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XC90 '02–'15 General Forum for the P2-platform XC90 model

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Polestar Poll

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Replies : 60

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View Poll Results: Would you tell your insurance company about your Polestar?
Yes 112 66.27%
No 57 33.73%
Voters: 169. You may not vote on this poll

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Old Apr 12th, 2010, 00:05   #21
RoyMacDonald
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Originally Posted by FaKaWi View Post
And with specific regards to Polestar....it's carried out through Volvo, who will record it against your cars service history. Guess what an insurance company is likely to ask Volvo for a copy of? Not necessarily to avoid paying out, the service history is an integral part of the valuation they will attach to a vehicle when determining write-off value, but if they happen to find anything in it which affects the insurance on your car then their attitude may change VERY quickly.
Is it a mod if Volvo do this? The ECU has to have a programme in it for the car to work and Volvo can choose to do what it likes with the programme. Volvo charge extra for metallic paint for instance, but does the insurance company need to be told what type of paint the car has?

It's actually very confusing as to what is standard and what is an extra as Volvo change what's included and what isn't every year as far as I can make out, from discussions on the forum.
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Old Apr 13th, 2010, 09:54   #22
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I spoke to a volvo salesman about a XC90 test drive. I told him I would like to try an XC90 with the unmodified engine because my currant insurer will not insure a remaped car. He said he only had a 205 hp XC90 as volvo were trying to push this mod. He said don't worry about the insurance as the remap is undetectable and most people don't tell their insurer anyway. He did add that Volvo insurance would cover it.
Why didn't volvo just make this standard or at least offer a seperate 205 hp model alongside the 185 hp one?
I would be happy to pay an extra £600 for a higher hp virsion, but I'm not so keen to pay that for a "performance enhancing accessory".
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Old Apr 13th, 2010, 18:42   #23
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Have you actualy asked the insurance company how much extra it will be? You mihght be surprised and fin d there be no extra premium ..
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Old Apr 13th, 2010, 19:42   #24
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Don't bother asking Direct Line - as per my other thread, they will automatically decline to insure a car with ANY engine or ECU modifications (including Polestar)
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Old Apr 13th, 2010, 22:34   #25
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Already had test drive of XC90 with polestar and going to add on when ordering. next week. I called current insurer ( Admiral) for quote with and without out this added on along with other factory fitted extras and difference was £4.00...yeah only £4.00 for the 8 months left.
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Old Apr 13th, 2010, 22:49   #26
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Wehey, my car arrived at the docks today, should get it soon.

In the meantime I just had a look at some insurance quotes and so far I found that if you only declare tinted windows as a mod on Compare the Market you only get back those insurers that allow (engine) mods.

Cheapest price with tints:
£526 with Admiral, AXA didn't show.

Cheapest price without specifying a mod:
£393.30 with AXA. Admiral came to £502 without tints.

I went to AXA's website direct and looked at the fine print and they do actually cover manufacturers options such as tints on the back windows, but they do not allow engine mods or front tints.

So dont trust comparison websites if you specify mods (other than engine mods) on them.
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Old Apr 13th, 2010, 22:54   #27
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Originally Posted by Zoidy View Post
Wehey, my car arrived at the docks today, should get it soon.

In the meantime I just had a look at some insurance quotes and so far I found that if you only declare tinted windows as a mod on Compare the Market you only get back those insurers that allow (engine) mods.

Cheapest price with tints:
£526 with Admiral, AXA didn't show.

Cheapest price without specifying a mod:
£393.30 with AXA. Admiral came to £502 without tints.

I went to AXA's website direct and looked at the fine print and they do actually cover manufacturers options such as tints on the back windows, but they do not allow engine mods or front tints.

So dont trust comparison websites if you specify mods (other than engine mods) on them.
Some really good info there! I did the same (on Admiral) for my XC60 with factory tinted rear windows and the extra really is minimal.

Direct Line wanted £80 more...... b****y rip-off!
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Old Apr 15th, 2010, 14:34   #28
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I am not advocating misleading the insurance company. But this is my experience.

I owned a shiny luxury sports car. It was my pride and joy and I spent £4,000 modifying the car with new body kit, lower (1") suspension, uprated supercharger pulley, cone air filter, new dashboard, interior trim.

The most noticeable addition was the cone air filter and the body kit. The body kit was OEM, but from a newer model. I never told the insurance company; I never thought about the insurance before modifying the car, and afterwords the prices I was getting where stupid; in the region of £1000's more for the mods. The silly thing was the effect on performance was 400bhp -> 420bhp, not a major improvement.

Recently I wrote the car off. It wasn't a bad crash and no-one else was involved; I hit a puddle and lost control. The insurance company has now paid out on the claim. They did ask if it had been modified (I said no) but DIDN'T question it.

HOWEVER; After the accident I was on a knife's edge while the car sat in the bodyshop, and didn't relax until I got the payout.

Would I change things in future? Certainly. In future I would not modify a car beyond original spec. I still won't report factory options however such as tints, running boards, etc. because these are factory and can be argued but I won't be getting the Polestar upgrade on my XC90.
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Old Apr 15th, 2010, 14:55   #29
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Originally Posted by jeffo View Post
I am not advocating misleading the insurance company. But this is my experience.

I owned a shiny luxury sports car. It was my pride and joy and I spent £4,000 modifying the car with new body kit, lower (1") suspension, uprated supercharger pulley, cone air filter, new dashboard, interior trim.

The most noticeable addition was the cone air filter and the body kit. The body kit was OEM, but from a newer model. I never told the insurance company; I never thought about the insurance before modifying the car, and afterwords the prices I was getting where stupid; in the region of £1000's more for the mods. The silly thing was the effect on performance was 400bhp -> 420bhp, not a major improvement.

Recently I wrote the car off. It wasn't a bad crash and no-one else was involved; I hit a puddle and lost control. The insurance company has now paid out on the claim. They did ask if it had been modified (I said no) but DIDN'T question it.

HOWEVER; After the accident I was on a knife's edge while the car sat in the bodyshop, and didn't relax until I got the payout.

Would I change things in future? Certainly. In future I would not modify a car beyond original spec. I still won't report factory options however such as tints, running boards, etc. because these are factory and can be argued but I won't be getting the Polestar upgrade on my XC90.
A very dangerous game indeed that could cost you not only being refused insurance cover/invalidate your cover should you have a write-off or claim but also driving without insurance and risking being heavily fined and/or facing prison time.

Most insurance companies seems to add a small charge for cosmetic extras from factory like wheels (upgraded one's), tints, tow bars etc, but not for other options like BLIS, Dynaudio, Parking Sensors, Winter Pack etc. At least in my experience.

As a note, I made a quote for my XC60 with Admiral and the factory tints and the price was only £20 more. Not bad considering the other option of not disclosing it and risking much more than a simple £20 fee.
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Old Apr 15th, 2010, 17:29   #30
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As a note, I made a quote for my XC60 with Admiral and the factory tints and the price was only £20 more. Not bad considering the other option of not disclosing it and risking much more than a simple £20 fee.
I'm sorry, but this is a little ridiculous...Complete opposite end of the spectrum from my story.

I admit that it was dangerous not disclosing the extent of my modifications, but insurance companies only have a leg to stand on with respect to completely refusing a claim for performance modifications.

The body shop owner told me that if the insurance company does try to weasel out of the claim, take the matter to court. They will always back down before it gets that far. The worse the insurance company will do is charge you for the modifications that you didn't report, except in performance enhancing situations where it gets a bit more tricky.

You certainly do not risk prison, and are not driving without insurance.

I would report the polestar upgrade, but certainly would not quote for modifications based on a tinted windscreen from the factory. They just would never bat an eyelash at that. I recon my saving grace was that I used all factory parts which could have come from the manufacturer as options.
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