Have you paid extra insurance for winter tyres?

mikey72

nanker wrote: »

I have V rated ones on my car

What are they?

Zanzibar

You can. Winter tyres only come in H rating or lower.

A fair number are in V rating these days, e.g. 20 at MyTyres in the common 205/55/16 size:

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Ordern&cart_id=88890485.110.17472&typ=R-166681&ranzahl=4&Breite=205&Quer=55&Felge=16&Speed=V&weiter=0&kategorie=6&Ang_pro_Seite=20&Transport=P&dsco=110&sowigan=Wi


Though having a slightly lower rated winter tyre, say H vs V is pretty irrelevant for most cars - not heard of a claim been rejected where they said ohh look, its 'only' an 'H' 130MPh tyre.

mikey72

I'll stand corrected, my size is a maximum of H rating for the steel wheel size, I suppose it makes sense bigger tyres have a better performance as they're going to be normally used on the alloy wheel option, that implies the sportier car.

forgotmyname

If you have H rated tyres on a car that requires a V rating then it should fail an MOT/VOSA inspection, IF
they looked at them properly.

Zanzibar

forgotmyname wrote: »

If you have H rated tyres on a car that requires a V rating then it should fail an MOT/VOSA inspection, IF
they looked at them properly.

Except that is wrong. For cars (Class 4), as per the MOT testers manual, 'Section 4.1, Tyres, (Structure)'

'Method of Inspection/Note: A Class 3 or 4 vehicle tyre which appears to be of inadequate size, ply or speed rating for the vehicle or its use is not a reason for rejection. However, the vehicle presenter should be informed.'

nanker

mikey72 wrote: »

What are they?

Kumho (can't recall model no.)

size 205/55/R16 V rated

mikey72

The kumho KW27 maybe?
And indeed as you say it is available is the V rating as a 16".
Must just be the smaller tyres like my steel options at 15" that stop at H rather than V. So some of us are ok, some of us have to drop a speed rating, whih alledgedly is aceptable to do in a winter tyre. Does raise the question about leaving them on all year round though, as I'm sure the insurers would start to object using a H instead of V in summer.

nanker

Yeah mikey I think they are the ones.

I would think that insurers would indeed object to the lower speed rating in summer. I would change back to summer rubber when temperatures increase as the winter ones would wear quickly then.

vikingaero

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Most companies charge extra for modifications. Admiral charge a lot less than most. Admiral will also cover non standard parts up to the value of £500 for a few extra quid (£12 IIRC.)

In any case, they wouldn't class the winter tyres as a modification unless they were a non standard size.

But Admiral were the original sharks that started charging an additional premium for fitting winter tyres - even of the same standard size!

My gripe with Admiral is their Standard Parts Replacement Clause (SPRC). Yes as you say, they will charge an additional premium to "cover" any non standard parts. But what that means is that they will take your money not to void your insurance with the modification, but they reserve the right not to replace the part in the event of a loss/accident. :eek: So you pay for cover, but don't receive it!

What do I mean by this?

Well let's say that you drive a Ford Focus Zetec 1.6 with standard factory fitted 16" alloy wheels. At the time of purchase, you get the dealer or factory to supply 18" Bling Bling wheels. You call Admiral for cover and they charge you an additional £25 to cover your 18" Bling Blings.

Then a month later you drive into a brick wall and also damage one of your Bling Bling wheels as well as the front of your car. It's repaired by an Admiral approved garage and they are told by Admiral that they will only pay for a standard 16" alloy wheel under their SPRC. So you're left with 3 Bling Blings and a 16" Ford Zetec alloy on your car - unless you pay for the difference between the retail price of the Bling Bling and the trade price of a Zetec alloy,

So in effect you pay for cover not to void your insurance, but your mods (which you've had to cough up for) are not covered.

Lum

That's actually an interesting one because they are obligated to return the car to a safe condition, and thus surely they would have to pay for two 16" Ford alloys, which may well work out cheaper than paying for one bling bling.

I've had similar negotiations with garages and insurance, one insisted on fitting a standard exhaust after the original was damaged in a crash, however the aftermarket one was cheaper. In the end the garage agreed to supply and fit the aftermarket exhaust and pocketed the difference. That may well be fraud, but not on my part.

As for winter tyres, I haven't even thought to tell my insurance. I've already got non-standard alloys with a non-standard size tyre. My winter tyres are a different non-standard size (205/55/16 vs 225/50/16 summer tyres, so same overall diameter). I suppose I'd better tell them as the new tyres are on the back seat of my car waiting to go on tonight.