Winter tyres - any journos in here?
Discussion
Hi
Ive just spoken to my insurance company to tell them I will be fitting winter tyres from November to March
Im going down a size as recommended by LR and have a set of standard 19" factory alloys to put them on
My own RR Sport left the factory on 20's but 19's are on the next model down the range, note my car also has this size on the recommended pressure plate inside the drivers door
My policy runs from May to May
I have been charged a loading of 19% of my total premium just for the remaining 6 months
They have also upped my excess by 200 quid as well
And when I fit the standard wheels back and tell them I will be charged another fee of 15.75
My car is now "modified" you see !
So in a nutshell I have fitted a factory set of alloys which are smaller and less boy racy and approved for my car
I have then added tyres which make me less likely to have an accident at this time of year
Direct Line say they have no flexibility and its their underwriters who are imposing these charges
(BTW the call centre staff were all very patient with my frustration)
I cant help but think this is bonkers and if anyone would be interested in a story I would be very happy to chat
Cheers!!
Ive just spoken to my insurance company to tell them I will be fitting winter tyres from November to March
Im going down a size as recommended by LR and have a set of standard 19" factory alloys to put them on
My own RR Sport left the factory on 20's but 19's are on the next model down the range, note my car also has this size on the recommended pressure plate inside the drivers door
My policy runs from May to May
I have been charged a loading of 19% of my total premium just for the remaining 6 months
They have also upped my excess by 200 quid as well
And when I fit the standard wheels back and tell them I will be charged another fee of 15.75
My car is now "modified" you see !
So in a nutshell I have fitted a factory set of alloys which are smaller and less boy racy and approved for my car
I have then added tyres which make me less likely to have an accident at this time of year
Direct Line say they have no flexibility and its their underwriters who are imposing these charges
(BTW the call centre staff were all very patient with my frustration)
I cant help but think this is bonkers and if anyone would be interested in a story I would be very happy to chat
Cheers!!
why dont you leave the same wheels on there and just get winter tyres fitted. Surely you dont need to tell them then?
You are effectively mod'ing it by changing the wheel size, as stupid as it sounds...
Additionally, i would be fuming and more then likely throw my toys out of the pram.
You are effectively mod'ing it by changing the wheel size, as stupid as it sounds...
Additionally, i would be fuming and more then likely throw my toys out of the pram.
That really is idiotic, it's what has put me off getting some small / steel rims with winter tyres - I really don't want the hassle with my insurance company. This is my first ever RWD car and I have to drive up the brecon beacons every day for work, fingers crossed they grit the roads!
Sadly as the knowledge and use of winter tyres increases amongst us motorists, the insurance companies find yet another excuse to charge more. I can live with the admin fees for amending details on policies, but charging an increased premium for fitting safer (and less desirable) wheels is ludicrous.
Thoughts going through my mind:
Why does anyone need 4wd and winter tyres in England?
Is that what the insurance company were thinking... and thus have loaded the premium suitably?
What would have happened had you not told the insurance company, in my thinking you haven't modified the car at all.
Why does anyone need 4wd and winter tyres in England?
Is that what the insurance company were thinking... and thus have loaded the premium suitably?
What would have happened had you not told the insurance company, in my thinking you haven't modified the car at all.
Mars said:
In the event of a claim, how the heck would they ever know whether you'd spec'd the 19 or 20 inch alloys?
I don't think I'd have told them as you're effectively only fitting components designed for the car. That's not modding, I don't care what they say.
+1 Really can't work out why you would tell them. If anything did happen and they come and look at a mashed RR, its got proper RR wheels on it, how are they to know you didn't buy it like that?I don't think I'd have told them as you're effectively only fitting components designed for the car. That's not modding, I don't care what they say.
What does owner's manual say about winter driving?
Will be very unusual if they say nothing.
Edited, soryy ^^ just read your OP again, obviously you ahve done what the manual says.
The stupidity is that you could have fitted a set of RingRongs or similar, and provided they had the appropriate size, speed and load rating you would not have had to tell them anything.
The insurance company isn't an offshoot of a budget airline is it?
Completely barking, makes note of another insurance company not to deal with.
Will be very unusual if they say nothing.
Edited, soryy ^^ just read your OP again, obviously you ahve done what the manual says.
The stupidity is that you could have fitted a set of RingRongs or similar, and provided they had the appropriate size, speed and load rating you would not have had to tell them anything.
The insurance company isn't an offshoot of a budget airline is it?
Completely barking, makes note of another insurance company not to deal with.
Edited by F i F on Monday 1st November 16:47
HellDiver said:
Mars said:
In the event of a claim, how the heck would they ever know whether you'd spec'd the 19 or 20 inch alloys?
They look at the V5C, read the code from the "Variant" line, type it in their computer and it tells them exactly what it had when it left Solihull.HellDiver said:
Mars said:
In the event of a claim, how the heck would they ever know whether you'd spec'd the 19 or 20 inch alloys?
They look at the V5C, read the code from the "Variant" line, type it in their computer and it tells them exactly what it had when it left Solihull.HellDiver said:
Mars said:
In the event of a claim, how the heck would they ever know whether you'd spec'd the 19 or 20 inch alloys?
They look at the V5C, read the code from the "Variant" line, type it in their computer and it tells them exactly what it had when it left Solihull.As far as the ins co are concerned you are altering the spec from how it left the factory - whether its manufacturer approved wheels or not, they sadly see it as a mod.
heebeegeetee said:
Why does anyone need 4wd and winter tyres in England?
What an odd question. I bet you're working on the basis that because you didn't need them, it's not conceivable that anyone could need them.There were a couple of days last year when I couldn't even get my car to pull out from the side of the road (Mrs J's little Punto, on the other hand, handled the snow like a mountain goat, on its skinny all-season tyres). There were a lot more than a couple of days where I was tip-toeing around, knowing fine well that when I started sliding, there was nothing to do but steer a bit and hope.
Why? Big wide smooth grippy-in-the-dry not-bad-in-the-wet utter-s
t-in-the-snow-and-ice summer tyres, that's why.CommanderJameson said:
heebeegeetee said:
Why does anyone need 4wd and winter tyres in England?
What an odd question. I bet you're working on the basis that because you didn't need them, it's not conceivable that anyone could need them.There were a couple of days last year when I couldn't even get my car to pull out from the side of the road (Mrs J's little Punto, on the other hand, handled the snow like a mountain goat, on its skinny all-season tyres). There were a lot more than a couple of days where I was tip-toeing around, knowing fine well that when I started sliding, there was nothing to do but steer a bit and hope.
Why? Big wide smooth grippy-in-the-dry not-bad-in-the-wet utter-s
t-in-the-snow-and-ice summer tyres, that's why.And whilst Staffs and the Peak District can indeed have some proper weather, it still ain't the alps.
However i was thinking about it from an insurance company's point of view. Many people choose to drive 4x4's because they think it will keep them safe in the accident that they think is inevitable. Now, if I was an insurance company i would want to load the premiums of drivers who are convinced they're going to have an accident.
I was wondering if the OP's insurance company was thinking along the lines of "4wd AND winter tyres? Where the hell is he going" and would load the premiums as a way of bracing myself for the claim that I think is coming.
I made a similar change but fortunately was only charged an 'admin fee'. They also said I wouldn't have to pay when I went back to summer tyres which was jolly nice of them!
Rather amusingly, they did say that they would only pay out for standard wheels in the event of a claim. Fortunately my winter wheels would be worth a lot less than my standard ones!
I might just start insuring cars with expensive wheels, putting cheap wheels on and getting them nicked. Then claiming for the standard fit ones.
Rather amusingly, they did say that they would only pay out for standard wheels in the event of a claim. Fortunately my winter wheels would be worth a lot less than my standard ones!
I might just start insuring cars with expensive wheels, putting cheap wheels on and getting them nicked. Then claiming for the standard fit ones.
Perhaps the way they look at it is that you may be out in the car more often now that you have safer tyres fitted thus increasing the risk that you may get hit by other drivers who arn't suited for snow/bad weather, whereas people who don't fit their cars for winter use may use the car less and therefore unlikely to claim.
or Perhaps its just a way to bump up the coffers.
or Perhaps its just a way to bump up the coffers.
ZOLLAR said:
Perhaps the way they look at it is that you may be out in the car more often now that you have safer tyres fitted thus increasing the risk that you may get hit by other drivers who arn't suited for snow/bad weather, whereas people who don't fit their cars for winter use may use the car less and therefore unlikely to claim.
or Perhaps its just a way to bump up the coffers.
Or it could be due to the way insurance companies sometimes think.or Perhaps its just a way to bump up the coffers.
Something standard = known risk.
Something not standard = unknown risk = bump up the price to make sure or refuse to quote.
Example travel insurance as an example.
Person A, diabetes, blood pressure, two heart attacks, etc etc etc. > each of those a known risk factor, > wind it into computer > give quote
Person B, no problems anything like as severe as the above but currently an outpatient without a firm diagnosis > OMFG no known risk factor to wind it into the computer > computer also says OMFG, > refuse quote.
I have seen exactly this ^^ happen.
F i F said:
ZOLLAR said:
Perhaps the way they look at it is that you may be out in the car more often now that you have safer tyres fitted thus increasing the risk that you may get hit by other drivers who arn't suited for snow/bad weather, whereas people who don't fit their cars for winter use may use the car less and therefore unlikely to claim.
or Perhaps its just a way to bump up the coffers.
Or it could be due to the way insurance companies sometimes think.or Perhaps its just a way to bump up the coffers.
Something standard = known risk.
Something not standard = unknown risk = bump up the price to make sure or refuse to quote.
Example travel insurance as an example.
Person A, diabetes, blood pressure, two heart attacks, etc etc etc. > each of those a known risk factor, > wind it into computer > give quote
Person B, no problems anything like as severe as the above but currently an outpatient without a firm diagnosis > OMFG no known risk factor to wind it into the computer > computer also says OMFG, > refuse quote.
I have seen exactly this ^^ happen.
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