Aviva existing policy..adding mods to a car

tommyspiggy

Hi ,
So I have policy with aviva , with a while on a standard car . I am now sick of the look of my car and I wish to add a spoiler and alloys to it? How likely will aviva accept these items if I declare them to them. Would these refuse cover or might they cover them would any one be able to tell me based on your experiences? If anyone has any experiences with aviva and modifications pls let me know. Will leave it standard if can't get the mods covered. Thanks in advance

CiniO

My wife has a car insured with aviva.
A while ago I fitted eibach lowering springs + strut brace to it.
I informed aviva, and they increased the premium by 15%

mullingar

tommyspiggy wrote: »

Hi ,
So I have policy with aviva , with a while on a standard car . I am now sick of the look of my car and I wish to add a spoiler and alloys to it? How likely will aviva accept these items if I declare them to them. Would these refuse cover or might they cover them would any one be able to tell me based on your experiences? If anyone has any experiences with aviva and modifications pls let me know. Will leave it standard if can't get the mods covered. Thanks in advance

Spoiler and alloys?

Manufacturers offer these as standard accessories so I wouldn't bother declaring them. It's only mods that affect performance /handling that "should" be declared

tommyspiggy

Are you sure? I thought only original manufacturer parts were covered and ones u buy urself aren't? No?
Thanks lad

CiniO

mullingar wrote: »

Spoiler and alloys?

Manufacturers offer these as standard accessories so I wouldn't bother declaring them. It's only mods that affect performance /handling that "should" be declared

Well, they offer it as standard on some models, but they didn't offer it as standard on model OP has - so adding them is certainly a modification, even if they would be original manufacturer products.

bazz26

Totally depends on the insurance company's definition of "modification". Should be a definition of this in the policy small print.

CiniO

From Allianz policy f.e:

You must tell Us if:
(...)
6. The Car has been modified or altered
in any way from the manufacturer’s
specification. This would include changes
to the engine, exhaust, suspension, the
addition of body parts/body kit, wheels
and specialised paint work.

The crucial however here is the "The Car has been modified or altered in any way from the manufacturer’s specification".
Anything that makes car out of standard spec for this model, must be declared to them.

And yes - I think it's utterly stupid, but that's how it is here in Ireland.

coylemj

Insurance is driven by statistics - if the numbers show that people who modify their cars are more likely to be involved in accidents then there will be a loading.

visual

coylemj wrote: »

Insurance is driven by statistics - if the numbers show that people who modify their cars are more likely to be involved in accidents then there will be a loading.

Insurance is driven purely by profit and any opportunity to grab a bit more is never over looked and thats a statistic too.

skibum

I'm with Aviva, I had my previous car chipped, also had the front brakes upgraded from the standard 239mm to 280mm, notified Aviva about the modification's expecting an increase in my premium, but was pleasantly surprised when they said that was fine, no increase, thanks for telling us, will modify your details..... :cool:
It was a MK3 Golf tdi, went from 90bhp to approx 115bhp, doesn't sound like much but the difference was huge..... loved that car, was killed by an un accompanied learner driver who decided to stop on the right hand lane of the M11 to make a call to find directions as to which exit she should take, as she was lost...............

djimi

CiniO wrote: »

From Allianz policy f.e:


The crucial however here is the "The Car has been modified or altered in any way from the manufacturer’s specification".
Anything that makes car out of standard spec for this model, must be declared to them.

And yes - I think it's utterly stupid, but that's how it is here in Ireland.

It's not utterly stupid in fairness. Visual modifications may Increase the risk of theft (depending on the car and the mods) and where insurance is concerned increased risk = increased premium.

oldyouth

mullingar wrote: »

Spoiler and alloys?

Manufacturers offer these as standard accessories so I wouldn't bother declaring them. It's only mods that affect performance /handling that "should" be declared

Please ignore this. Anything that is a modification or alteration from the manufacturer's specification for your vehicle needs to be declared. Insurers are interested in more than performance or handling. Alterations affect the value of the vehicle, theft attractiveness, availability of replacement parts/repairs etc. but more importantly, it alters the profile of their policyholder for rating purposes.

All an insurer ever has to do to repudiate an own damage claim, is prove that they had an alternative rate or acceptance criteria for modifications and alterations and they are home and dry

pippip

Unless you declared it didn't have alloys and a spoiler when you originally got the inurance how would they know. Also if you bought a used car how are you to know what was standard or not when insuring it.

When I was looking for quotes a while ago on the Rav4, I went through the process with them twice.

First time, I had no mods, and the second time, I added bull bars, window tints, spoiler.. and i think something else, that I can't quite remember.. anyway, both prices were the same. (could be because the Rav isn't exactly a boy racer's dream car, though).

djimi

pippip wrote: »

Unless you declared it didn't have alloys and a spoiler when you originally got the inurance how would they know. Also if you bought a used car how are you to know what was standard or not when insuring it.

They ask is the car modified as one of the questions when obtaining a quote. If its a stock spoiler and alloys then fair enough. If its plainly obvious that they were bought in Halfords then of course it was modified. You might be able to play dumb about the spoiler (depending on the type that it is), but not about the wheels (I dont know of any brands that use Wolfrace or Tenzo R as their OEM alloys :pac: )

pippip

Yes sorry I wasn't really thinking along the lines of specialised spoiler and alloys. Just ment if the car came with steels and they fit standard enough alloys I still wouldn't be declaring it. But yes if your car starts to look like something from the fast and furious you'd want to declare it.

Bit of a grey area at certain levels. The likes of k&n filters and remapping.