Car mod Insurance issues

[WebbRowan]

Hi guys, sorry to ride on the topic here, but I just wanted to know if any of you have ever had issues with applying for car insurance after doing a modification or if there are certain things that need to be done in order for your car to get certified if you're doing some upgrades? Would appreciate advice thanks!

 

[Ian Rogers]

**Moved thread here**

There are certain repair centers that deal with insurance issues after mods... Costs a bit though... We have a center here in Swinton... Once a car has been repaired from a cat D or cat C accident, they need to be checked before insurance will be valid ( Note... You can get insurance... But they will not respond if you make a claim ).

 

[alec_t]

The insurance requirements vary from country to country. Best to ask your insurer, since invalidating your insurance could be very costly if there were a claim against you.
Any modification would affect the risk to the insurer, so they would be likely to increase premiums accordingly.

 

[bountyhunter]

Hi guys, sorry to ride on the topic here, but I just wanted to know if any of you have ever had issues with applying for car insurance after doing a modification or if there are certain things that need to be done in order for your car to get certified if you're doing some upgrades? Would appreciate advice thanks!

In Califrnia it is flatly illegal to do any mods to the lighting, intake/exhaust of the engine unless the parts/systems have been submitted to the state and received CARB approval. Window tinting can also be illegal depending on how dark it is. Your state may vary.

As for "mods" and insurance: my buddy had a very nice stereo installed in his VW and it was promptly stolen. Since he had all the receipts, his insurance company had to pay the claim. He replaced the stereo and not long after, it was stolen. His insurance company cancelled his coverage.......

 

[strantor]

Hi guys, sorry to ride on the topic here, but I just wanted to know if any of you have ever had issues with applying for car insurance after doing a modification or if there are certain things that need to be done in order for your car to get certified if you're doing some upgrades? Would appreciate advice thanks!

What kind of upgrades? Suspension lift? Racing tires? Engine/performance enhancing upgrades? Lighting? Hacking your ABS? Installing DIY autopilot?
What country?
What insurance company?

The list of questions could go on for a page or more. Point is, there are way too many variables for your question to be answered definitively and accurately on this forum. If you really want the definitive answer, the only way to get it is to do your own research and verify that your mods comply with established local laws and then reserve a day and a half for calls back and forth with your insurance company. If you're worried about drawing unwanted attention to your account from the Ins. company, say that you're a potential customer shopping around.

I had a heavily modified sports car about 10 years ago. If I recall correctly, when I asked the ins. company about mods they were very defensive, meaning they all but came out and said that they wouldn't insure anything but a bone stock car. I think the reason was the people answering the phones know less about car mods than they do about nuclear fission, and they don't want to say something is OK when they don't know for sure if it is OK, and they don't know anything for sure, so nothing is OK. Again IIRC, what it came down to was they would have had to send an inspector out to look at my car or something, to verify it's insurability. And at that, they wanted to charge me a premium for "collectible car" insurance; apparently they don't know the difference between a 1927 Rolls Royce and a 1999 Trans Am with a 570hp engine. I ended up just omitting the details about my mods and insuring the car as a stock Firebird. I knew the insurance wouldn't reimburse me for the money I had dumped into the car if it got totalled, but it seemed to be my only affordable option in light of the impossibility of explaining my situation to a gaggle of imbeciles. I had 2 minor fender benders in that car and there never arose any issues about the mods. However, had I plowed through a 3rd grade field trip group going 175mph, it might have come up at least once.

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

Back in the 70;s a high school classmate dropped a Chevy V8 in the middle of a Corvair body, A Corvair had independent suspension with an air cooled engine in the rear.

What is it then?

Someone else I knew put an electric motor in something like an Omni. No petrol anyymore.

In terms of other stuff, a workmate made a motorcycle trailer hitch and the trailer. It was pretty cool. He could pull the trailer with his motorbike and/or with a cover or drive his van with the same trailer and tow his bike.

In that case, he had to substantiate the major parts used with receipts to get it titled.

Not sure what the V8 in a Corvair would mean? Would he have to meet the emission standards of the Corvair year or the year of the build? What if the new engine was OBDII? Would it be a Classic car?

Lot's of people put new engines in a 1957 Chevy.