Insurers hike premiums for winter tyres

forgotmyname

I wonder if the premium increased due to fitting different wheels rather than winter tyres?

Insurance company dont state what tyres must be fitted to a car, As long as they are the correct
fitment, Load & speed ratings then it shouldnt matter. They should ask if you have cheapo chinese
tyres which do not grip as well as better brands and increase the premium.

Personally i think its the non standard wheels which causes the increase.

thescouselander

mikey72 wrote: »

By the same token though, are autosocks a modification, an approved accessory, or something that invalidates your insurance?

On that basis I suppose even attaching your sat nav to the windscreen is a modification too!

Lum

forgotmyname wrote: »

I wonder if the premium increased due to fitting different wheels rather than winter tyres?

Insurance company dont state what tyres must be fitted to a car, As long as they are the correct
fitment, Load & speed ratings then it shouldnt matter. They should ask if you have cheapo chinese
tyres which do not grip as well as better brands and increase the premium.

Personally i think its the non standard wheels which causes the increase.

I agree, they should charge, say, an extra £80 per year for Linglongs or Budgets, thus negating the savings over running a set of non-ditchfinders.

dacouch

I think this is a case of a poorly trained call centre member (Most are), they hear that the tyres are being changed and immediately think it's a modification whereas it would not always be regarded as one. So the person was charged a similar price as if they had fitted low profile tyes / alloy wheels.

The admiral case is more likely to be they like to charge for most modifications as an income stream, their arguement being modifications cause more claims and a modification can increase the value of the car

Gloomendoom

thescouselander wrote: »

On that basis I suppose even attaching your sat nav to the windscreen is a modification too!

Judging by the places some gormless idiots stick their sat navs, increased premiums might be justified.

There is little point in knowing when to turn next if you can't see the road in front of you.

Lum

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Judging by the places some gormless idiots stick their sat navs, increased premiums might be justified.

There is little point in knowing when to turn next if you can't see the road in front of you.

Oh god, don't get me started on that one.

Current favourite seems to be directly under the rear view mirror, with the stretchy curly cable heading straight down.

jjonesy

My wife has put winter tyres on her car - didn't even think about the insurance implications!!!

Seems outrageous that you would be charges extra for making your car safer - unless the brains at the insurance company think that by putting winter tyres on you will be out on the roads more during the snow than with normal tyres.
What would happen if you had a crash with the space saver tyre on your car - ie if you were on the way to the garage - is that non standard or a modification?

cyclonebri1

You just have to think of it this way.
With the correct tyres are you more or less likely to end up in the ditch, or have an accident??

Would you prefer that? and I'll answer for you, NO NO NO,
or stand the chance of having to take you INSs to court over a technicality:think::dance:

Ialwaysgetdone

Regarding winter tryes, low profile tyres and grip, the winter tyres contain more rubber and are softer and can get good grip well below freezing but are less effective on dry roads and also wear down quicker. 'Ordinary' tyres become less effective at 7c because the material used to make them hardens up at 7c.

There are also 'all season' tyres which are somewhere in between.

Winter tyres are not just snow tyres, they get good grip on ice

mrbadexample

Lum wrote: »

Oh god, don't get me started on that one.

Current favourite seems to be directly under the rear view mirror, with the stretchy curly cable heading straight down.

And don't forget to leave it on a daytime setting when you're driving in the dark, to maximise loss of night vision.

As far as tyres go, if I fitted winter tyres I wouldn't even consider telling the insurance company, and there's no reason why I would. I don't tell them when I change from Michelin to Pirelli, do I?

Wheels...well that's a different matter.