Optional extra is a something offered when a car is new by the main dealer you buy it off.

Modification is a change made after the car is bought.

The biggest difference though is insurers attitudes to the two. In general if you ring up and say I have changed the exhaust and remapped the ecu. The dont want to know. If you ring up and say it has an optional extra fitted they are much more friendly.

I really do think insurers attitude to modifications really affect the modification market. As I know quite a lot of car enthusiasts (including myself) who will not modify or buy a modified car due to the insurance problems that occur.

 

My car had a optional extra spoiler fitted. I then fitted the optional extra front and rear skirt at a later date. So what do these come under? Again, confusion and I would say I am aware of insurance implications than the average member of the public. With something as important as insurance I really think there needs to be clearer guidelines for insurance companies to follow rather than just allowing them to offer different interpretations from one company to the next.

 

On the proposal forms we use, it asks the following:

''Has the vehicle been modified or altered from the manufacturer's specification (including the addition of optional fit accessories such as spoilers, alloy wheels etc)?''

 

Totally agree, something needs doing.

Never heard of this happening but what if a insurer tried to throw a claim out because of different consumables such as tyres. Wouldnt surprise me if one did try it.

What about all the people driving round who dont know their car is modified?

 

The flip side of that is people who drive around in modified cars, knowing exactly what's done to it... then say ''oh i didn't realise those 18" alloys, air filter, FMIC and exhaust weren't standard''.

It's your responsibility to know what mods a car has had done, and to declare them.

 

You are better off just being straight with whoever you insure through, as come claim time if there is a way out, certain insurers will take it. I had my 06 STI from standard and over the years added lots of bits, alloys, back box, then decat and remap (twice!) and even down to splitters. Moley just told me to write down everything and by how much the BHP had increased, that way there was no disputes and I knew I had the car fully covered. If I where insuring a PPP'd car, I would just add that its increased the BHP by XX which is a factory fit option and then you are covered.

 

Totally agree but as mentioned before, you do not always know.
I think there should be a law to say that information is provided to the best of your knowledge. If this is true but incorrect information is provided it should be up to the insurance companies to prove it. I cant see it being too difficult these days. Are there are not records available from the factory line? The DVLA have records of who the previous owners are, it shouldnt be difficult for them to provide evidence as to whether mods were fitted by them etc. especially if it was a legal requirement for those parties concerned to provide evidence when requested by the courts or insurance investigators.

I think that using a flip side is not an argument for basing precedence as it is far to biased towards the insurance companies and will penalise many honest members of the public. The law states that people are innocent until proven guilty so why shouldnt this apply to car insurance?

If we talk about flip sides lets take it a step further and say "why should I bother paying for insurance in the first place as I can't be sure I am in fact insured?" I had a car that had upgraded alloy pedals. I had it for 3 years, and it was only when I sold it did I find out that this was actually an upgrade. Had I been driving around paying nearly £2000 for cover over that time for no reason, as if I had to claim I would have unknowingly invalidated my policy. Whats the point? The car I have now is kitted out with lots of nice toys. I have no idea whether it is all standard, the dealers dont know and arent really that interested due to the large number of variations, special editions MY variants etc. and even if I managed to find out everything that should should be standard form the factory line there may be items I do not know about such as ARB bushes and other trivial items such as these. I am paranoid that something will invalidate my insurance should I make a claim yet I have declared everything I am aware of down to the tiniest AMG letters that are optional for my car. If I am not covered I may as well take out insurance for my number plate, edit it to the base model car which is £400 less, just so I can avoid ANPR detection as either way I would not be insured. Of course Im not going to really do that but I hope you can see my point.

 

Would like to know if anyone had problems on a claim where there was an issue with modifications.

 

Mate - you have some serious issues with insuance companies don't you.

I've tried to explain MANY times to you about how it works, but nothing seems to change your mind, you're convinced all insurers are out to bend people over a barrel.

People cleverer then either you or me have been making these rules for years, and regardless of what you think, it works.

Insurers aren't going to try and throw a claim out because you haven't told them about your Magic Tree, truth be told they pay out for lots of claims that they SHOULD'T do.

However, no matter how many times i try to explain things, you still worry about if'd and but's, that are completely irrelevant.

If there was even an issue with a claim, the insurance ombudsman would get involved, and the insurers know this. They will only throw out a claim if there is a genuine reason to do so.

I know you feel all insurers are crooks, and nothing i explain to you will change your mind, so in the words of the dragons.... i'm out

 

Gary, maybe he is insured with Sureterm? This would explain his thinking that insurers were all untrustworty, inept and unprofessional f*ckwits who lie, cheat and deceive as a matter of course.

Insurance from a callcentre company, who is left to actually administer the policies by their underwriters.

 

I wouldn't say that I had serious issues as such. I am wary of insurance companies as it is a well know phrase that they will try to "wriggle out of anything". Whether that is fact or a wives tale I fortunately havent had to find out first hand but it does bring out the overly cautious side in me. When I do raise questions I usually receive black and white scripted answers like this, "it's your responsibility to know what mods a car has had done, and to declare them", it doesnt really tell me how it works and only serves to reinforce what Ive been saying. The onus is all on the insured to know everything about a car that they cant possibly be expected to know about completely if bought second hand.

Your last response is closer to what Ive been looking for so its much appreciated. Thank you and sorry for giving insurance companies and reps a hard time.

 

The 'wriggle out of anything' is certainly a myth.
In all the years I've worked in insurance I've only seen a few claims thrown out, and they were for very genuine reasons. ('Forgetting' to disclose two drink drive convictions was one)

I can understand why people worry, they hear old wives tales from friends and believe them.

Regardless of what people think, there are a massive amount of rules and regulations in place.

The idea of insurers just making up a price, or doing anything to get out of a claim are definitely false.

 

In the early 1980s I had various modified cars Escort, Sunbeam, & Firenza and to get insurance I had to get an engineers report for the insurance companies to ensure the modifications had been done properly & that the cars were safe.

By contract modified insurance these days seem fa simpler to get, I hope so as next summer my hatch is three years old and out of warranty so a few mods are on the cards.

 

In which case, I take back my comment in an earlier post about some companies finding a way out.

 

Yep, thanks Moley. Its nice to hear a different side to all the stories you hear about insurance companies.

 

No probs mate.

Most people's experience of insurance is only having to pay their premiums without explanation, so glad i can give some insight to what actually happens