Would you tell your insurance you have had a re-map ?

[buzzer]

A mate of mine has just had a Re-map on his Audi S3... I have driven it a few times and it was already quite quick... now its MUCH quicker!

he does not intend to tell his insurance as he says they will never find out...

How many of you guys tell the insurance after modifications like this?

[kambites]

I certainly would. Fraud isn't my thing.

[Soovy]

Your friend is a prick.

1. His insurance WILL be invalid
2. If he causes someone damage or injury then he WILL have to pay for it out of his own pocket, and if he kills or badly hurts someone then he will almost certainly lose his house.

As I said, a prick of the highest order. Tell him to have a serious word with himself, because he's paying for the privilege of not being insured.

[ZOLLAR]

buzzer said:

A mate of mine has just had a Re-map on his Audi S3... I have driven it a few times and it was already quite quick... now its MUCH quicker!

he does not intend to tell his insurance as he says they will never find out...

How many of you guys tell the insurance after modifications like this?

Considering he can predict the future would you mind asking him what this weeks lottery numbers are for me?.
Thanks.

[mackie1]

AFAIK such things will not invalidate the 3rd party aspect of the insurance BUT the insurance co. can come after you to recover costs if you weren't truthful. Then again, how many 2nd hand cars are out there with a remap and the new owner has no idea?

[StottyZr]

Up to him really. If he wants insurance to actually cover his car, then he should.

[KaraK]

I certainly would, all my mods (including my remap) are declared.

Tell your mate to stop pissing around and MTFU, if he can afford an S3 and can afford to remap it then the extra bit on the insurance isn't going to break the bank.

[ludicrous speed]

It is unlikely they would find out tbh.

[chrisp84]

KaraK said:

...and MTFU, if he can afford an S3 and can afford to remap it then the extra bit on the insurance isn't going to break the bank.

This. If he can afford a S3 then a extra few hundred quid aint gonna hurt him.

[GreigM]

Your friend should declare it, however the reality is that even in the event of a big accident, the chances of it being discovered are absolutely zero. Loss adjusters rarely view the cars themselves and will rely on bodyshop reports to make most of their decisions - they certainly won't go to the effort of removing the ECU and trying to determine if it has a custom map.

[otolith]

mackie1 said:

Then again, how many 2nd hand cars are out there with a remap and the new owner has no idea?

In that situation where the owner genuinely doesn't know, he would not be acting in bad faith.

[Kozy]

Questions like this only get very biased answers as it is highly unlikely that anyone advocating defrauding insurance companies is going voice their support for it.

This said, I've known of people with far more obvious modifications get away without the insurance assessor noticing...

[off_again]

kambites said:

I certainly would. Fraud isn't my thing.

^ This

Ever wonder why you are asked the questions about "have you made, or are there modifications to the car beyond the standard specification...." bit when you take out insurance? Or I wonder if your friend has actually checked the small print of the terms and conditions? They all say that failure to declare or inform them of any modifications or changes beyond standard specification will invalidate the insurance policy.

Hence no insurance.

Oh, and its not a case of "they will never find out" either. Ok, so maybe the ECU remap looks the same as normal. But given that insurance cases are worth millions to insurance companies, they have a lot of technology at their hands and can call on manufacturers to test things should they feel the need. Ok, not going to do this for every small bump, but if you friend stacks it and the insurance company gets a bit suspicious, they could rightly NOT PAY A PENNY for the damage. In fact, little known fact is that you can be paid the money as a settlement, but they can take it back later if you lied!

Given that its usually only £50-£100 on top of the insurance costs, its worth doing. Taking the risk of not doing it is much higher. There are plenty of insurers out there who will entertain modified cars, so its not a problem. If he complains that its "too expensive" or "cant get insurance with anyone else" - he's not trying or has "other" issues - which means its probably a bad idea to remap the car anyway! Maybe the insurance industry is trying to tell him something?

Not worth it in my view though. Had a couple of remapped cars, told insurers each time. Had a fairly heavily modified car in the past too, didnt cost a penny more (odd that!). Will remap the 1-series when its out of manufacturers warranty, but again, will make sure insurance is aware

[y2blade]

Would you tell your insurance you have had a re-map ?
yep, why wouldn't you?

[mackie1]

otolith said:

In that situation where the owner genuinely doesn't know, he would not be acting in bad faith.

But how do you prove there is bad faith unless you can get hold of the dated invoice for the remap or something?

[buzzer]

If it were me, I would tell the insurance... but he is insisting they will never find out as this is the only modification, everything else is bog standard.

He said... how will they check? Interestingly, he is a workshop controller for a BIG bodyshop and is dealing with insurance companies every day on vehicle accident repairs. He said in all the years he has been doing this, working with insurance assessors, he has NEVER known a car be checked for a re-map.

he challenged me to give him some evidence/case where someone's insurance has not paid out because of this...

I said to post a question on Pistonheads but he said that's pointless as there will be loads of Keyboard Warriors flexing their fingers, sucking their teeth and posting crap without any hard evidence!

So guys, can anyone post a link and give examples where insurance companies have rejected a claim?

[Fish]

Your bigger concern is if you were to have a big smash and unfortunately injured or killed someone, it is the police who are more likely to find out, then you lose all your legal support etc and your previous insurers will pursue you for their payouts, probebly losing your house and everything while you are locked up because you didn't have any good legal representation....

Ok maybe a bit extreme but..

[y2blade]

A sign of the times I guess......honesty along with integrity and manners has gone out of the window.

[KaraK]

buzzer said:

If it were me, I would tell the insurance... but he is insisting they will never find out as this is the only modification, everything else is bog standard.

He said... how will they check? Interestingly, he is a workshop controller for a BIG bodyshop and is dealing with insurance companies every day on vehicle accident repairs. He said in all the years he has been doing this, working with insurance assessors, he has NEVER known a car be checked for a re-map.

he challenged me to give him some evidence/case where someone's insurance has not paid out because of this...

I said to post a question on Pistonheads but he said that's pointless as there will be loads of Keyboard Warriors flexing their fingers, sucking their teeth and posting crap without any hard evidence!

So guys, can anyone post a link and give examples where insurance companies have rejected a claim?

To be honest they are unlikely to find out, it would take something pretty spectacular to make them go hunting around for it. It's not impossible by any means but I do know of people who have had slyly re-mapped cars and crashed them without getting caught. Doesn't change the fact that it's a bit 3.142-key though does it?

[J4CKO]

I took the map off mine to keep the insurance down this year, its just a box to plug in and upload a map, no insurance, no map !