Years ago a girl I went to school with bought an old 1.4 Astra and it was stolen.... the people the stole it put Alloys on it and two weeks later it was found written off.

She had REAL trouble getting anything back of the insurance company as they were saying it was an undeclared mod !

 

shouldn't have been too difficult to disprove - photos, testimony from garages and neighbours etc

I side completely with the insurance companies in these situations - declare or face the consequence

same as life insurance

 

Hmm.. Does having your suspension/ Geo adjusted by Centregravity constitute a modifaction that should be declared?

Wondering what the insurers will make of that...when you explain it over the phone. Brand new car.... and you had it adjusted......

Anyone any experience of this?

 

why would it?

if it was within oem specs

outside of that range would be different imo

 

No
geo is not a mod.

Well it is but who could prove it had been done?

 

I think you need to act depending on the mod. Lets take an example of an exhaust or an air filter. We all know performance gains are practicaly nil (or actually nil in most cases). If you had an accident without declaring it and the insurance company tried to get out of paying, I *believe* they would have to prove that the modification contributed to the accident. Clearly they would not pay for a replacement aftermarket part.

Any lawyers comment on this? I think the most likely scenario if they noticed is that they would deduct the additional premium for the mod from the claim amount.

Obviously if you have an SC, then declaring is the route to go.....

I mean, I have decals on my car.......should I declare them? What about a front lip? Grills? Spoiler? Wheels? As someone mentioned, tyres definitely should be included as they could have a major impact on your likelihood of an accident! What about the fuel we put in? Should we declare we use 98?

So is there a responsibility on the insurer to prove the mod contributed in any way to the claim?

As long as your car is second hand, and the mods are not too much, in the unlikely event of an issue, claim ignorance.

 

Phil, click on the hyperlink I have posted above.

"Non-disclosure is a breach of utmost good faith occuring when one party to the contract knows a fact that the other does not. Had the other party known about this fact, they either would not have entered into the contract or negotiated their own better terms. "

Nothing is mentioned about the mod contributing to the accident. Based on the advice on that website alone, the mere fact that the insurance premium would have been higher as a result of the undeclared mods, would be sufficient to void the insurance policy. I don't know this area of law though and so, if concerned, I'd check with the insurance ombudsman or similar.

 

it's not that common for an insurer to void a policy/refuse a claim completely

but it's not rare either

sometimes the claim will be proportionally adjusted to take into account the non-disclosure, sometimes it will be rejected in entirety

cosmetic mods might mean the car is more likely to be stolen - hence an increased premium

I think people must be borderline retarded if they can't understand the principles involved

and they certainly shouldn't be allowed to drive

 

So this now brings in two elements:
Firstly - it is down to the insurer to prove categorically that you knew about the modifications. Difficult to deny if you had the car from new. Also difficult to claim if the mod is serious (i.e. SC)
Secondly - where is the line drawn? So do you have to disclose everything? Should I tell my insurers about my decals? Technically they are a modification.......what about new speakers? Also a modification......for many mods I believe a "Why the f**k would you want to know or care about that?" argument would probably work.

If I run into the back of someone, then the insurance refuses to pay out because of my aftermarket wheels (assuming I don't claim for them) does that really hold up in court?

 

Have you REALLY got stripes on your S?

Its not a mod you need to claim mate.