[Randall Raines]

This one is a Trade one, a garage owner had his garage broken in-to and some cars were stolen .

He informed the insurance company who told him as the theft was as a result of a break-in it was an issue for buildings insurance (even though that they had broken in to steal the cars), so he informed the buildings insurance who tried to say that because they had stolen the cars it was an issue for the car insurance .

Someone from the insurance (buildings, but they may have both been with the same insurance company, buildings & car) came out to asses the situation, they had a look around & went .

He then got a letter saying that because the garage wasn't a brick structure (two brick gable-ends with some sort of sheeting on the roof & sides) that the building wasn't covered .

So with the above comment in mind, the thieves actually smashed a whole through the rear gable-end (brick) as it was away from the road (no one could see them), to gain entry, so it didn't actually matter that the sides may have been an easy access point as they got in through a brick-wall anyway .

So basically neither insurance wanted to pay-out, leaving the garage owner to either foot the bill himself or to try and persuade the owners of the vehicles to claim on their own insurance so that they could get some money back (the cars haven't turned up yet) , at least one car owner hasn't been paid out by any insurance .

[Randall Raines]

So I'm not going to be-able to respond to this tread or give any THANKS! out, Sorry! .

See you all soon .

[Lolance]

But I'm enjoying these bedtime stories!

[femstar]

Quote: Originally Posted by supa-dupa-cooper (original)

You probably know mine by now RR

MINI rejected/voided my insurance through not putting the 'mods' on the policy!

I told them about the rear spoiler and decals when I first insured the car. No problems.
I then added Side skirts half way through the policy. No problems.
Renewal came through, no mods listed.
1 hour on the phone to MINI resulted in them admitting they had made a mistake and the car was not/ had not been properly insured (through no fault of my own!) and they would not renew the cover.

This would no doubt have caused problems if i'd needed to make a claim

Wow thanks for this I never know you had problems (with MINI as well) making sure all my mods are declared.

[batou]

Quote: Originally Posted by Lolance (original)

The first question they asked me when I phoned Direct Line after my accident was "what was your mileage?". The next was, "any mods??".

And you simply reply:
1: "My mileage is <actual-mileage>, which is well within the limitations on my policy".
2: "As when taking up insurance with you I declared to the best of my knowledge the car is of standard manufacturers specification (or what extras you declared). This hasn't changed, may I ask why?"

Yes this may get an insurers back up, but... you are covering your arse legally.

This is a great post and needs to be drummed home to some individuals. However as with a lot of your examples it's very clear that it's often more how you speak to an insurer and what you tell them that determines your end result.

It is still yet to be seen how an insurance company can prove that you were aware of any mechanical, electrical or sometimes decorative (apart from the obvious) modifications without any mechanical background or any involvement/affiliation with the car manufacturer.

There must be a number of performance cars that have non-obvious modifications that were sold to unsuspecting buyers by both trade and private sellers. How can one declare that? That is the reasoning for the wording "to the best of my knowledge" which is used by the insurer.

P.S. I am not condoning not declaring mods (I for one are more concered about covering their value than how cheap my quote is) but I'm sick of the scare tactics used by them, they are not above and beyond consumer protection!

[JP1611]

I have a new cooper d with 15 inch alloys purchased at the end of January. I have just bought some used genuine Mini 16 inch alloys and i telephoned my insurance company to find out how this would effect my policy, they want to charge an extra £15 per month and increase my excess from £200 to £450.

They claim that because I did not purchase the wheels from new with the car, it's a modification. I will not fit the wheels as I do not want to invalidate my insurance.

Does anyone know of any insurance companies that will cover the wheels in there normal policy or at least do not charge as much for a modification?

[Randall Raines]

Quote: Originally Posted by JP1611 (original)

I have a new cooper d with 15 inch alloys purchased at the end of January. I have just bought some used genuine Mini 16 inch alloys and i telephoned my insurance company to find out how this would effect my policy, they want to charge an extra £15 per month and increase my excess from £200 to £450.

They claim that because I did not purchase the wheels from new with the car, it's a modification. I will not fit the wheels as I do not want to invalidate my insurance.

Does anyone know of any insurance companies that will cover the wheels in there normal policy or at least do not charge as much for a modification?

The only advice I can give there is, wait until your insurance is up for renewal and then phone around different companies for quotes and state the new wheels ( if you've only just took the policy out, some companies aren't as fussy as others ), changing mid policy will also incur costs.

Other readers, it's worth a quick call to your insurance company before you purchase a mod to check on the extra cost, what you thought was a good deal on a set of wheels etc... etc... could not be such a good deal when the insurance add their whack ££££££ on top, ultimately leaving you under or not insured (if you fit the mod), or left with something you can't fit because it will invalidate your insurance or cost you loads to upgrade your insurance .

[batou]

When modding your best bet is to plan everything out in advance and get two quotes from the company you choose. One with all of your desired mods and one without, that way your not stuck in a situation where they can just tell you a price you at least have something to go on. Once they have your money it's a completely different story, they have control.

[Randall Raines]

Quote: Originally Posted by batou (original)

When modding your best bet is to plan everything out in advance and get two quotes from the company you choose. One with all of your desired mods and one without, that way your not stuck in a situation where they can just tell you a price you at least have something to go on. Once they have your money it's a completely different story, they have control.

Yep! after all it's only a phone call , and it could save you buying a mod that you can't fit without compromising your insurance or you could plan your mod with a change of insurance at the end of a year rather than being told you're not covered and they won't cover you ("find someone else" ).

The only problem with doing that in this day & age with computers / Internet & the insurance companies owning each other etc... etc... is the information is shared about and they often know answers too questions before they ask you especially if you have given them specific information, Name, Reg, etc... etc... and if you have been phoning around (they may think you've added a mod when in-fact you could have changed your mind again especially if you give them specific info).

I did this post the other day & then the computer crashed so I couldn't be bothered doing it again until now, Thanks! for the input "batou".

[drainaudio]

Dear Randall Raines,
Just a THANK YOU for starting and continuing the most important thread on this forum!!

Cheers, Geoff.

[tokesuk]

Randall Raines.

Thanks for this thread. I posted one in this section this morning as I couldn't find the info that I needed to know about cover on mods. It certainly means a call to the company in the morning to extend the policy for alloys and tyres.
It would be good, for future renewals, to get to know who people recommend

I guess the other important issue with being properly insured is being fully covered for third party injury or casualty in the event of an accident!!