Declaring mods on a stock car - Is this ok?

[Lfbn52]

Bit of an odd one I know,

But I’m planning on purchasing car insurance where I’ll be declaring a number of different mods, but my car is currently stock.
I intend on doing these mods over the next few months, but I’m planning to declare it now as a number of big insurance companies refuse to accept any mods for me.

So would it be ok to have mods declared on a car which doesn’t have any mods and would the insurance company use this a some type of ammo if I get into an accident?

Many thanks

[Dog Biscuit]

I wouldn't be insuring a car with a description anything other than exactly how the car is at the time of insuring.

Just notify them as you go along.

[Mr Tidy]

I'd insure it exactly as it is now, but it might be worth trying to get cover with an insurer that is amenable to covering modified cars.

The duty of disclosure only arises at renewal, but depending what the modifications are you might want to declare them when you make them.

[MattsCar]

Speak to your insurer and ask them.

[AlexRS2782]

So you declare the mods now (you dont say whether performance or styling) even though they don't yet exist on the car. What do you think's going to happen when the broker / insurer asks for photos / proof of those mods being fitted?

Every insurer / broker i've dealt with since i started driving at 17 with modified cars have always made it clear the car is insured based on the current setup it's in, not on the basis of what modifications you may or may not decide to do to it in a few days, weeks, months or before the end of the policy that year. If you want to mod it, you do it, declare it and if required pay the admin fee.

This thread is about as silly as your previous ones about overtaking a cyclist and not knowing whether or not a road you were driving on was 30 or 60 because you were a new driver.

Edited by AlexRS2782 on Friday 5th July 00:18

[the-norseman]

When I used to have heavily modified cars, mainly with Adrian Flux I used to declare mods at the start of policy that I hadn't done yet and then do them, they said this was fine.

[AlexRS2782]

Which is amusing considering Flux were one of the companies i used to use when i was a new driver in the late '90's / early '00's and they didn't allow that - it was always declare the car as it was at the time you bought it / took out the policy and amend accordingly.

Mind you i doubt Flux know / care much about most mods anyway given that the last time i gave them a chance was in '07 when they managed to edit the massive mod list on my Focus RS down to just "Exhaust, filter, remap" and ignored everything else - thankfully never got pulled. When i asked to see the full mod list i'd sent them as proof i would have been insured correctly they just claimed it had been "lost" in an "admin error" Funny as i've heard a number of other people had similar with more involved modded cars over the years. Could be fun arguing the toss after a pull / accident if modifications aren't logged by them correctly.

Edited by AlexRS2782 on Friday 5th July 00:41

[SlimJim16v]

[Lfbn52]

Thanks for the advice chaps.
I can’t add mods to my current insurance policy as they have refused to accept any mods for my car a part from alloy wheels.

My renewal is coming up so I was planning to add them now to my new policy.
There are only a few insurers on go compare who will accept mods when doing a quote, but they aren’t always the same insurers making it difficult to predict (maybe it’s cos I’m a relatively new driver), so I don’t want to risk getting into a new policy and them flat out refusing any mods like my current one.

[Cats_pyjamas]

Insure through a specialist broker. Some allow mod changes for free.

[Bobupndown]

SlimJim16v said:

That's exactly what I thought reading the title. Fortunately that one is completely standard as it came from the factory, no mods to declare there.

[cobra kid]

fking "stock"

Get a grip.

[Lfbn52]

cobra kid said:

fking "stock"

Get a grip.

ahah looking back I’m cringing at that, I don’t know why I used the term stock instead of standard

[Antony Moxey]

Why not just ask the companies what their policy is on the mods you have planned? Once you have all your answers, insure it as it is then inform them as each particular mod is applied. Shouldn’t be any shocks then as you already know what the answer is, plus in the event you do have to claim I’m not sure how forthcoming they’ll be if the car isn’t exactly as described because you’ve insured for modifications that you don’t yet have.

[Jester86]

Many specialist insurers allow you to add mods as you go without any admin fee.

Find one that suits you and go down that route, saves all the bother. Just make sure you do call them up when you mod though

[CKY]

cobra kid said:

fking "stock"

Get a grip.

Same as those who pronounce Z as "zee" - get in the fking bin, you're not American no matter how much you wish you were.

[Monkeylegend]

Antony Moxey said:

Why not just ask the companies what their policy is on the mods you have planned? Once you have all your answers, insure it as it is then inform them as each particular mod is applied. Shouldn’t be any shocks then as you already know what the answer is, plus in the event you do have to claim I’m not sure how forthcoming they’ll be if the car isn’t exactly as described because you’ve insured for modifications that you don’t yet have.

I would do this, why pay extra on your insurance until you actually change it from "stock".

They might argue that you could have avoided an accident with the better than stock brakes they thought you had installed but were yet to do and refuse to pay out

[Rob_F]

I did exactly this earlier in the year, explained it all on the phone to Adrian Flux, they seemed happy to declare it all upfront. Probably not the cheapest but had the same concern you did re: getting half way through the year then having to change insurer or something.

[MrBen.911]

Lfbn52 said:

There are only a few insurers on go compare who will accept mods when doing a quote,

Go Compare isn't really the place to look for cover for a car that will be modified - talk to some of the brokers that specialise in modifications.

[Antony Moxey]

CKY said:

cobra kid said:

fking "stock"

Get a grip.

Same as those who pronounce Z as "zee" - get in the fking bin, you're not American no matter how much you wish you were.

At the school where I work at I’m forever correcting the Primary kids for saying that we’re emptying the trash. As you (and I) say, you’re not American, it’s ’rubbish’ in this country, not ‘trash’. Grr…