Winter tyres

Richard53

neilmcl wrote: »

Not according to this they dont - https://www.abi.org.uk/~/media/Files/Documents/Publications/Public/Migrated/Motor/ABI%20guide%20to%20winter%20tyres%20The%20motor%20insurance%20commitment.pdf

Not what they said to me over the phone, and then followed up with a new schedule, duly amended, in the post.


That was Oct/Nov 2013 - perhaps the document you link to is more recent.

Gloomendoom

Is it normal practice inform insurers every time new tyres are fitted?

I know I have never done so in 35 years of car ownership.

redux

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Is it normal practice inform insurers every time new tyres are fitted?

I know I have never done so in 35 years of car ownership.

Some insurers have specified lists of modifications which you do not need to inform them about - such as roof rack, towbar, winter tyres

Richard53

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Is it normal practice inform insurers every time new tyres are fitted?

I know I have never done so in 35 years of car ownership.

If they are the same spec and size as the ones it came out of the factory with, then no. But a winter tyre is not the same as a standard tyre. I read somewhere (quite possibly in this forum) that it could be seen by some insurers as a notifiable modification, and I called them to ask. If I hadn't read that, it probably wouldn't have occurred to me to do so.

Joe_Horner

Currently most insurers don't need to be notified. The ABI have a PDF list available of those who do and don't. It originally published a year or two ago and was updated in Sept 2014 as more insurers stopped requiring notice.

Note that it's only valid until Sept 2015 so you need to check each year in case yours changes:

https://www.abi.org.uk/Insurance-and-savings/Products/Motor-insurance/Winter-tyres

There are plenty on the list who don't need notifying at all, below are the current ones who do need notifying (or may do depending on any conditions attached):

• Acromas: No provided they meet the manufacturer's specifications
• eCar: yes
• Enterprise: No unless they're a different size to standard
• ESure: No unless you have or are fitting alloy wheels
• First Alternative: No unless you have or are fitting alloy wheels
• KGM / Canopius: No provided they're fitted to the manufacturer's instructions
• Octagon: No provided they match either the original or "optional extra" size for the car
• Sainsburys underwritten by Esure: No unless you have or are fitting alloy wheels
• Sheila's wheels: No unless you have or are fitting alloy wheels
• Southern Rock: Yes
• Swiftcover: Yes

Any insurers not on the published list need to be contacted individually to check.


An interesting point from that is that it suggests that those (the majority) who don't require notification at all also wouldn't need notification for a simple change of size of "normal" tyres either - if they don't want to be notified that you're using a non-standard winter tyre they could hardly claim to need notification if you use a similar non-standard summer one!

Joe_Horner

force_ten wrote: »

not many if any, most of the knockers seem to be people that have never bought them or used them and are condemning them as not required on hearsay

Not quite true. Most of those saying they're not required are people who haven't experienced any problems using normal tyres all year round, often over many years. Plenty of people (in fact, probably the majority of UK motorists) don't fall off the road, or get stuck on hills, or decimate the infant feline population for their entire driving careers.

That's a little different to "on hearsay".

In fact, it would be more accurate to say that anyone who's never personally experienced such problems on summer tyres but is using winter ones anyway "just in case" is doing so more "on hearsay" than those majority of drivers who happily drive all year, on one set of rubber, without issues.

Gloomendoom

redux wrote: »

Some insurers have specified lists of modifications which you do not need to inform them about - such as roof rack, towbar, winter tyres

Given that all tyres have their own specific strengths and weaknesses, that suggests that if you deviate from tyre originally fitted at the factory, the insurers should be informed.

Joe_Horner

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Given that all tyres have their own specific strengths and weaknesses, that suggests that if you deviate from tyre originally fitted at the factory, the insurers should be informed.

It may appear to suggest that but, as my previous post links to, the ABI have obtained clarification from most insurers and the vast majority (66 out of 77) have said categorically, in writing, that they don't need to be informed.

Four of the other 11 also don't need to be informed as long as you're keeping to the manufacturer's size specs.

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

Joe_Horner wrote: »

Plenty of people (in fact, probably the majority of UK motorists) don't fall off the road, or get stuck on hills, or decimate the infant feline population for their entire driving careers.

That's a little different to "on hearsay".

Yes, but I think you'd find those people all have anecdotes for poor weather problems - near misses, loss of control. There is a difference between getting there by the skin of your teeth and getting there under good control in the same conditions, due to tyre selection that people are often unaware of.

There are certain roads around where I am where in winter, there are often cars off the road in particular places, so round here there is plenty of evidence that winter driving is a problem.

The reality is that everyone has experienced the significant difference in handling in poor conditions and the average UK motorist has never been told about the way you can solve problems with a different type of tyre. Winter tyre marketing is still in its infancy - indeed practical all season tyres are fairly new - a decent all season didn't exist in the UK market 10 years ago. The average motorist just assumes that poor handling and massively extended braking distances are just the way things are.

I suspect that over the next 10 years, the marketing types will push tyre performance towards all season in the UK market now the concept of All Season tyres is getting to be understood. It is too obvious a marketing benefit to ignore.

Joe_Horner

IanMSpencer wrote: »

Yes, but I think you'd find those people all have anecdotes for poor weather problems - near misses, loss of control.

I can't speak for any of the others but I certainly haven't in 30 years driving, and neither has my better half (although she's only been driving about 6 years so there's time yet). Admittedly, North Wales isn't as bad for winter weather as some areas of the uk, but it's also worse than others.

Sure, we both moderate speed when it's snowy or likely to be icy, but you should be doing that regardless of what rubber you have - even the best winter tyres don't give a lot of grip when you hit black ice! And I do mean "moderate", not "crawl along at 5 mph", which is often counter-productive.

IanMSpencer wrote: »

The average motorist just assumes that poor handling and massively extended braking distances are just the way things are.

That's a very dangerous assumption to not make - as I said, no rubber's going to save you if you hit black ice.

Driving "as normal" because of your winter tyres is as bad, if not worse, than believing your ABS will magically improve braking performance or traction control will let you enter corners as fast as you like.