Car Insurance - modifications?

Stillrabbit

We are in the process of purchasing a new car and part of the decision making process is working out insurance costs.

Spoke to our current insurers (existing policy renewed last week) and when they asked "has the car been modified in any way" I (honestly I thought) said "no". They then asked me some more specific questions, yes it does have leather upholstery, yes it has got parking sensors, it's got heated seats, yes actually it does have a tiny rear roofline spoiler (estate car), all factory fitted at time of purchase (it is an ex demonstrator about six months old). The insurance company say these are all modifications and the price is increased by a further £75! (£40+ just for the 1 inch wide spoiler as it has to be listed as a "body spoiler pack"). I only know these details as we are buying from the main dealer and it is being sold to us as "look at these great extras", if I was buying it from the chap next door privately then I would have no idea that these things weren't simply standard! Interestingly they don't seem interested in the fact that it has metallic paint even though that isn't standard!!!

Are they right to charge me extra for this factory fitted items which were fitted before vehicle registration and do not enhance the performance of the car. Surely any increase in cost is already reflected in the value of the car which has been declared to the insurance company. The salesman is adament that these things should NOT be treated as "modifications".

Any advice / opinions / experience would be much appreciated. Thanks.

raskazz

The salesman is wrong. Anything that alters the car from the standard spec is technically a modification. Changes to the car can alter the cost of repair and attractiveness to thieves (and in some cases give an indication of the attitude of the driver) even if they don't affect the performance of the car; this change in risk cannot be accommodated by simply looking at the declared value of the vehicle - that's why insurers ask whether the car has been changed. It is also immaterial that they were added in the factory - a spoiler is a spoiler, whether it was added in the factory or after manufacture.

JonBoy_SCFC

i know what you're saying rasky, and i'm not suggesting that you're wrong, but one point OP makes that i think is fair enough ... if i bought a car 2nd that had a load of extras added to it when bought new, a lot of people wouldn't have a clue if many of the features were extras or not.

It would be quite normal to answer the modification question with a "no", only to find out later that you were wrong, ancd the insurer could void your policy and you could be convicted for fraud etc which would seem unfair to me?

Kirri

Try a different insurer, if these are factory fitted they shouldn't be classed as modifications from what I've found in the past - I had problems with this and most insurers do not class factory fitted options as modifications.

Modifications should be things like non manufacturer options ie replacing with a non manufacturer exhaust that increases bhp etc.

mazza111

Had the same problem with our Nissan Skyline, it came direct from Japan with all the added bits, all were added at the factory. Therefore factory fitted. I argued it out with them, along with my 2nd car NCB and won. So threaten to go elsewhere, it usually works. I'm sorry but if i'm paying £1100 a year to insure a car, i want my extras covered at no extra cost!

dacouch

What raskazz is saying is correct however you will find some other Insurers may be more accomadating to factory fitted extras that do not increase performance and are not larger or more expensive wheels from the standard. You could try another Insurer (I find NU can often ignore a lot of minor modifications as they just ring through to their specialist vehicle section and they make a decision) although bear in mind if you cancel you may have a cancellation fee.

You could try ringing back and speaking to a superviser and explaining its a very small spoiler as they may rate it differently especially as the previous owner fitted it not you

Someone pointed out the other day (It may have been raskazz) that the UK car insurance market is so competitive now that Insurers are stripping their prices to the bone to get business now. One of the off shoots is that they are now more likely to charge for minor or major modifications they may have ignored before as it helps make up their revenue.

An Insurer is only going to be able to void a policy if they can demonstrate they would not have covered the modifications in the first place if you had declared them and / or you intentially miss lead them. The best option is to declare the modifications and if you can't cancel and go with another company this year just transfer to a new company at renewal.

P.S If you discounted the spoiler then I would think they are being very harsh with the loading.

Stillrabbit

Thanks for your input everyone. I have spoken to loads of insurance companies and the CAB.

Basically they have all confirmed that ANY variation from the standard model MUST be declared as modifications even if they are factory fitted at time of purchase.

Every other company I managed to get a quote from was at least a third more than my current insurer (one was actually nearly 3 times as much for less cover).

The CAB reckon that there are lots of people out there driving cars that are insufficiently insured in that if the car is stolen the insurance company will refuse to pay out for any of the "added extras" at best (if they don't declare the insurance void at worst) but the third party part of the policy will be fine.

My current car does have factory fitted extras on it I think but I won't worry about that now as it will gone very soon.

Thanks again for the input.

dacouch

The CAB are correct in what they told you, some Insurers give you the option to pay the extra you would have paid for the modifications to be covered after a claim.

Did you try NU as they are normally flexible on basic modifications eg they will only normally worry about the spoiler and may ignore it.

Like I said Insurers tend to quote a really low price now days and then make their costs up on adjustments and modifications etc. This is sort of demonstrated by how cheap your current company are before and after the modifications load