What "mods" do you declare to your insurers?

[Thekilt]

Reading through a few threads got me thinking what most people do and dont tell their insurers about modifications and what the insurance companies know the specification of your car from when you bought it.

So to firstly "set the scene" how do insurance companies know what specification your car is? they know from the number plate what model and range it is (for example V50 SE) however do they know what extras the car was ordered with? MtillingVolvo gives a specification check of your Volvo via the number plate, but do the insurance companies know this as well? do they know you took the "Sport trim" extra, change of wheels, entertainment package, winter package etc?

Now for a second scenario, you buy the car second hand, you dont know what modification may have been done to the car since it was first purchased. someone may have retrofitted additional things to the car, etc.

Then we get onto a repairing stuff on the car, such as coils, shocks, tyres, or any other part. If its different that OEM surely this is a "Mod"? at what point does it become classed as a performance mod and how far do you go until you should tell the insurance company?

I am currently refurbing some volvo wheels which look better than the ones I currently have, but they came as standard on other ranges of the V50, so should this be declared?
Also winter wheels/tyre combos, if these are different sizes (which they normally are) should you not inform your insurance company of this?

Looking through some threads i think some people take it too far, and maybe unjust their insurance premiums unnecessarily.

Please share your thoughts...

[AndyV7o]

The insurers only really care if it varies from techincal spec or change in construction, etc.
So, change std rate springs for std rate springs, volvo pads for ferodo, michelin for pirelli, change front bumper like for like, etc all absolutely fine.
Change bumper for a bodykit one, change in construction mainly in respect of safety/crash aspects, change tyres for a size not fitted by manufacturer, thats deviating from spec, fit uprated lowering springs, thats both deviating from spec and construction.
Etc, etc, etc.
Of course there are grey areas like removing blanking plates from bumper to fit oe fog lights, technically its oe and mod, but they generally dont care about stuff like that as its still stock and could've been an option not documented, etc, so in event of a claim you'll either get car back as it was when crashed, or as that model/spec is listed as being. Usually. Some try anything to get out of a claim, but when it comes down to law they have to play pretty safe if pushed as it could cost them more than the claim if it went to court.

Another good grey and contentious one is brakes. Put, say, grooved discs and uprated pads on the car, a lot of insurers would want to cry 'mod', but, afaik/iirc providing they meet spec such as the correct BS standard, e marked, R90 certified, etc, they are just brakes and they can't cry foul as they meet and/or exceed the relevant criteria.

[Rustyfrog]

I asked my insurer (LV) if I needed to declare a new tow bar. They said yes and that it would be noted, but I would not be charged any extra on my premium.

[loki_the_glt]

From experience, it depends on the interpretations of both your insurer and your intermediary.
My 240GLT has various "toys" fitted:

Factory tow-bar: Tesco wouldn't touch it, but no other insurer was bothered.
Auxiliary gauge pack, that I swapped from a previous 240: classed as a "performance modification" by one company.
Front fog lights - classed as a "performance modification" by one company.
Driving lights - classed as a "performance modification" by one company.
Taller profile tyres, because I wanted to be able to walk after a long journey on Cheshire's roads - not bothered even though they were never fitted to a 240.

[Baxlin]

Diesel tuning box (on previous car) Aviva noted it, but no extra cost, as it was ‘switchable’. What difference that made, I’ve no idea, as it was never switched off.....

[Thekilt]

Originally Posted by AndyV7o

The insurers only really care if it varies from techincal spec or change in construction, etc.
So, change std rate springs for std rate springs, volvo pads for ferodo, michelin for pirelli, change front bumper like for like, etc all absolutely fine.
Change bumper for a bodykit one, change in construction mainly in respect of safety/crash aspects, change tyres for a size not fitted by manufacturer, thats deviating from spec, fit uprated lowering springs, thats both deviating from spec and construction.
Etc, etc, etc.
Of course there are grey areas like removing blanking plates from bumper to fit oe fog lights, technically its oe and mod, but they generally dont care about stuff like that as its still stock and could've been an option not documented, etc, so in event of a claim you'll either get car back as it was when crashed, or as that model/spec is listed as being. Usually. Some try anything to get out of a claim, but when it comes down to law they have to play pretty safe if pushed as it could cost them more than the claim if it went to court.

Another good grey and contentious one is brakes. Put, say, grooved discs and uprated pads on the car, a lot of insurers would want to cry 'mod', but, afaik/iirc providing they meet spec such as the correct BS standard, e marked, R90 certified, etc, they are just brakes and they can't cry foul as they meet and/or exceed the relevant criteria.

Hi Andy, take your example of "body kit and lowering springs" when purchasing the cars you can opt for sport styiling pack and sport suspension, how do the insurers know you have this from the build of the car? Taike my V50 for example, you could opt to have the sport pack which added lowering springs (and stiffer) and sport stying with colour matched side skirts etc rathe rthan the standard balck ones. How do they know you have taken this option? do you declare it when you first buy the car fromthe dealer tha you have all these additional extras?

[Triple-S]

Surely if you acquire a 2nd hand car that obviously has visible differences to the norm one merely declares them to one's insurers prior to policy acceptance?
I did that when I bought my 240 estate because it had Virgo alloy wheels, and a non-Volvo towbar. They accepted it OK without loading the premium. I also fitted indicators to my PV444 for safety (found that need the hard way when some idiot didn't realise my semaphores were in use in my old Ford years ago). The insurers agreed with me and again didn't load the premium. They didn't even load the premium when I said my Volvo 164 had dual fuel petrol/lpg other than wanting a certificate of compliance from an appropriate company.

P

[Thekilt]

Originally Posted by Triple-S

Surely if you acquire a 2nd hand car that obviously has visible differences to the norm one merely declares them to one's insurers prior to policy acceptance?
I did that when I bought my 240 estate because it had Virgo alloy wheels, and a non-Volvo towbar. They accepted it OK without loading the premium. I also fitted indicators to my PV444 for safety (found that need the hard way when some idiot didn't realise my semaphores were in use in my old Ford years ago). The insurers agreed with me and again didn't load the premium. They didn't even load the premium when I said my Volvo 164 had dual fuel petrol/lpg other than wanting a certificate of compliance from an appropriate company.

P

With obvious changes like aftermarket wheel yes, but what i am trying to ascertain is what about factory extras that might have been retrofitted? like factory sport kits etc? if you bought a second and car which had the factory sport kit fitted, how do you know if this was from factory or added afterwards? how do the insurers know the "extras" you purchase when you build the vehicle from the factory?

[RollingThunder]

In my experience, insurers will do whatever they can to avoid paying out on a claim, particularly if something has been changed that *may* have contributed to an accident - eg fitting HID headlamps which may blind oncoming traffic if badly adjusted. Maybe wider tyres than *may* have contributed to aquaplaning.

Therefore I declare everything I am aware of, and if I later find something else, that gets declared at renewal.

As has been said previously, some insurers will merely note the change and accept it at no additional cost, whilst others will deem it a modification - and if you have too many modifications, they can decline to offer insurance. For example, on one of my old 940s I fitted an iPd anti-roll bar kit (safer handling IMHO), lowered suspension, uprated brake pads (better braking IMHO), slightly wider tyres, a strut brace and a stainless exhaust. Nothing particularly frightening about all that, but as a list of mods it was more than the 4 that they'd accept, so they refused to give me a quote. I went to another insurer and they accepted everything for a £30 (can't recall the exact figure but it wasn't much) premium over the std quote.

The important thing to remember is that if you don't declare your mods - the ones you should reasonably know about, even if you aren't an enthusiast - and you have an accident, then potentially the insurer could null your insurance cover and you'd be personally liable for the costs involved in fixing your car, and any other property that is damaged - and any injury liability which could run into £100,000s.

We live in a highly litigious world so the risk is just too high not to declare everything - IMHO

[AndyV7o]

If its a manufacturer body styling that was an option, they aren't likely to bother or know because it could have been fitted new and most importantly was designed and constructed for that vehicle in accordance with all safety and construction criteria and type approved, thus, it counts as 'stock' whereas an aftermarket can infringe upon safety and construction measures, and isnt type approved for use by the manufacturer and any governing safety bodies, thus, is a modification which could cause or increase liability.

Im no expert on these things by any means, I used to work for/am friends with 2 people who have worked for Norwich union/Aviva for many years, so we've ended up having discussions of varying nature in the past, me asking these type of questions, them giving the insurers point of view.
Further to that, it isnt necessarily down to human thoughts and decisions, some of the insurance increases or decreases etc are solely down to algorithms, so it depends on how the algorithm is set-up.