Have you declared your dashcam to your insurer as a mod?

[Mr Pointy]

Elese where there has been some discussion over whether fitting a hardwired dashcam is a notifiable modification with some evidence of considerably increased premiums if declared.

Do those with dashcams declare them & if so did it result in an increased premium?

[Cylon2007]

No but then again mine isn't actually hardwired as it is powered by the ciggie lighter socket.

[Smurfsarepeopletoo]

The only time I would declare it was if the insurer had an approved list of dashcams that meant you get a discount, and it was one of those, or if you were involved in an incident, and you could prove you were not at fault.

I would suspect the increased premiums would stem from the chance that you would have no option but to supply the footage in the event of an accident, as it was recorded that you have one, and therefore increase the chances of you being held at fault.

[Ninja59]

The last time I had a conversation with insurer [X] and it was just as they were beginning to come common place it hinged on one critical factor - method of power (which still sounds mad even now).

In essence, if powered by the 12 volt port or cig lighter then the dashcam is an "accessory", if hardwired in then it is a "modification".

Granted this is only one insurer, it is sometime ago, but their stance has not changed to what I know of and therefore mine is still powered from the 12v port. Thankfully i have a few of them and managed to come up with a route that meant no cables show (although annoyingly if it ever breaks then I might be screwed and have a headache of a job removing it).

[Megaflow]

Mr Pointy said:

Elese where there has been some discussion over whether fitting a hardwired dashcam is a notifiable modification with some evidence of considerably increased premiums if declared.

Do those with dashcams declare them & if so did it result in an increased premium?

Now, there is an interesting thing. Maybe insurance companies databases have started to flag people with dashcams as a higher risk, because after all you can’t send your dash cam footage if you don’t have one. Might we be seeing the dash cam bubble starting to burst?

[SkodaIan]

It's either that, or the insurance company are starting to identify those "Dash Cam Warriors" who go out of their way to cause conflict and near misses to post clips on YouTube.
Pretty much whenever those "terrible driving" dashcam videos pop up in the news, the driving of the owner of the dashcam is pretty terrible too....

[Deranged Rover]

I followed a car along the road the other day that had a sticker on the back saying "Dashcams fitted front and rear". I think this is handy as it gives the rest of use the opportunity to give the car a very wide berth.

[Mr Pointy]

Interesting responses. It never ocurred to me that something like a dashcam could be a notifiable modification but clearly it's a known issue.

[RobM77]

I always tell my insurers about everything. The last thing I want is to make a claim and have something frustrate that process. I had a dashcam in my last two cars and notified the insurers, but I don't think it reduced the premium (after all, the insurer can't demand to see the footage, it's always optional to submit it as evidence as far as I know) - it definitely didn't increase it.

Regarding other comments and knowing what the usual PH consensus is on dashcams, it's important to realise that "dashcam warriors" are probably a tiny percentage of dashcam owners. Certainly with me (and two family members who have them) it was just to guard against insurance fraud. Every single accident or claim I've known from myself, or from friends and family has relied heavily on witness statements, and all bar one involved a considerable amount of lying from the guilty party trying to impart blame on the innocent party. That's why I think dashcams are a valuable thing to have. Most people use them like us - forget it's there and only plan to use it if an accident happens. Do you really want to have to rely on someone friendly stopping and giving you their name and address for use as a witness? What if nobody sees the accident? For those of us with expensive cars, no claims discount is not something you want to lose.

[Your Dad]

Not declared mine. It's less of a risk than Karen having a TomTom satnav device plugged in and stuck in middle of her Corsa windscreen.

[Pig benis]

Deranged Rover said:

I followed a car along the road the other day that had a sticker on the back saying "Dashcams fitted front and rear". I think this is handy as it gives the rest of use the opportunity to give the car a very wide berth.

I don't understand why anyone would want that sticker on their car? It just makes them look like a massive, self-righteous bellend

[Richard-D]

Nope, haven't declared, wouldn't occur to me to. Wouldn't declare a towbar either or that I've replaced the door speakers with aftermarket ones as the originals broke. There's probably some more things on the list too that some will claim is a 'mod' but we all know isn't.

[RobM77]

Pig benis said:

Deranged Rover said:

I followed a car along the road the other day that had a sticker on the back saying "Dashcams fitted front and rear". I think this is handy as it gives the rest of use the opportunity to give the car a very wide berth.

I don't understand why anyone would want that sticker on their car? It just makes them look like a massive, self-righteous bellend

It may be to discourage road rage. I actually first got a dashcam after a particularly bad road rage incident - some guy in a slow van reacted when I overtook him (legally) in an NSL. Sure, I didn't want a sticker on my car (for the reason you gave!), but I can see perfectly genuine reasons why people may want others to know they've got a cam.

[RobM77]

Richard-D said:

Nope, haven't declared, wouldn't occur to me to. Wouldn't declare a towbar either or that I've replaced the door speakers with aftermarket ones as the originals broke. There's probably some more things on the list too that some will claim is a 'mod' but we all know isn't.

Towbars can actually reduce your insurance. When I fitted one to my new car they credited me with £90.

Edited by RobM77 on Wednesday 16th December 17:18

[mmm-five]

Not specifically as a mod, but the proposal form asked if I had a dash-cam under the general questions.

[whatmoretyres]

I think it’s entirely different - you have a piece of equipment worth around a hundred quid on your windscreen, the local crackhead is likely to put a window through to get it

[Fleckers]

RobM77 said:

Richard-D said:

Nope, haven't declared, wouldn't occur to me to. Wouldn't declare a towbar either or that I've replaced the door speakers with aftermarket ones as the originals broke. There's probably some more things on the list too that some will claim is a 'mod' but we all know isn't.

Towbars can actually reduce your insurance. When I fitted one to my new car they credited me with £90.

Edited by RobM77 on Wednesday 16th December 17:18

Where as my insurance company claim a tow bar is a modification and would charge more if I had one fitted

[Richard-D]

Fleckers said:

RobM77 said:

Richard-D said:

Nope, haven't declared, wouldn't occur to me to. Wouldn't declare a towbar either or that I've replaced the door speakers with aftermarket ones as the originals broke. There's probably some more things on the list too that some will claim is a 'mod' but we all know isn't.

Towbars can actually reduce your insurance. When I fitted one to my new car they credited me with £90.

Edited by RobM77 on Wednesday 16th December 17:18

Where as my insurance company claim a tow bar is a modification and would charge more if I had one fitted

Out of interest, did you see in the documentation/on their site that they consider it a modification or did they tell you that after you asked them on the phone?

[Osinjak]

mmm-five said:

Not specifically as a mod, but the proposal form asked if I had a dash-cam under the general questions.

Same here.

[RobGwynRGC]

Mr Pointy said:

Interesting responses. It never ocurred to me that something like a dashcam could be a notifiable modification but clearly it's a known issue.

I’ve been looking at getting a dash cam but never even considered that it would need declaring. I need to go through my docs and check. Glad I spotted this!