Just renewed my premium for my MY00 turbo - bloody £570 !! - no food for a week now

Anyway the point of this thread is .....

a) If I fitted a backbox that just sounded nice and gave no increase in BHP then there is NO increase in premium - so, do they give an increase at all? and do the makers claim any (which is more to the point!!!) - also their 'Technical' section would want to know how high the increase is - in factual numbers to assess the risk ... does any maker state a figure (I would doubt it but do they??)

b) Are they worth having - really????

c) Why, if I take my wife OFF the policy does the premium INCREASE????? she has a claim AND 3 points for speeding in her METRO!!!

Regards

Pete

 

I can only answer c).

Apparently, you get a discount for "legally married couples". I only found this out yesterday when I renewed my insurance.

Oh £804, by the way, so think yourself lucky.

D.

 

I've recently been getting quotes for renewal also. I have received various responses (as ever )

It seems to depend on the type of policy. My cheapest quote was 926.80 but this rose to 1017 when I told them about my SS Backbox and Downipe.

However, I spoke to a specilaist performance car insurer who advised me that most modifications should be OK and won't affect the premium until you change the ECU. This will have an effect. However, they do need to keep a record of what you have done to your car should anything need repairing etc.

The only downside to this policy was that it went up to put my fiancee on there. Still an extra 30 quid for a year of taxi service is not bad

James

[This message has been edited by JDS (edited 16 November 2000).]

 

Backboxes - usually no increase to the premium

and apparantly insurance companies believe you are more responsible if you are married!!! woes that include the 17 year olds going thru a quick shotgun marriage?

 

Hey people,

A back box will make no difference in performance as the back pressure is so small that if you were to measure it, you'd find it 's almost nothing. It's only when a full system, changing the downpipes 4/2/1 or simular will you notice a significant difference.

I have found that insurance companies generally aren't bothered about a back box, it's only when you start mentioning full Scorpions and such like that they start to bump your premium up.

I worked for an insurance company years ago, who typically had these type mods/questions so have a little knowledge on how it's looked upon.

Lastly the reason it's cheaper to have your wife on is because in the eyes of the underwriters, you are more responsible and are therefore less likely to drive like a nutter and increase the risk of an accident.

Not fair I know, and neither are these women only insurance companies (where's the equality in that) but they're there for these reasons.

Jim.

(immigrant from the RSOC website - but hey your site master put a post on our board so I thought I'd have a look )

 

Bell Direct didn't charge me extra for the full Scoobysport system, but I'm still paying more than you Where did you get the quote from ?

Kevin.

 

I'm with AXA direct by the way - used to be Guardian Direct when I first went with them ... found them jolly good on service and premiums - I normally shop around every year but for the past 5 years no-one has even come close to AXA's renewal quote (I dont like the £570 by the way because it was £499 last year!! see??)

Is it illegal therefore to add someone to your insurance, say a Mrs Smith, who is totally ficticious??? - she would never drive the car so no need for any cause for concern ever?? and you will enjoy a lower premium (she only has to be what you call your common law wife - so you still say you are single!!) so you dont lie at all??!!

Pete

 

There's a stack of ways you can get around it.

The only reason insurance premiums keep going up is because of the Government tax which is about 30% at the moment I think...

...to55ers.

Jim.

 

30% tax ? Really ?
No matter which way we turn we get screwed with Tax...

They'll be taxing my farts next under the guise of "its an environmental tax".

Oh yeah AXA ~ £970 UK94 lots of mods disclosed.

Mark

 

I'm with Greenlight. They have a like-for-like replacement scheme, which is good, and they charge 10% the cost of the modification to cover it.

Not bad I think, £120 for a PossumLink (Now I need to find £1320!!!), but NO need to upgrade brakes!!!!!

Not bad I think, all the mods on my car covered, and it costs me £825!!! I had quotes of £1200+ to cover the car with a similar policy!!!

 

Pete

I've just renewed with Axa and I O U a beer. See the thread in UK Spec insurance for the gory details.

In short, Axa Direct will cover mods up to 5% (ie back box fine), business cover for me and my wife, 250 quid excess, fully comp protected NCB = 768 quid. So that's 150 quid better than the other best.

I didn't try 'em because my renewal with Hill House Hammond came through at 1200 quid, underwritten by Axa...

Insurance; it's a strange game.

And I thought that the tax was 4%?

 

When I had my SS backbox fitted, I had a before & after RR test showing a 5bhp increase. I use this as documentary evidence with insurance companies.

Maried couples are cheaper to insure because they are generally a lower risk to insure - it seems.

 

Just to put the record straight...

At present the Tax levied by H M Government for UK Insurance (excluding Personal Travel cover) is 5% of the Gross premium.

The tax is know as Insuracne Premium Tax or as most of you will see on your renewal notices "IPT".

Personal Travel insurance presently suffers from 17.5% IPT !!! This is mainly because it is so readily available on the high street i.e. via Travel Agents etc.

There are various other limits and exclusions - however I won't bore you with them now!

With regard to the question re "back box performance" I really couldn't comment - or certainly I am sure all the above answers are better than I would ever be able to provide.

As far as are they worth having - I'd say YES, IMHO. My Prodrive P1 exhaust sounds much better than the standard STi exhaust fitted to the P1 - however again it is just down to owner preference. I personally think the Scoobsport system is excellent in make and sound.

Cheers

Rum

 

I fitted a Sebring back box and at first the the insurance company wanted to put the premium up, but whan I explained that I replaced the standard item because it had corroded away and that the Sebring would be cheaper for them to replace in the event of a claim, they were happy and let it go.

I had a similar disagreement with them when I fitted a MY99 high boot spoiler. They wanted extra £35 because it was a mod. I explained that the new spoiler had a high level third stop light thus making my car less likely to be clobbered from behind and that if anything they should reduce my premium, once again they let it go.

Some companies in my experience will accept a modification without a premium increase if you accept that a they replace items with standard manufactures components in the event of a claim.

Hope that helps.

[This message has been edited by stratman (edited 16 November 2000).]

 

Renewed my insurance with Privilege at end of July. They wanted £480. Excellent I thought. Told them I had just had a scoobysport backbox fitted and premium went up to £530!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They said it makes the car more attractive to theiving scumbags.
Still it was the lowest quote by £80.

Jon

 

You are welcome CHIARK - thats ok .. if we ever meet I will certainly take that drink

To everyone else - do try AXA Direct ... I have no axe to grind - but have genuinely found them very good value and outstanding when you need customer support - give 'em a ring (and buy me a drink!!)

pete

Edited to say:- only £125 XS too - great eh???

[This message has been edited by pslewis (edited 16 November 2000).]

 

Looks like I stand corrected then...

...sorry, I thought it was 30%.

But it does make you angry when you get taxed on just about everything!

Car Insurance Premium Tax
Road Tax (haven't worked out what you get for this yet, apart from broken ball joints, struts etc)
Petrol Tax (no comment!)
VAT (sheesh 17.5%)
Inland Revenue (no comment!)

...even Beer and Cigarettes, and yet the Government say they have no money for the NHS and such like, but they can fork out £850 Million on the dome - just to knock it down again!

Oh well.

Jim.

 

My renewal on an 97 STi3 this year was £1200, - ouch up by £250, so I shopped around and got the quote down to £485!!!!!!!! with AXA via Footman James.

H

 

Howie,

Are you sure they've not just put Subaru Justy on the form?

 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>...even Beer and Cigarettes, and yet the Government say they have no money for the NHS and such like, but they can fork
out £850 Million on the dome - just to knock it down again!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Dragon, I think you will find that it was Lottery money not Tax Payers money which paid for the Dome.

RogerE

 

I wanted to change the backbox on my Scooby to a ScoobySport or Scorpion but my current insurers (Churchill) will not allow this.

 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR><B>
Dragon, I think you will find that it was Lottery money not Tax Payers money which paid for the Dome.[/quote]

RogerE

Quite right. I'd much rather prefer the lottery money to be spent on the Dome rather than wasting it on Cancer Research & Children's Homes!

 

Ian,

Halfords now sell performance backboxes, although not Scoobysport . I asked Churchill if I could change my backbox for a stainless steel unit from Halfords and they said no problem. You may have to make out that yours requires replacing and the unit will make very little if any performance difference. Manufacturers of these units dont make any wild claims so you are not lying.
Just make sure Churchill change your schedule to include "Stainless steel backbox"

Lee

 

IanE,

I am insured with Churchill and had no problems when I replaced the twin peashooters with a Scooby Sport back box. I mentioned to them that it was a Scoobysport and it didn't mean anything to the person i spoke to. So we agreed that it was a replacement stainless steel exhaust.

Hogster

 

Lee,

Thanks for your suggestions regarding Churchill and Halford backboxes - might be worth a try.

Hogster,

I've tried Churchill twice regarding a ScoobySport backbox and each time they've refused after checking with their technical department. Tried them today and asked if I could fit a Scorpion backbox and again they refused. Maybe they've got stricter recently?

Cheers,

Ian.

 

I think you'll find the term used is, 'same jockey, different horse'.

Regardless of what money paid for it, the fact remains that it's money which could have been used to serve a much better purpose.

Jim.

 

Just to clarify, Halfords sell Magnex, Mongoose, Janspeed etc. I wasn't advising anyone to put a Halfords exhaust on the Scoob

Lee