Not best pleased!

[tomh]

Hi

As u can see in the thread entitled "Alloy Advice" i recently purchased a set of 16in alloys for my 206.... they were due to be fitted tomorrow by the garage i bourght the wheels through........ however......

I thought a better ring my insurance company DIRECT LINE today, to tell them about this modification and as such, was expecting a small rise in my premuim.

To cut a long story short I was informed that they would no longer insure me on my car if i put the wheels on as i was under 25 (im 20). Apparantly they have a company policy of no modifications for under 25's (this includes engine, bodykits and worst of all alloys!!!)

To say i was a little miffed would be an under-statement as i had just spent £550 on brand new alloys!!

I am either gonna have to send back the alloys (around £50) or change insurance policy (hassle!)

I realise i should have rung direct line before buying the wheels but never expected this outcome.

The reason for the post is to warn people about this if they are planning modifications and to ask whether anyone has had a similar experiance in the past?

Cheers
A slightly annoyed
Tom

[Mitch]

oops ive already added a spoiler and am gonna get some 16" gti wheels when I find someone willing to part with some mint condition ones.. im insured with direct line as well although im named driver under my father

[elly]

I bought a lowered gti with sports kit. I was 24 at the time and had my old 206 GLX insured with Prudential. They refused to insure me with the extra sport kit, they would have just laughed at it being lowered.

I finally got insurance through Diamond (unfortunately the main driver has to be a girl, although I do have 2 men insured also on) and they wanted an extra £40 for the sports kit and £40 for the lowered suspension. Total premium is about £750 for the year. I had 3 years no claims and I live in Southampton.

Having worked in insurance I know this isn't that bad - I don't think I would ever not disclose it as insurance companies tend to use any excuse not to pay out.

However bear in mind even though you pay a loading for the modifications in the event of a write off they will not pay out the value of the modifications, only for the value of an unmodified car. The loaded premium only reflects the fact that the car is 1. more nickable and 2. more likely to be driven by a boy/girl racer, and therefore more likely to be in an accident etc.

Grrrrr. Very glad I no longer work in the insurance trade!!

[tomh]

I agree that not telling my insurance company is a bad idea and not something i am prepared to do as, heaven forbid, i was involved in a serious accident my insurance would be invalid and i could be liable for being sued!!

Its very frustrating as i can understand why they would put the premium up as the car would be more "nickable" with alloys on. i could even understand if they said no insurance for under 25's on engine modifications.

But if a car is stolen, the age of the driver has no relation and why would alloys necessarily make me drive faster?!

If anything the extra weight of each wheel should slow me down.....

[Mullet]

The age of you is only relevant in the respect that you are classed as 'immature and likely to speed' (when in actual fact it's people aged 40-45 with good jobs and company cars) therefore you pay extra for car insurance. Irrespective of age if you are modding the engine the ins co will automatically know you like to drive fast and will increase the premium dramatically!
With regards to your alloys, the premium only reflects how 'nickable' the car is not that they're now assuming you'd drive faster.

[PaulG]

Not nice hey?

My insurance is up for renewal at the end of the month and have tried with much difficulty to get a decent premium from anyone but Elephant and Admiral (but personally I don't want to take up their offer).

I'm 24 with 2years ncb, no points, no crashes ever (touch wood/head - well not as a driver anyway....hmmm passenger in a Toyota Landcruiser that barrel rolled 3 and 1/2 times....but anyway I digress)....back to the matter in hand

Direct Line refused to insure me ...because I have a peugeot rear spoiler and a magnex backbox

Peart Insurance would only insure me if the car is garaged overnight.....don't quite understand this one

CIS - won't insure me because I'm too young to drive a performance car....lol

Egg - upped their premium by £200 when I told them about my mods

and the list goes on - you get the picture.

I'll probably be staying with Tesco - their renewal isn't too bad, and they've provided a decent service this last year.

Really you've got to declare all Mods, otherwise if the unfortunate event that you have an accident, the insurance company will quite happily hold the insurance void if they find a non declared mod or some other discrepancy. Not a lot of choice really, plus you don't want insurance fraud on your credit history.......

[tomh]

I understand the principal behind their stance......

Its just very annoying they wont insure me full stop with alloys as i would have been prepared, and expected, to pay extra on my premium.

My argument is i cant see why being under 25 should effect alloys....ok engine mods make the car faster and also, like u said, show the insurance company u want to drive faster but i don’t want to modify the engine i just want to add alloys, which are only for show.....

Someone thinking of nicking alloys isn't just going to target under 25 year olds!!!...and as i am under my old dears insurance, she would in effect be putting the alloys on as the car is registered to her.......

I now have a lovely set of 16in rims sitting in a garage unable to fit them..........

[Sale]

Would it help to stress the point that GTI comes with 16s as standard? As well as CC 2.0?

I'm totally in the dark about how exactly the insurance in the UK works, so sorry if it's a dumb suggestion...

[BigOL]

I'm 24 (23 when I took out insurance) No NCD and I went with Peugoet Insurance. Within a week of the policy being active, I told them I had fitted a backbox, they were fine about it, no increase. When they thought I had stuffed a full stainless system on the premium only went up by £180 and as far as I know, they don't mind alloys up to the value of £800, anything over, they get grumpy. I own a GTi don't forget.

Peugoet not once said that they were not gonna insure me, and when I phoned for a quote before I had even bought the car the very helpful lady on the phone couldn't belive she got a price back, she was expecting a refusal, so she saved the quote for an extra three months over the three months they keep it anyway.

Very good paperwork, and very helpful phone people, give them a go. They look kindly on Pug owners obviously.

[PaulG]

At the end of the day if you're youngish and want to drive a quick and desirable car then one will be penalised on the insurance front.....and lets face it there isn't much you can do about it....you've just got to lump it and cough up!

Yes I agree engine mods will lead the insurer to conclude that you are a greater risk as you'll more likely to drive quicker....however one insurer I spoke to last night said that people who modify their cars are probably more likely to take care of them.......now this seems logically.

BUT under 25, quick car, you're at the whim of the insurance company.

Last year my policy with Tesco remained unchanged when I added my performance backbox!

And on the mods front.....different insurance companies have different policies

Some will purely use your modifications to calculate the risk (i.e. increase) and will not actually cover the mod i.e. not pay out.

Other will use the modification to calculate the risk and will also cover that modification. My advice is check with your insurer. Tesco will pay out for my modifications (hopefully never will become necessary).

Now elephant - that is a different matter.

Cheers

[Mullet]

Sale he doesn't have a GTi or CC though if he did fitting Pug alloys wouldn't be a prob
The insurance is calculated on risk, so what's the risk of fitting alloys 0.0045% what about engine mods 0.2% how about general modifications 0.15% all these percentages are then applied to your premium to increase it. But they are calculated by how much more likely what you're doing is going to result in the insurance company paying out one way or another...

[Sale]

Oh god...life isn't simple over there is it?

So it's basically all statistical, guessing, witchcraft and all that stuff involved into setting the premium?

[Mullet]

Excatly, it's essentially statistics/mathematics. You work out probability of something happening expressed as a percentage to apply to the initial premium... Fun.

[tomh]

Cheers for all the feedback guys!

I think i am gonna spend some time ringing around all the insurance companies and seeing which ones will insure me with alloys.... if it looks like being a huge cost to move policys then i may have to shelve the alloy idea for the moment and go for a nice ice install instead!!!!

thanks again........

[Mullet]

Dont hate the player, Hate the game

Tom what's this quote from, a recent film aint it?