very minor mods and notifying insurance

[Dyldo]

howdy all

I've not done anything with my car other than add the Modshack VTDA intake and the Dieselgeek shortshift kit. Are these mods worth letting insurance know?

Previously i've let insurance know of my cars that have had TBEs and remaps and the like, but wondered about these small mods.

[gregozedobe]

To be safe you should tell your insurance company about ALL mods, and that way they don'y have an excuse to deny a future claim.

[BCGTI]

Please don't hold it against me but, I am in the insurance industry... so, you have no choice but to take my word as gospel. Let your insurance company know of anything you do to your pride and joy... or face the prospect of not being covered if you have an accident or your vehicle is stolen.

[KWICKS]

As above, but wouldn't you want your short shifter replaced if it was damaged in an accident (OK not a great example) or stolen? I would, but unless its on the policy it doesn't exist.

[Dyldo]

I run the car under a novated agreement through a fleet company - and my insurer said they couldnt give two hoots what i do to the car but i need to let the novated company know.

[Dyldo]

ended up getting an answer from my novate company, who also don't care. of course they don't, its not their car.

anyway, turns out they'd have to receive original invoices for the parts i bought, recalc the lease cost base and lease figures, and then refund the money i paid for the mods and charge me over the lease period for them under the normal novate rules. i cbf!!!

i replied that i cbf as the parts are not really performance mods and of small values, and got this:-
If you don't have individual invoices then we'd be unable to proceed with the recalculation. Considering the parts you mentioned below I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[paolob]

wouldnt a reflash make your insurance sky rocket?!?!?
i also heard that some insurance companies dont even insure those with mods and tell you to eff off and go to shannons or something

[maca]

wouldnt a reflash make your insurance sky rocket?!?!?
i also heard that some insurance companies dont even insure those with mods and tell you to eff off and go to shannons or something

Actually no, my insurance company couldn't find what category to put this modification in so they the premium didn't change.

I'd be safe and tell them about everything. Then they'll decide whether it changes premiums etc.

[five8]

I had the same question and was wondering if the insurance company would remove the cover if I inform them of any future mods on the car after hearing of friends not being able to get insurance on their modded cars.

Seems like the insurance companies don't want to know you if you have any sort of mod on your car.

I've been rejected from Shannons because I wasn't a "Car enthusiast" by their profiling standards.

There's several conversations I 've had regarding this also and if the mod isn't the cause of the accident, then there's no problem. An example I heard was if your tint was too dark and you crashed your car at night because of poor vision, then you wouldn't be covered. However, a modded exhaust is unlikely to cause vision impairment at night and the insurer isn't likely to decline the cover because of the exhaust mod. Any truth behind any of this?

[Brendan_A]

I contacted my insurance company about my intentions to do a ECU flash and they said I couldn't. Because it's a "TURBO" diesel I can't do the mod! But there is no way they would ever find out it has been Flashed. They would have to drive it back to back with a stock Jetta and if its in a written off state, well they can't. They didn't even know what an ECU flash was till I explained.

[bazzle]

I have a "contact" at a dealer who has been asked to confirm program on ECU is the orig one. It was sent back to VW.
I did not follow up anymore at the time.

I guess it all depends how many $$$ its worth to the insurer.
They are not stupid and remain in business to make money

Bazzle

[gregozedobe]

There's several conversations I 've had regarding this also and if the mod isn't the cause of the accident, then there's no problem. An example I heard was if your tint was too dark and you crashed your car at night because of poor vision, then you wouldn't be covered. However, a modded exhaust is unlikely to cause vision impairment at night and the insurer isn't likely to decline the cover because of the exhaust mod. Any truth behind any of this?

The only answer you can rely on is one supplied (in writing) from your insurer in relation to your policy. All the rest are opinions for which you have paid zero for (remember the old adage about "you get what you pay for" ? )

As far as your exhaust example goes, if I was a loss adjuster at a big insurance company looking at your recently written off vehicle it would greatly help my chances of getting a bigger end-of-year performance bonus if I were able to completely reject your claim with the reason : "Modified vehicle, increased performance (exhaust not std), owner did not notify us of change."

The only absolutely safe thing to do is to make sure all your changes are 100% legal, and notify your insurer of ALL changes in writing (and keep copies).

Anything less is a risk (but a risk many people believe they are comfortable with, until they are faced with the downside consequences).

[maca]

I contacted my insurance company about my intentions to do a ECU flash and they said I couldn't. Because it's a "TURBO" diesel I can't do the mod! But there is no way they would ever find out it has been Flashed. They would have to drive it back to back with a stock Jetta and if its in a written off state, well they can't. They didn't even know what an ECU flash was till I explained.

WTF dude that sounds messed up, what insurance are you with?

[Blitzen]

Just go AAMI...they didn't give a **** about any mods I had, as long as they were mentioned...

[Brendan_A]

WTF dude that sounds messed up, what insurance are you with?

I'm with NRMA.