My insurance is coming up for renewal and when I was on a comparison website it was asking about any modifications to the car like cosmetic or performance. I've done a few mods like changing front grille to RS style, de- chroming, tinting windows. Does the insurance company need to be notified off these mods? What do you inform your insurers off. Will these mods actually effect the price of insurance?
Which mods do insurance companies need to be notified off?
- Thread starter MOA4B9
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You should and it would. Aftermarket tint, front grille and new alloys, and springs etc are all modifications to the original spec of the car. In my case declaring tint, S3 18" alloys and lowering springs all brought insurance down on Mrs' A3.
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Hi.
If you need any help with insurance at all then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.
If you need any help with insurance at all then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.
Should technically declare all, many specialists including Adrian Flux said they wouldn't insure my A4 as it had too many mods, not even joking... so I... erm... removed all mods... yeah... and insured with the cheapest insurer on a comparison site 
Personally never have a car worth claiming for so realistically if it was an option not to have insurance like it is in many countries I wouldn't have it but the more a car is worth the more important it is to have stuff declared just to be on the safe side.
Personally never have a car worth claiming for so realistically if it was an option not to have insurance like it is in many countries I wouldn't have it but the more a car is worth the more important it is to have stuff declared just to be on the safe side.
Should technically declare all, many specialists including Adrian Flux said they wouldn't insure my A4 as it had too many mods, not even joking... so I... erm... removed all mods... yeah... and insured with the cheapest insurer on a comparison site
Personally never have a car worth claiming for so realistically if it was an option not to have insurance like it is in many countries I wouldn't have it but the more a car is worth the more important it is to have stuff declared just to be on the safe side.
Considering what you have stated, do you have Third Party only or beyond that? With my previous car (Leon MK2 2009) after 6 years of ownership I dropped the insurance to TP only to save on cost and I hardly used the car during that period as well. The car used to be registered in Spain and I was paying €140 per YEAR to have road legal insurance rather than €500ish for comprehensive with a staggering €1200 excess!
Just have whatever works out cheapest, generally fully comp tends to be cheaper for us which doesn't make much sense, have a different car now which is much more stock anyway so not such an issue now.
For that much excess it's certainly worth trying to keep stuff off the books in a worst case scenario.
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A modification is anything that differs on the car that wasn’t on it when it left the factory !
That would include any dealer fit options!
All of them should be listed on insurance !
I wouldn’t use Adrian flux again if they were the last insurance company on earth!
The majority of staff know nothing at all about cars and modifications , when due to a medical condition I had to lay my highly modified car up for a period of time and borrow a non modified auto they wouldn’t cover me at all
That would include any dealer fit options!
All of them should be listed on insurance !
I wouldn’t use Adrian flux again if they were the last insurance company on earth!
The majority of staff know nothing at all about cars and modifications , when due to a medical condition I had to lay my highly modified car up for a period of time and borrow a non modified auto they wouldn’t cover me at all
I only have a non standard grille and I mentioned this to my insurance company and they seemed a bit confused that I would even mention something so trivial. I have read that anything that's different from how it left the factory has to be declared. Their thinking is that if any modification, regardless of how small, even a badge, makes the car more desirable, then it's also more appealing to thieves and therefore commands a higher premium.
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Speaking from recent experience. Declare anything that you change from standard, no matter how menial. The insurance company will let you know if declared is relevant. I had a non fault bump on the 4th feb. And am heavily modified. As you never plan to have an accident you think why bother. For £67 extra on my policy I'm fully covered and the car is being repaired with genuine Audi parts and like for like aftermarket parts. Without this I'd of been liable for all costs to my car and his, with my insurance voided and probably be talking to the local constabulary. Just not worth taking the chance. On a foot note, big shout out to Adrian flux insurance. Been fantastic throughout the whole process.
What would happen if you bought a car which had been modded.
But you didn't know about it. You genuinely did not know about it.
Let's say a mild remap.
You would not know if you bought your first 3.0 litre car, because they are quickish anyway.
Then have a claim and it came up.
Have you broken a law? Will they pay out ?
It must happen/have happened.
I sold a Vectra C with a DTUK Box on to my boss, he mentioned how quick it was the next day.
I remembered and told him about the box. He kept it on anyway.
But you didn't know about it. You genuinely did not know about it.
Let's say a mild remap.
You would not know if you bought your first 3.0 litre car, because they are quickish anyway.
Then have a claim and it came up.
Have you broken a law? Will they pay out ?
It must happen/have happened.
I sold a Vectra C with a DTUK Box on to my boss, he mentioned how quick it was the next day.
I remembered and told him about the box. He kept it on anyway.
I’d guess if being modded and you genuinely didn’t know, and was going to void a claim or something, you’d have to speak to previous owner and get them to admit to have modified the car before you, or have to submit your finance records to prove you never purchased the modified part(s)
Would be a long process...
I added suspension modifications (anti roll bars), lowering springs and a 30% increase in engine power from a remap and my insurance only went up buy £60 when renewing.
I pay £560 on my A4 3.0 tdi 272. That’s also with 30k miles per year as I do about 25k just commuting to work.
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I pay £560 on my A4 3.0 tdi 272. That’s also with 30k miles per year as I do about 25k just commuting to work.
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I’ve been phoning round insurance companies over the last few days. The best one I found was Brentacre, with every little mod declared. They need to know the value of your car and it’s power output, anything else is open season it seems.
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i think its a grey area, insurance companies 'should be' notified of all mods so that you can feel as ease about whether you're covered or not. however will an insurance company start pulling the ecu map data and then comparing it to the standard factory data to see if a crashed vehicle has been remapped.....i cant ever imagine they would tbh. you need specialist tools and knowledge.
the annoyance from most modified car owners is that silly 'modifications' like swapping a front grill or tinting the windows doesnt add value or increase performance so are not declared because most insurance companies will rape you for declaring them....
the annoyance from most modified car owners is that silly 'modifications' like swapping a front grill or tinting the windows doesnt add value or increase performance so are not declared because most insurance companies will rape you for declaring them....
Modifying is an expensive thing, quality modifying is even more expensive. But that's not all the costs: mods need to be protected or insured. We are inconvenient for insurance companies with our non-standard cars. Firstly, it is difficult to assess the real cost of additional equipment and airbrushing, and secondly, the risks of illegal actions of third parties increase several times. On the internet you can look at basic car insurance per month. However, in order for the mods to be appreciated at its true worth, it is necessary to provide payment documents for exclusive items and work performed.
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Could you claim ignorance on any non visible mods like uprated clutch or tuning maps? i was planning on declaring new exhaust, induction and intercooler but declaring a map doubles the insurance for me
You could, but only if you were very stupid.
You might want to consider changing your insurers to the ones who do modified / performance cars. Quite a few of us here are with the likes of AIB Insurance, Sky, Brentacare, Chris Knott, and Adrian Flux. Having said that, I recently moved Mrs’ A3 from AIB to Admiral (all mods declared) as the latter offered slightly cheaper insurance compared to AIB.
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thanks for actually naming the insurance company you eventually went with!
Chris Knott sent me an email today saying the insurer had refused to send me a renewal this year! so i've been struggling to find another insurer that will accept a simple front grille modification. I've just got a decent quote with admiral! thanks
By way of an example, I "modified" my front grill to add a section of honeycomb plastic behind the lowest opening. It's held on discretely with cable ties and is completely removable. I declared it to my insurer, who thanked me for telling them, explained that it would make no difference to anything as it wasn't taking anything away from the car's original spec and was fully removable. I think the best policy is always to declare anything and everything, and keep a record, then there's no quibble whatsoever.
Here's the mod in question: https://www.audiownersclub.com/forums/topic/24334-protecting-the-radiator/#comment-91293
Here's the mod in question: https://www.audiownersclub.com/forums/topic/24334-protecting-the-radiator/#comment-91293
