Ten modifications that can affect insurance premiums revealed By Laura Thomson Mar 9, 2016

[Bluesman]

For many motorists, modifications are a way to cosmetically enhance and personalise their car. Others customise their wheels in order to optimise the driving dynamics and engine performance.

However, these seemingly harmless modifications can more than double drivers' insurance premiums, MoneySuperMarket has found.

The British price comparison website reviewed 2.3 million quotes for vehicles listed as modified and discovered that even small additions to a car, such as fitting a sat-nav or changing the paint colour could cost.

The most expensive addition found was fitting a turbo engine to a vehicle, which increased insurance quotes by a whopping 132 per cent, pushing the average premium of £494 up to £1,146.

Other purely aesthetic additions to bodywork, such as fitting a bonnet bulge, or upgraded wheel arches saw prices shoot up by an average of 66 per cent, while transmission or gearing changes saw a 63 per cent rise in a premium.

Interestingly, a 57 per cent hike was attributed to fitting a complete body kit and 41 per cent to removing seats and adding roll bars and cages.
Changes to paintwork and uprated brakes were found to equally affect car insurance, with quotes increasing by an average of 36 per cent for vehicles with these modifications.

Changes to a vehicle's exhaust system and upgrading its suspension increased prices similarly, with the latter seeing a 26 per cent rise, and the former one of 25 per cent.

Finally, even adding stripes, decals or badges saw a 22 per cent increase in the average cost of insuring a vehicle.

Kevin Pratt, consumer affairs expert at MoneySuperMarket, explained why modified vehicle owners can expect to pay more for their insurance.

'Insurance is based on risk, and modifying your car is a warning sign to insurers,' he said.

'For example, spoilers or turbo engines will mean a vehicle goes faster, and therefore increase the likelihood of an accident, while car phones and sat-navs are attractive to opportunistic thieves, so insurers balance the scales by pushing premiums up.

'When you change anything about your car, you change the original specification which may invalidate your policy if you don't inform your insurer.

'Reporting the changes might mean a higher premium, but having an invalid policy is considered fraudulent and could reduce or even remove the prospect of a pay-out if you had to make a claim.'

Motorists looking to lower their premium are advised to opt for functionality improvements to their vehicles, such as fitting parking sensors or tow bars, which see average insurance prices fall by 13 and 20 per cent respectively.

[is200 Newbie]

I wonder how fitting OEM parts from the manufacturer at a later date in the cars life, that could have been fitted as an option, would affect the insurance?

Makes you wonder what else they can argue with in getting out of paying claims. Put the logic to tyres and take remoulds etc as an example (don't actually know if these are still made to be honest?) but they are fit for purpose but not specified by the manufacturer. Would the likes of this null and void a policy?

[Bluesman]

I would think that any OEM parts fitted after manufacturer would still command more money from the insurance Co if it made the car faster etc.

[mikeyv]

Never received  a reduction yet for fitting any of the dozen or so towbars I've had.

Bottom line is, if you give them a chance to screw you over, especially mid term, when they have you over a barrel, then they surely will.

That said, fitting a roll cage is kind of a giveaway as to your driving style.

[Spacewagon52]

Modifications do  not always mean a hike in insurance. Off-Road mods, for enthusiasts, have very little effect if any. Raised suspension, modified bumpers for example.

[rayaans]

1 hour ago, is200 Newbie said:

I wonder how fitting OEM parts from the manufacturer at a later date in the cars life, that could have been fitted as an option, would affect the insurance?

Makes you wonder what else they can argue with in getting out of paying claims. Put the logic to tyres and take remoulds etc as an example (don't actually know if these are still made to be honest?) but they are fit for purpose but not specified by the manufacturer. Would the likes of this null and void a policy?

Something that many people don't understand is that even if the part is OEM, it still has to be declared if the OEM part was put on after leaving the factory. Some insurance companies are also realising that a BMW 5 series for example can be worth £35k or £45k depending on options and therefore, they are now getting customers to declare all options.

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

Hi,

If anyone ever needs any help with insurance for a modified car then please feel free to drop me a line. You might be surprised just how competitive modified car insurance can be.

Regards,

Dan.

[dave1]

Simple answer is to contact your insurers to discuss how your premium might be affected by any changes you are planning. They are providing cover for vehicles with certain items fitted. If you then put larger wheels on, lower or stiffen suspension add LPG etc then you are changing the characteristics of the car and the insurers have a right to know and possibly revise their rating of the car. Contact them to get an idea of any increase and factor it into your costings for modifications.