insurance - admiral wont insure "remap" only a "chip"!

[s3paul]

Anyone else had this problem?
Phoned to check the cost of adding this to my policy on my 2.0tfsi A4 and was told that i cannot add the "remap" to this policy because they view it as high risk compared to "chipping". The reason being that the upper limit of remapping was not controlled so power could be continually hiked up. i cannot understand this.
I could not believe it! I have looked into "chipping" now and this process seems dead in the water with most of this type of modification being of a remap/ecu rewrite type now.
i was going to use Star Performance to get it done and i told the insurer that power would be verified by a digital rolling road - which you would not get from a plug in chip but they would not wear it.
now need to re-think or change insurer - what a hassle!
I would be interested to hear anyone elses experiences of this.
thanks
paul

 

[GeneralWest]

Insurance companies are so bizarre sometimes. I'll be very interested to see how you get on with this because I'm also with Admiral and was planning to get my S3 remapped sometime soon. Looks like it might not be as straightforward as I hoped.

 

[Dazmo]

 

[Andy D]

I had the same problem with Budget, and privelege, now with elephant. I don't know where they think folk are having their cars chipped, surely the software used to remap a car can be wrote onto a "chip" and fitted, this would keep the insurance haqppy and the same performance would be achieved....it's a bizarre situation

 

[s3paul]

No luck with admiral.
They seem to think a chip is safer etc etc - rubbish.
I have tried some other companies today and when i made it clear what they were doing they scratched their heads too.
yes we can add that modification - an engine chip? No i said and ECU remap - oh we are not sure how to add that/not sure what that is.

Sounds like the insurance world (the big players atleast) are about 15 years behind everyone else since as far as i can see next to noone puts a "chip" in their car any more.

I did mention to one of the companies today that i suspect that 95% of their customers who have informed them of a "chip" actually have an ecu remap!
looks like greenlight or someone like that for me - a company that actually know what they are talking about

 

[voorhees]

I agree with Paul its a common misconception that the car is chipped and not remapped.

 

[Dazmo]

No luck with admiral.
They seem to think a chip is safer etc etc - rubbish.
I have tried some other companies today and when i made it clear what they were doing they scratched their heads too.
yes we can add that modification - an engine chip? No i said and ECU remap - oh we are not sure how to add that/not sure what that is.

Sounds like the insurance world (the big players atleast) are about 15 years behind everyone else since as far as i can see next to noone puts a "chip" in their car any more.

I did mention to one of the companies today that i suspect that 95% of their customers who have informed them of a "chip" actually have an ecu remap!
looks like greenlight or someone like that for me - a company that actually know what they are talking about

Well im looking at putting drilled discs on mine and replacing the standard brake discs.

Suffice to say the women at aviva didnt know what drilled discs were and told me that they dont class drilled discs as a modification and so i would be fine.

Half of these muppets dont have a clue, they wanted 57 quid to insure me for lowering my car by 10mm on eibach springs, which isnt too bad i suppose but they told me it doesnt matter how low i go its still the same price

 

[aragorn]

Tbh mate, i'd either be telling them its chipped or not bothering at all.

You really think they're going to open up the ECU box and read out the contents of the ROM? Or somehow work out that the IC on the board hasnt actually been changed?

 

[Dazmo]

Tbh mate, i'd either be telling them its chipped or not bothering at all.

You really think they're going to open up the ECU box and read out the contents of the ROM? Or somehow work out that the IC on the board hasnt actually been changed?

Exactly

I would not even bother telling them, most ECU maps are undetectable anyway as searchs of the ECU show that it has only been changed once and that would have been at the factory, this is the case for me but not sure about other mappers out there.

If they cant decipher the difference between a chip and ECU map do you really think they are going to search for something they have no understanding of?

 

[Wideblue]

Hi all

Been lurking since I bought my A4 in September but might be able to help here.

I had the same problem with Elephant (same company as Admiral) when I tried to insure my last car - a Focus ST - for a remap. To cut a long story short, I included an engine chip when inputting the original quote on the internet to see the difference in premium. As I hadn't bought a Dreamscience remapping unit at the time I took out the standard policy.

Some time later I bought a unit and informed Elephant. They declined to cover me for the same reasons you have quoted. I put in a complaint by email stressing my loyalty as a customer and advising that I would cancel the policy if they would not cover the modification. The reply was as follows:

"Dear Mr Wideblue

Policy No: EL INT xxxxxxx
Thank you for your recent e-mail, received on 11/12/08. As a Complaint Executive for elephant.co.uk, I would like to reply to you.
I understand you are unhappy because of the explanation we have provided you after declining to cover the remapping of your vehicle’s engine. I note we have informed you we would provide you with cover for the addition of an engine chip to your vehicle, however you have stated this does not affect your vehicle’s performance differently to the remapping of your engine. I would like to offer you my sincere apologies for any frustration and confusion we have caused you.
I see from our files for your records you originally obtained a quote for your policy from our website. When you entered your information for this you advised us your vehicle had an engine chip. Shortly after you accepted your insurance policy we wrote to you to inform you we did not have any note of your modification on our records. You contacted us to tell us you did not have an engine chip and asked us for a quotation on covering your vehicle if you remapped your engine. Sarah Collins in our Customer Service Department e-mailed you and confirmed we do not cover the remapping of any vehicle’s engines under our policies with elephant.co.uk.
Engine remapping and engine performance chips vary in our Underwriting Department’s modification criteria. Information on any particular engine chip is more accessible to us as you are able to provide us with a specific make and model, which we can investigate to analyse how this will affect the performance of your vehicle. Unfortunately, the remapping of your engine does not enable to gain this same information. We are also aware of a number of safety issues throughout our previous history of insuring remapped vehicles, which may affect our decision to cover you.
I have spoken with our Underwriting Department about Sarah’s decsion to decline cover for this modification. They have informed me we are able to over you cover to remap your engine if you wish to proceed with this change. This would increase your premium by £101.86. If you would like to continue with this amendment please contact our Customer Service Department on 0871 882 22 33 Monday - Sunday between 8am and 8pm.
Thank you for taking the time and effort to write to us about your experience, your e-mail has provided essential feedback. At elephant.co.uk, we recognise the points raised by customers are important for us to improve our service. I am grateful for your comments, and I am sorry you feel our service did not meet the high standard we promise our customers.
At elephant.co.uk, we aim to work with our customers to resolve all complaints fairly. If you have any further concerns or questions, please give me the chance to address these. You can contact me on 0800 952 1199 or e-mail me at quality@elephant.co.uk
It is our responsibility to let you know the Financial Ombudsman Service is ultimately available to you, should you need it, but I sincerely hope you will contact me if you remain unhappy. You can also ask me if you would like a copy of the guide ‘Your Complaint and the Ombudsman’.
The Financial Services Authority asks us to leave complaints open for eight weeks after the date we receive them. If I do not hear from you by 06/02/09 I will consider your complaint closed.
Yours sincerely
Katherine Jones
Complaint Executive"

So they can cover you if they want (unless things have changed in the last 18 months!), it's up to you whether you think it's worth the effort or it's easier to take your business elsewhere...

I am still an Elephant customer, by the way.

Hope this helps

Matt.