Aero kit and increased insurance

[johnlondonw3]

Anyone know of insurer who disregards fitting an aero kit and after market alloys ?

[Fizzle]

Quote: Originally Posted by LETHAL BIZZLE

i think Tesco - check them out!!!

afraid not

i'm with tesco's and my premium is going up £120 when i add the aero kit and wheels. think they go by the cost of the modification as they're the first company to ask how much mods cost??

[vagt6]

Most insurers won't provide coverage for add-ons and accessories unless such stuff is declared. For instance, your insurer won't pay for an insured loss for a high-dollar, aftermarket stereo system, fancy paint jobs, etc., unless you declare them, which will probably result in additional premium. The same goes for practically all customization items.

If it's not a stock item and you want it insured, tell your insurer about it and provide reciepts. Then, you'll know it's covered.

[MJB_MCS]

Hi guys
Watch out for online insurance. The problem is, if you apply for online insurance you will get insurance upto and including Chili pack. When you get your insurance you need to read the small print. I already had insurance when I converted it to my mini so I had to phone them. I had already got an online quote to see how much it would cost but when I phoned them they wanted to know exactly every little extra I had, and I have a lot. The biggest ticket item was the aero kit and they had to consult their underwriters before they would give me insurance with an addition £100+ premium.
I questioned what would have happened if I'd insured online as a new policy holder at the lower rate and their reply was not that the extras wouldn't be covered but technically the car wouldn't be insured and they wouldn't pay out on any claim. They also insisted as a condition of the insurance that I fitted a tracker unit.

Anyone else had these sort of problems?

[Fizzle]

Quote: Originally Posted by Fizzle

afraid not

i'm with tesco's and my premium is going up £120 when i add the aero kit and wheels. think they go by the cost of the modification as they're the first company to ask how much mods cost??

well after gettin the above quote on monday got my aero kit fitted yesterday (above quote also includes 18's which are not yet on) i got my mum to phone tescos 2day as the policy is in her name and they've told her it will go up £40 per month!! thats a 50% increase she never even questioned them!! was to late to phone them when i got in 2nite so i'll need to sort it 2moro.

cant believe the difference!!

[Fizzle]

IT GETS WORSE!!

finally tried to get tescos sorted out and they have told me that my insurance will actually go up £550 a year and not the origional £120 i was quoted before gettin the aero kit fitted. if i'd known this i would of saved £1200 and not bothered gettin the aero kit fitted in the first place.

thought i would try mini insurance and they were even worse!! they wanted an extra £800 for the aero kit!! i thought this must have been a mistake but was assured by the lad on the phone that all details were correct. he then informed me that my excess would be £1300!!

finally got a reasonable quote from norwich union who still want an £300 for the aero kit but the total price is still about £800 cheaper than tesco and mini.

any other young drivers out there with a modded mcs?? who are you insured with?? any replies greatly appreciated as i want this sorted asap. next direct debit for tescos comes out this end of this week and want it cancelled before they take it as it's 50% more than last month!!

ps. all above quotes were done over the phone with all extras declared properly - a much more expensive way of doin it than on t'internet

[vagt6]

Hey Fizzle, did you ask for quotes for a larger deductible on the aero insurance? I'd opt for the highest possible deductible I could afford, at least $250 U.S. Get quotes for higher ones, you might save some money that way.

Also, consider the cost of "self insuring" the mods. What are the chances of a total loss of the entire aero kit? You'd have to totally wreck the car to ruin the whole kit, wouldn't you? And if the insurance premium is roughly equal to the cost of the entire kit over a year or two, I don't think it's worth the cost.

One option is to forget about the extra insurance on the aero kit. Just drive a little more carefully and put the insurance money in your pocket! This is especially true if you're not financing the cost of the kit (or other mods) into your loan.

I hope this helps, good luck.

[Fizzle]

cheers for the help vagt6 but uk and us insurance must be different.

we have to declare all extras or modifications to the insurer or they will void the policy in the event of a claim and not only will they not replace the modified part but not replace any part at all ie. the whole car!!

[Hat]

i'm suprised at that last comment - you'd think you could get to a situation where the car is covered but the aero kit isn't. i wonder what they'd say if you just had the aero kit grille fitted?

[vagt6]

It's hard to believe that any insurer could deny a claim for a major loss such as theft of the entire car for failure to disclose that you put side skirts or new wheels on the car.

No disrespect, but the only way I'd believe that is if I could see the policy language. It's just to extreme.

Sounds crazy, actually, I hope it's not true for your sake!

[Fizzle]

is really worth taking the risk? from what i've heard from many sources including mini2, insurance companies are just looking for an excuse not to pay out.

what about good old elephant for example. got a quote from them and it was quite reasonable then they asked if i had the chilli pack, yes. that'll be another £500 please!! then when i was told in the event of a claim the chilli pack wouldnt even be covered i questioned why i should declare it and was then told if i didnt my insurance would be void!!

i know elephant are probably the worst case scenario to look at but if an insurance company can find a way of not havin to pay out on a claim for £15k+ theyre gonna use it!!

sure they'd rather have the money in their pocket than ours.

[vagt6]

The only way to be sure is to sit down with your Agent and ask him/her to show your the language in the policy that indicates such coverage. Or, you could look at your policy and determine it yourself, but policies are written by lawyers and very difficult to understand for most folks.

Please excuse me if I'm wrong here, but that simply sounds ridiculous. But, insurance companies will do damn near anything to make a profit, so maybe you're right and I'm wrong.

Our legislators here wouldn't let that happen, I don't think. If it's true, sounds like folks in the UK need some consumer protection from the MPs.

Good luck with the insurance, though. Thanks for the comments.

[Fizzle]

dont get me wrong, i'm just lookin at the most extreme scenario as i wud never want to loose my car and for the insurance not to pay out.

as for sitting down with the agent, that could be tricky as most uk companies use call centres in india!!

i tnink it must just be different on either side of the pond.

maybe it's just the way i interpreted what i was told but there has been horror stories in the uk press about companies not payin out for people adding extras.

think i'll try n get cover from a broker in america next time!!

[vagt6]

If you read your auto policy carefully, I don't think you'll find language that will deny coverage to the entire car for your failure to disclose that you've added undercarriage lights, aero kits or any purely costmetic improvement to your car. But, if you don't declare them you can be sure such stuff WON'T be covered.

Insurers don't like cars that have been heavily modded with performance upgrades. They know that if the car has more horsepower due to the mods, the driver is very likely to USE the power. When that happens, insurers have to pay out more in claims. This is way UK insurers have sanctions, limitations and premium increases for cars with performance mods.

At any rate, if you're not absolutely certain regarding what your policy covers, please take time to find out. It could save you a lot of angst if you ever have a claim. It may also help you save some $$$$.

Good luck, I hope your rates decrease ASAP!

[Hat]

Quote: Originally Posted by Fizzle

afraid not

i'm with tesco's and my premium is going up £120 when i add the aero kit and wheels. think they go by the cost of the modification as they're the first company to ask how much mods cost??

i'm with tesco also & they quoted me £143 to add an aero kit to a chilli pack cooper, based on the aero kit value of £1000