.
 
I wonder how many more times this topic is going to come, are more and more insurance companies just 'trying it on'.
 
audi upgrades
I'm with LV and they take the view that options are standard fit if the car left the factory with them fitted. Anything added or modified by the owner is a modification and may or may not involve an extra on the premium depending on modification.

I wonder what their reaction would be to owners taking things off the standard car, like the chaps who are removing the rear wiper. Perhaps they would charge extra because of the safety aspect!
 
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Seems a tad harsh, I've ordered privacy glass on my A3 so hopefully I don't get the same charge!
 
I was informed it was to do with the payout for total loss. If you don't declare the options then you would only be covered for a "Standard Car" and not for the options. So if your car has 10k of options and was 35k total, they would only pay 25k
 
Harsh, most people would class "modifications" as significant post-factory additions.
 
Wonder what the premium increase per option would be ??

Can imagine wheel options and LED lamps being at the top of the list !
 
I declined to renew with admiral and went with Aviva instead cos this really gets my goat. I don't even mind paying more, it's the whole confusing nature of having to expressly tell Admiral every little option you have then they try and fit each into one if their stupid modification categories. Absolute nonsense especially for German marques where there are piles of extras to pay for!

Grrrrrrrr!!!!!!
 
dolo said:
I was informed it was to do with the payout for total loss. If you don't declare the options then you would only be covered for a "Standard Car" and not for the options. So if your car has 10k of options and was 35k total, they would only pay 25k
Click to expand...
But that example wouldn't apply really because, I think, one of the questions all insurers ask is the value of the car.
 
Thing is they've added a "standard replacement" endorsement to my policy at the same time also. I haven't yet checked what this is but suspect they'll only fund the cost of "standard" replacement parts. i.e. a non privacy glass widow. If this is the case what the hell is the extra £50 for?

Technically my metallic paint is an optional extra and they haven't added that.
 
RichardT said:
But that example wouldn't apply really because, I think, one of the questions all insurers ask is the value of the car.
Click to expand...
It does apply, as Admiral make it clear you will only get the "Market Value" in the event of total loss.
If you don't declare the options then you will get Market Value of a Bog Standard car, not the Market Value of your car plus options.
You could say the car was worth 40k but they will only pay market value
 
Yes, but then we can all avoid going to Admiral and they'd lose business. I wonder how many non Audi-Sport forum users who are policy holders with Admiral actually realise that is in their T&C's anyway. Another reason to get GAP me things...
 
It's not targeting Admiral but people have a responsibility to know the key facts & requirements of their insurer. That's more than the headline price of 'Yay! I got fully comp for 300 quid' from price comparison sites. As the title states - they compare price but not all policy features.

I am with Admiral so I know their nuances:
Need to declare factory fit options? YES
Will replace with new if total loss in first year of Registration? No - only gives market value at time of loss.
Need to notify when using winter tyres? No.
Does a claim for vandalism count against me (ie regarded as a fault claim) for NCD purposes? Yes.
Need to declare regular use for work commute separately from Business class 1? Yes

That said, Admiral are more mod friendly (eg chipping/remap) than some insurers as long as you declare it.
 
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I KIND OF second-guessed this. We are with Diamond (part of Admiral) and when calling up to change over vehicles, we itemised all the major options fitted to the new car - B&O, SSS, Panroof, BSP and Privacy Glass. It loaded the premium a little but with the ticket price supplied as the value should help if the worst happens.
 
I used to be with Admiral when I had my MINI and they were happy to cover my mods, obviously with charges but made it clear in an event of a claim they'd still only pay out for replacing standard parts or to standard market value. This is something I went along with as I'd fitted the extras but I wasn't aware factory fitted options were declarable so thanks for the heads up, oh and yes even more reason for GAP.
 
I had the same, mine tried to charge me an extra premium for LED headlights until I kicked off & they removed the extra charge ! But no extra charge for privacy glass ?
 
Tell them where to stick their policy. I cancelled my insurance policy after 13 days with Admiral after I got a driver awareness course notification just after I took out the policy; 82 in a 70. Bit harsh, but hey - I'm big enough to accept it on the chin.

They wanted to put up the policy on my Jag XF-R from £380 to £480! Bonkers. The Police Guy who ran the course said that the Admiral Group have a proven track record of selling cheap, and then loading every possible 'risk factor'. He likened them to Ryan Air! But he also said, there is a chain of thought that actually says that having had some 'education' you become a lower risk that a higher risk.

I told them where to stick it, and took out the policy with LV for £370! The Spires ECU flash and performance exhaust added just £25!
 
Nimbus265 said:
I told them where to stick it, and took out the policy with LV for £370! The Spires ECU flash and performance exhaust added just £25!
Click to expand...

Interesting, LV wouldn't quote me for the Cougar because it is modified. We've got both cars on a multicar policy with Admiral and, similar to @buz above, they were happy to cover the Cougar but made it clear that any repair will be done with factory-standard parts - the mods aren't 'covered' but are known to Admiral and won't invalidate the policy if I have to claim. With the Audi, however, they simply asked if it was modified, the question of factory options didn't even come up.
 
Hopefully moving from admiral, 2nd year now but I don't like this at all...
 
I'm insured with Direct Line and asked them this specifically. Their response was that providing it was a factory fitted option, then they didn't care.
 
I'm with direct line after moving from Audi. They said the exact opposite to that to me. Which the wording in their policy also stated also. "Extras are modifications"
 
Relliott6879 said:
With the Audi, however, they simply asked if it was modified, the question of factory options didn't even come up.
Click to expand...

Yes, and by that, if you delve into it, they mean if it's changed on any way from standard specification, then it's modified. I bought mine through Go Compare and thought that's harsh, they only asked about modifications, but went on there the other night and when you click the question mark next to modifications they do say optional extras.
 
Migwire said:
Yes, and by that, if you delve into it, they mean if it's changed on any way from standard specification, then it's modified. I bought mine through Go Compare and thought that's harsh, they only asked about modifications, but went on there the other night and when you click the question mark next to modifications they do say optional extras.
Click to expand...

That'll be pretty much every 8V on the road then. I can't imagine many people ordering a brand new car and not adding a single option; as said you said, even metallic paint is an option.
 
Seeing as any standard fitment on other cars is a option with an Audi, does that mean then, according to Admiral, an S-Line is a mod? Ridiculous and just a way of profiteering. Should be reported to the trading standards...
 
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