Will chipping effect my insurance?

So, now I've decided to chip, what effect does that have on my premiums? Does everyone always tell their insurers? I'm insured with Direct Line - any experience? Any better insurers for chipped Volvos? You can tell I'm new at this performance Volvo thing, can't you?

[Simon Linton]

Simple answers to simple questions -
1. Your insurance premiums will rise and some companies won't insure you at all.

2. Anyone who does not tell their insurers is NOT insured; and don't fall into the belief that some chipping is undetectable, if your car is involved in an accident that causes injury or death, all insurers will move heaven and earth to avoid paying out what could be a seven-figure sum.
If an undeclared modification is there - and it could be something that has no bearing on the accident at all - they WILL find it and will declare themselves uninvolved in a payout that could destroy you financially for life, in addition to the criminal charge that will follow for driving without valid insurance.
Rant over - do not fail to declare any modification, no matter how trivial.

I don't think Direct Line will cover a chip upgrade, most of the internet cheapies tend to avoid this to keep their prices down.
Search the performance forum for insurance companies that will cover mods; it's incredibly variable, some companies will do it one month and next month refuse you and the prices vary equally unpredictably.

I've insured with Chris Knott as the cheapest to cover my non-chipped but modified 850R; others have different favourites, but beware, some people's favourites only insured them because they didn't declare the mods - see above.

[2.4TSE]

I have BSR PPCd my V70 2.4T but waited until the end of my insurance year to do so. Why? Exactly as Simon has written my direct insurer wouldn't touch me, because even with a 100% no claims record stretching back 25 years to when I started driving, by modifying my V70 I fell off their "menu driven" radar. They had no ablity to make a one-off risk assessment. The same then applied to every other direct insurer I approached, including Direct Line and all the other Big Names.

In the end I contacted broker Adrian Flux who I recalled from my motorsport days; I filled in some simple risk assessment paperwork and now have a specialist policy with Norwich Union that cost less that £100 more than the "off the shelf" policy for a standard V70 2.4T that I would have taken out had I not tuned the car.

[pyaap]

As Simon has said, it is imperative that you inform your insurers of any modifications to the car. I have many times come across people who have been involved in serious RTAs and have subsequently had no recourse to their insurance because they've been caught out for non-disclosure for one reason or another; the consequences are quite devastating.

The majority of ECU upgrades are not detectable when your car goes in for a service because that's not high on the list of priorities for service personnel, however, in the insurance business, that can be taken to a whole new level. I've personally been there when a software expert has "read" an ECU; within a short span of time, he was able to identify precisely which parameters had been changed.

I think you'll find that there are an increasing number of insurers who are quite amenable to ECU upgrades. I'm with Volvo owners insurance and despite them having fallen short of my expectations on the customer service side of things, my premium only went up by just over £50 despite a full declaration of the modifications on my car. Hence, if Direct Line refuse to insure you following an ECU upgrade, take your business elsewhere; Chris Knott and Adrian Flux are quite popular amongst forum members, and you may even be able to get a better deal than you currently have.

[IC]

Hi Bruce, try the club insurers who are Chris Knott. I'll contact you to give you more detailed info in what they are offering.

Many thanks

I already have two cars insured through Flux and in fact negotiated our Ariel Atom Owners Club discount with them, so I shall try them first.

[warthog]

Hi,

I'm insured through Admiral (via the 'web) and when I enquired about the possibility of chipping, they were quite amenable as long as the performance increase was within 25% of std. Of course it affected the premium payable as you would expect (about 50% increase over full NCD price from memory).

OK. Gone with Knott.

Direct Line said no chipping (surprise, surprise) but the just renewed premuim was £715

Flux said no problem - unchipped £528, chipped £575

Knott said no problem - unchipped £450, chipped £520

Many thanks - the VOC strikes again! I shall be chipped with impunity.

[IC]

Bruce, good news on the quote from Chris Knott! I'm with Chris Knott and they have had no problems with my list of modifications :-)

[oilburner]

For my 140 to 180 RICA upgrade, Direct Line did mine on the basis of the total increase in BHP, which was a touch annoying as the car isn't really 140 to begin with, just behaves as the 170 until higher revs are reached and the power is flattened off to strangle the total power possible.

That meant the premium increased 50% instantly because the power increase was so large by their simplified way of looking at things.
Never mind the fact that unless I'm thrashing the engine it'll produce much the same power during regular driving! (I'm not bitter, much..)

I'll be looking at one of the two specialist insurers mentioned when my renewal is due. I suspect I may not have much choice as Direct Line will probably offer me a stupidly high premium next time to put me off.

The annoying thing is that although the upgrade was cheaper than buying a factory tuned 170, the extra insurance costs could make my NA 2.4 more expensive to insure than a standard T5, being a much quicker car and all...

*bangs head against a wall*

Oh yes, and they also increased my minimum excess to a massive £450, because they're such nice people...

Errrm, so yes your insurance will be affected!