Modified Insurance

[AlxM3]

Anyone got any recommendations, not been down this route before and already it seems like a nightmare and Ive only made a couple of calls...

Im used to Admiral / Elephant - job done in 5 minutes, thankyou very much (previous standard M cars)

The car in question is an E36 M3 Evo - was hoping for a agreed value policy but that seems out of the question due to it not being classed as a classic.

When I say modifications I mean:

Uprated Suspension / strut brace etc.
Dave F induction kit
De-restriction
Race Cats / Scorpion Exhaust
Braided Clutch hose
Rear spoiler / splitter / interior re-trim

Cheers

Alex

Edited by AlxM3 on Wednesday 23 September 13:25

[markbmw]

Are you trying to keep the cost of the policy down, or to ensure you get back what you think the car is worth in the event of total loss?

Some of the above you don't need to declare (eg de-restriction), however you'd need agreed value to fully cover interior or body mods.

Edited by markbmw on Thursday 24th September 10:11

[markbmw]

Have you tried Norton Insurance? My GF has agreed value (tho' limited mileage) on her extensively modded VR6 with them.

[AlxM3]

Thanks - will try them.

Done a fair bit of ringing around - I think my problem is im being too honest!

Have done a fair bit of searching / reading through all the forums and am waiting on a couple of the highly recommended ones to come back to me.

My main concern is getting stiched up on 'market value' - whatever that might be...

Cant say im too up on such matters having never had to claim for theft / total loss.

[markbmw]

AlxM3 said:

My main concern is getting stiched up on 'market value' - whatever that might be...

Agreed value is the only way of getting full cover in this respect.
If you just want to keep the price of the policy down, without risking them pulling the plug in the event of a claim this is how I see it;

Uprated suspension
What suspension have you fitted? Unless you've got high-end (eg Bilstein PSS9, KW V3 etc) kit on, then other quality replacement kits can be considered just that; quality replacement [of worn] parts. Conversely if the car is scrapping the floor after you've dropped it 60mm+ on cheap springs you'd need to declare this. Or if you've kept original dampers and fitted Eibach Pro-kit springs, again no need to declare, no insurance assessor would be able to tell.
Strut brace
I'd declare it unless it looks like an original part (GT's came with and they may have been an option on other M3s, I'm not sure). Mine is a twin-tube plain-looking black affair, looks like it's always been there. Very quick and easy to remove if need be, and again very few insurance assessors would know if they came fitted originally anyway.
DaveF
Personally I'd declare this however if you keep the original intake you may have the opportunity to swap back in the event of a claim/accident.
De-restriction
Assuming you mean an ECU mod (to raise rpm and/or 155mph limiters), this is virtually undetectable so not worth mentioning.
Race cats /Scorpion
I wouldn't declare the cats; again they'd never know. I would however mention the back-box as this is obvious, they're used to it and it shouldn't hike the price too much.
Braided Clutch Hose
No need to declare.
Rear spoiler / splitter
How different to original are they? The small additional front 'lip' was a commonly-specced option on the front. Is the rear obviously aftermarket? If not I wouldn't worry.
Interior
No need to declare a retrim.

Of course you 'should' declare everything, but you'll be royally shafted £-wise if you do.

My E36 M3 was painted carbon black a few years ago. This is a standard BMW E46 colour. The first insurance co I phoned added £500 'cos of the respray. Needless to say from the second call when asked colour I said 'black'. Ths paints' no more expensive so why should I pay more? And NO insurance assessor is going to turn up and say [in 'Mr Bean' voice] 'Erm, well no that's not a standard colour so you're not covered Mr xyz'

Note that if they find a mod you've not declared they won't just dump you. They allow a certain number of what they call 'non-disclosures' before you're in trouble. I don't know how they work this out, though of course if they find you've got a turbo bolted in you might have a problem . Don't sweat too much over the small stuff.

[AlxM3]

Cheers for the advice. Hear what your saying with regards to the minor points etc.

The Suspension mod's are good quality stuff - Bilstein Coilovers / adjustable Eibach bits & bobs etc

I have now aquired a quote from a well known firm - very mixed reviews on these forums by the looks of things however...

The quote I have is 10-12% more than what I would normally expect to pay on a unmodified version with my normal insurers. I have stated absolutely everything in a detailed email to them as well. Having just spoken with a member of their team this would also be on a 'like-for-like' replacement basis in the case of a accident. It is not a Agreed Value policy though which seems to be very much out of the norm for this car.

Must say I am pretty happy with that and so far they have been very effecient and done everything they said they would. A broker I spoke with this morning said he wouldnt be able to come anywhere near that and should accept the policy prior to rate changes in October...

[markbmw]

10-12% over with all mods declared + like-for-like replacement sounds like an excellent deal, well done!

[Rawhide]

I used Competition Car Insurance for my Elise track day car which was heavily modified. (engine swaps etc)

They were very competitive and also covered track days

[AlxM3]

Yes - I have used Competition Car Insurance for a couple of trackdays in my previous car. They were excellent.

I need to confirm with them but I dont think they cover M3's (road cover) - mainly 2 seater sports cars I think.

[BillyB]

Noel Dazely were great with mod's to my old Audi S4. Upgraded suspension, brakes, remap, interior etc only added tens of pounds to the cost not hundreds. Give them a try. 0870 0466604

No connection other than a customer.