Declaring replacement exhaust tips to insurance as a mod?

[ZOLLAR]

It falls under "Exterior decorative changes"

[Dave_ST220]

Clivey said:

How is the average car owner to know exactly what is or what isn't standard spec. on their model of car? I had to buy an old brochure on eBay to find-out what was optional on my Discovery (privacy glass, front passenger's seat electric lumbar adjustment etc.).

If Joe Average buys a Focus Zetec but it has the wheels from a "Ghia", the centre caps would still say 'Ford' and only an anorak like us would notice.

Then you have things that you can't see like ECU chips etc

[DaveCWK]

A summary of what i'd bother declaring:

Exhaust tip - no
aftermarket radio - no
remap - no
2cm lowering springs - no
air filter/exhaust/blue silicone hoses - no
decat / DPF removal - no
new carpets - no
'normal' looking wheels (aka most)- no
air freshener - no
heated seat retrofit - no
modest window tinting - no
towbar - no
LED bulbs - no

...

engine swap - yes
turbo conversion - yes
6 pot brembos - yes
significant suspension mods - yes
22" gold spinners - yes
awful chavvy 'full bodykit' with flip paint respray - yes
anything of significant value that I care about being replaced like for like if car stolen - yes.

[elephantstone]

DaveCWK said:

A summary of what i'd bother declaring:

Exhaust tip - no
aftermarket radio - no
remap - no
2cm lowering springs - no
air filter/exhaust/blue silicone hoses - no
decat / DPF removal - no
new carpets - no
'normal' looking wheels (aka most)- no
air freshener - no
heated seat retrofit - no
modest window tinting - no
towbar - no
LED bulbs - no

...

engine swap - yes
turbo conversion - yes
6 pot brembos - yes
significant suspension mods - yes
22" gold spinners - yes
awful chavvy 'full bodykit' with flip paint respray - yes
anything of significant value that I care about being replaced like for like if car stolen - yes.

Agree with all that apart from the engine remap.. Surely thats something you should declare?

[Kozy]

ZOLLAR said:

It falls under "Exterior decorative changes"

It falls under 'insurance company likely has no more of a clue on the specific model of wheel that should have been fitted than the ill informed buyer'.

IMO of course.

My MX5 has wheels from a Eunos on it apparently. As far as I was concerned, they were standard. Chances of the insurance declaring them as a modifcation? About 1%.

[Zoon]

DaveCWK said:

A summary of what i'd bother declaring:


decat / DPF removal - no

So a decat which essentially means a car won't pass it's MOT is a mod you wouldn't declare?
Good luck with that one.

[surveyor]

hmmm


I changed the wheel trims as the old ones were dog eared on the family hack last week. Should I tell them?

[ZOLLAR]

Kozy said:

ZOLLAR said:

It falls under "Exterior decorative changes"

It falls under 'insurance company likely has no more of a clue on the specific model of wheel that should have been fitted than the ill informed buyer'.

IMO of course.

My MX5 has wheels from a Eunos on it apparently. As far as I was concerned, they were standard. Chances of the insurance declaring them as a modifcation? About 1%.

That's the point, you're not the insurer and the change to the vehicle is a modification or alteration to the risk they are covering.
The insurance company may have "..no more of a clue on the specific model of wheel that should have been fitted than the ill informed buyer" but they are experts in assessing risk and they are the ones to accept the risk so are entitled to request information relating to any changes.

[Zoon]

surveyor said:

hmmm


I changed the wheel trims as the old ones were dog eared on the family hack last week. Should I tell them?

A like for like change is very different to a modification.

Had you put 20 inch alloys on then I would tell them.

[Soov535]

Tell them. Just tell them.

And as for not declaring a remap, well done for actually paying for the privilege of not being insured.

[avaF1]

Zoon said:

surveyor said:

hmmm


I changed the wheel trims as the old ones were dog eared on the family hack last week. Should I tell them?

A like for like change is very different to a modification.

Had you put 20 inch alloys on then I would tell them.

Well this is the question. It will hardly ever be like for like, whether its a MOT station changing your wipers or a service garage changing your exhaust tips because the old ones were rusty. The replacement ones may well be shiny or bigger but they fit and don't affect performance.

[saaby93]

avaF1 said:

Well this is the question. It will hardly ever be like for like, whether its a MOT station changing your wipers or a service garage changing your exhaust tips because the old ones were rusty. The replacement ones may well be shiny or bigger but they fit and don't affect performance.

yes just tell them
If it costs you £30 every time you renew on top of the cost of the wipers, what does it matter. At least you have peace of mind youre insured

How many people do you think are running around with mods they havent mentioned and so uninsured?

[Gerradi]

996TT02 said:

I put in £50 worth of fuel today. I'm going to call up my insurers.

[g3org3y]

996TT02 said:

I put in £50 worth of fuel today. I'm going to call up my insurers.

I only run with <£10 petrol in my car.

Because of the reduced weight and increased performance I've had to inform my insurance company as it counts as a CSL.

[rscott]

Zollar, what's the view of the company you work for on factory fitted options? Do these need to be be declared, affect the cost or neither? My current insurer said they specifically only wanted to know about anything fitted after it left the factory, anything fitted at time of manufacture (be it standard or optional) was covered.

I'd be interested to know how you cope with insuring the very last few Saabs built - pretty much each one had different extras included as standard because they were finishing up the parts available (eg some have upgraded seats, stereos, door handles! - leather) .

[Tunku]

I have to phone my insurer everytime I fold the back seats down when I go to the tip.

[Fastdruid]

996TT02 said:

I put in £50 worth of fuel today. I'm going to call up my insurers.

The manufacturer of mine recommends BP, should I let them know if I fill it with Shell?

I should probably tell them if I used non-OE sparkplugs, filters, brakepads/discs, bulbs or tyres (bushes, shocks, springs etc etc).

Then again I didn't tell my insurer about replacing the plastic spare wheel cover in my old Mk2 Mondeo with a Mk1 metal version and that was a proper performance modification (allowed heavier things in the boot). Thankfully the car is long gone so I don't have the daily worry about not declaring it.

[saaby93]

rscott said:

Zollar, what's the view of the company you work for on factory fitted options? Do these need to be be declared, affect the cost or neither? My current insurer said they specifically only wanted to know about anything fitted after it left the factory, anything fitted at time of manufacture (be it standard or optional) was covered.

I'd be interested to know how you cope with insuring the very last few Saabs built - pretty much each one had different extras included as standard because they were finishing up the parts available (eg some have upgraded seats, stereos, door handles! - leather) .

Saabs were around 90% built at the factory, the last 10% choose from whatever kit the dealer has to make it more interesting than the dealer 50 miles away.

Unless you know every single variation how are you going to tell the insurer whats a dealer fit option or not?

[Escy]

I also think it's scare tactics. I had a claim on an M3 I owned, I hadn't declared mods as it was supplied new with an AC Schnitzer carbon fibre bodykit, split rims, coilovers, etc.

I didn't tell my insurance company about the spec when I took out the policy. I claimed for a £1500 carbon front bumper. They paid up with no issues. Maybe the accessor was having a good day.

[AndyNetwork]

The way I see it, the Insurance company are the ones who are the experts - they are the ones taking on risk every day of the week, therefore it is up to them to know what a "standard" spec is - not the person seeking insurance. If the insurer is really that bothered about factory fit options, they should be prepared to contact the manufacturer to find out what spec the car left the factory with.

For instance, my car has optional Xenon headlamps - if it wasn't for the fact I am a petrol head, I would just see "yes, it's got head lamps, just like every other car has" wouldn't even cross my mind that they may not be "standard".

At the end of the day, most manufacturers have catalogues of which car has what options leaving the factory, otherwise the dealers wouldn't ask for your registration or vin number when you go to buy parts that could have a number of options. Just open this up to the insurance companies, and they would then have the spec the car left the factory with.

Then they would only have to ask about the changes made afterwards.