Modifications without affecting insurance

Damian

Damian

Hey everyone hope you can help.

I want to make some changes to my micra but without affecting the insurance. I was thinking look wise more than performance because I know any performance changes and the insurance don't like it.

I have had a few suggestions from a friend they was thinking a full body vinyl sticker kit. Changing the dashboard to a different colour an maybe the seats. Also painting the steelies as I can't have alloys. They suggested white and maybe have the wing mirrors the same colour.

The only major thig ive really done is put in a sound system with a 500w amp running 2 subs and 4 speakers. Ill upload a pic of the box if anyone is intrested in taking a look.

Any help would be appreciated as I want a car that stands out from others and looks different but without the insurance having a moan as I have a black box and they don't allow modifications

Many thanks for any help
 
Can't be done, if you modify your car from factory spec in anyway you have to tell your insurance company otherwise it could invalidate your policy
 
aww thats gutting. i was hoping i could at least make some minor changes. i quess it will have to stay standard for now and have some fun when i get the black box removed. ive got my sound system at least. cheers for the help
 
Stickers and stuff are generally fine. Insurance companies tend to get funny when it comes to engine mods mostly.
 
aww right thats ok then. i really want to have a play round with my micra. be nice to have something different that stands out. thanks
 
Yeah, paint and stickers shouldn't be a problem but if you're unsure then check with your insurer just to be safe... Painting the steelies won't cause any bother andit really does make a huge difference!

Have you told the insurance about the sound system as (I'm not sure... but) that could invalidate your insurance should th worst happen and they find out. Had a friend who crashed his car into a high kerb, was completely factory spec except the sound system and some neons that he only used off road at meets and such but the insurance wouldn't pay up saying those items invalidated his cover so best be safe with that one mate, especially if its quite a pricey system you've got in...

Also, I've heard some insurance companies and the some police (if they stop you) can be funny about you ripping the back seats and interior out...

Other than that though I'd say everything else is fine bar engine mods. I contacted my insurer about a spoiler, lowering the suspension and changing the wheels and I think the quote was an extra £24 per year, not too bad, but I guess that depends on your age/insurer...

Where in Cardiff are you?
 
i have had car insurance terminated because of my audio many years ago i had been insured with the same company for years with the same audio installed and from the outside you couldn't see anything as it was all hidden i rang them one day to ask for a cheaper renewal they asked what my audio was worth and because of the value they cancelled my insurance so 2 fingers to zurich.
as others have said any changes from factory spec is a modification regardless of how small the change is,at the end of the day it will depend on how picky the insurance company wants to be with you in the event of a claim,changes made to the appearance will make it more appealing to thieves so this is why your premium will go up.
 
I thought paint and stickers would be ok. But i do think it will be depending on how fussy the insurance companies actually are. I dot want to take any seats out maybe just change the colour on the dash or just change the seats but want to keep the 5 seats. I haven't Told them about the speakers as I didn't even realise this would affect the insurance but it Is increasing the value so makes sense I suppose.

Only problem is that as I have a black box the insurance done allow any modifications at all so that's why I was curious what I could actually do.

Ye I've got a box in my car a really nice one to I'll post a picture later when I get on my computer as I'm on my iPhone and in work.

I live in st-mellons in Cardiff if you know where that is
 
I dont understand insurance companies sometimes though. If i have a sub box for example and i need to pay more because its in my car and it gets broken into and stolen, id rather repair the car myself and take the loss of the box. I wouldnt want to make a claim upping my premium even more and get a replacement box for it to happen all over again!
 
Yeah, I know St. Mellons mate,,, theres more and more of us down here coming to this site now... Anyway, Micra 2000 and Stani's points both very valid, but I really can't see what harm a sticker or painted wheels and grilles would do? Who is to say the wheels weren't painted already when you bought the car? I think smallthings like that are ok... I mean, how many people do you think by a car and tell the insurance anything more then the basic details... otherwise you'd have to declare every bumber sticker and air freshner... I bet most people don't even declare alloy wheels if they're already on the car, they just assume they're factory spec?

I'd defo mention your sound system to the insurance, and if you're worried then ask them about paint mods etc... If they say its fine and you're still worried ask them to make a note on you're filethat you've told them you're painting wheels or whatever... then you should be ok...
 
I didn't realise some insurers were so picky over soundsystems, I was insured with insure the box (tracker installed) and all tey'd let me do was put on non-factory standard alloys so long as they were of the same size as the original 14", with admiral now all mods an allowed to lower up to 30mm for an extra £30 a year =D
 
well iv heard that changing even the seats are an affect to the insurance and changing anything to whats not on the factory spec, for example if you had standard steel wheels you cant get alloys even if they are the same size, you cant change tyre size either, i think random window stickers dont affect the insurance but best bet (this is the way i did it) but go on to your insurance companies website do a quote for any car but say its not bought yet, and then look through the Modifcation Lists that they make you choose the modifcations you have on your car, if the modifcations you want to do are not in that list then i guess your allowed them without notifying your insurance company
 
Al Shore said:
I didn't realise some insurers were so picky over soundsystems, I was insured with insure the box (tracker installed) and all tey'd let me do was put on non-factory standard alloys so long as they were of the same size as the original 14", with admiral now all mods an allowed to lower up to 30mm for an extra £30 a year =D
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm with Admiral and they quoted me an extra £24 to lower upto 50mm, add a spoiler and new wheels (though they're not alloys...)
 
odd_ball said:
Yeah, I'm with Admiral and they quoted me an extra £24 to lower upto 50mm, add a spoiler and new wheels (though they're not alloys...)
Click to expand...

Yeah Admiral are respectable in the fact they don't ask through the nose for some mods.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Forum Runner
 
ye you do make a good point. Most people wont claim on there insurance if they have a bump into a pllar etc so you would want to claim on a sound system. My speakers are standard as far as i know but they might have been changed by the last owner. im not sure because they do sound really good. Then i got my sub box and amp in the boot so i suppose if i was to have an accident then i could easily remove the box.

Thats really good about more local people joining the site. I just randomly googled micra forums and was lucky enough to come across this site so thought id join and see what its like and i do like it. Do you do meetings or anything like that ?

I think it really does depend on insurers by the sounds of it some company are alot more fussy than others. Ye i could just paint them and then say they were bought like this and im sure stickers shouldnt matter, its basically a bumber sticker just bigger and you dont tell insurance about this. I think it might be worth a phone call just to be on the safe side i dont fancy having a accident/broken into and the insurance tell me my insurance is void because of something like that.

I think it might be worth me taking a look on admiral to becuase i wouldnt mind paying a little bit extra and actually be able to modify the car.

PBooby thats a good point if they havnt listed something for modifying then they surely woudlnt mind and should not affect your insurance.
 
I've been trying to see if anyone fancied a meet... never used to be that many of us from down here on the forum but the numbers are growing... There is a thread started by me in the meets and events section (south meets page) and theres a few people interested... If we get a bit more interest we'll have to sort a meet out...
 
one thing I will say about the tracker insurance, if i hadnt cancelled it when I did it would have cost me alot in top-up miles, ended up paying less than 6 months worth of top-up miles for a years insurance with admiral,:)
 
PBobby said:
If the modifcations you want to do are not in that list then i guess your allowed them without notifying your insurance company
Click to expand...

The insurance company categorize modifications

e.g interior mods = any changes to the inside of the car.

This could be anything from changing the gear knob, which most people do. To completely stripping the interior to a bare shell with a disco ball on the roof

It doesn't matter what you do to the car, if it isn't exactly as it was when it left the factory you must notify your insurance company of the change. Even for stupid little things like window stickers or swapping steel wheels for factory option alloys, some companies could even get funny if you swap prov spec bumpers for higher spec, even if they are the same car.

Yes it's stupid but that's the law
 
Al Shore said:
I didn't realise some insurers were so picky over soundsystems, I was insured with insure the box (tracker installed) and all tey'd let me do was put on non-factory standard alloys so long as they were of the same size as the original 14", with admiral now all mods an allowed to lower up to 30mm for an extra £30 a year =D
Click to expand...

in about 1994 i had the run in with my insurance due to the value of my audio being £2500 it was a lot back then,stupidly they knew about it for the previous 3 years of insurance and it didn't bother them,but when the underwriters looked into it again at renewal they said no
 
ye ill take a look at that post now i would definetely be intrested.

with my black box insurance im lucky as i get unlimted mileage and can drive any time of the day.

A phone call will be the best option to clarify what exactly they mind me doing. or even better hopefully get a quote somewhere else where i can pay extra to modify so its all legal and keeps the insures happy.

My sub and amp box is not quite that value. I payed £40 for 2 Subs in a box and a 400w amp but i had to change the 400w to a 500w amp as it stopped working. Ive taken a look online and spoke to a few people and they reckon its about £100 + value. So not as high range as yours lol
 
karlj said:
The insurance company categorize modifications

e.g interior mods = any changes to the inside of the car.

This could be anything from changing the gear knob, which most people do. To completely stripping the interior to a bare shell with a disco ball on the roof

It doesn't matter what you do to the car, if it isn't exactly as it was when it left the factory you must notify your insurance company of the change. Even for stupid little things like window stickers or swapping steel wheels for factory option alloys, some companies could even get funny if you swap prov spec bumpers for higher spec, even if they are the same car.

Yes it's stupid but that's the law
Click to expand...

I know few to no people who declare any mods. I've declared mine, most of anyway.
I don't know anyone crazy enough to consider declaring gear knobs mind you.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Forum Runner
 
skymera said:
I know few to no people who declare any mods. I've declared mine, most of anyway.
I don't know anyone crazy enough to consider declaring gear knobs mind you.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Forum Runner
Click to expand...

Thats what I was saying too... I mean, when people buy a second hand motor, they don't know what mods have been done previously do they? Like the example I used, if you buy a car with alloys on it, unless they're obviously over the top like, most people would assume they're factory fitted and not declare them, right?
 
Ye that's true. If you know your cara fair enough. But if there alloys that are only slightly altered then there going to look standard. But it's stupid because even if there altered and you don't declare even know tou dont know it they can still void your insurance
 
I think the point has been missed

If it wasn't on you car from factory, you run the risk of invalidating your insurance, playing ignorant is going to work either cause the insurance company has your money why would they want to give it back
 
very true Karl but i would love to know where the insurance companies get their car insurance quotes from... i only paid £400 for my '96 K11 S nothing wrong mechanically just a little bit of rust down one side of the car smallest little bit ever easy to fix and then i went for my quote with insurance companies and they say my cars worth £115?!! fair enough they dont want to pay a lot for your car because of how old it is i understand that but how can you get a quote from a car they say is only worth £115 and then still quote me £2500 for the year for fully comp, which i cant even use the full features of fully comp because im under the age of 25?! so basically im paying for the name of fully comp with out having the features and if i went for just fire and theft it would have been £4000?!

who in the right mind thought this was a good idea?!

and BTW that was my cheapest quote other places i had quotes going upto the cost of £16,000

like a 18 year old can get that sort of money?!
 
We can all thank the personal injury lawyers for the nice increase in insurance premiums we all pay today ;)

The old outdated postcode lottery doesn't help much either :rolleyes:
 
ye i think its beyond the prices we pay. especially when we are paying insurance for a car that is worth less than we paid for the car. Fair enough this covers us for both our car and the other person if you are involved in an accident but its still crazy prices.
 
total scam
may take a few years but we working onit to fix it.
as a wise individual said "what they doing with premium if you dont claim that year ? " they keep it . not even bank does that or ?
what it comes down to is the gov and its rich friends making schemes to get richer cause they grandchildren dont exist yet , for the next 100 years, so they planning their future. to do the same thing they doing to us now, they grand kids would be doing to our grand kids 200 years from now.
and they arent loyal to this land like me,,,,,,,they is standing for foreign influences to bleed it dry. FOOL STOP . :)
 
well i think everyone should agree with you :)

i think that with insurance we should get it back if we dont make a claim like you said where does it go if we dont .... in them big huge pockets of theres
 
Damian said:
ye i think its beyond the prices we pay. especially when we are paying insurance for a car that is worth less than we paid for the car. Fair enough this covers us for both our car and the other person if you are involved in an accident but its still crazy prices.
Click to expand...

It's not really about the value of the car any more, it's the total value of the claim including all the personal injury claims people will make, plus the replacement cars and fees that all the legal bodies will charge. You can crash and write off a £30,000 car, however if someone had injuries as a result you could easily wind up with double that in personal injury claims, especially if there are multiple occupants, (things can multiply up pretty quickly).

You only have to go onto one of these 'no win, no fee' websites to get an idea of how much people can potentially get paid out. Even a basic minor neck injury can net someone £5000, which was exactly what happened to me when I had a crash back in 2006. £7500 claim total, of which £2000 was the total value of both cars that got written off, (£800 for my car and £1200 for the crappy Vectra I wrote off), the rest was the personal injury & such.

This is undoubtedly my take on things, maybe one of our supporting insurance companies can highlight what premiums go towards.
 
Every change you make to your car has to be declared. But for things like stickers and respraying your dash it wont affect your premium. But its always best to let them know. One of the biggest facters in rising insurance is the old wiplash claim, easy 3k for a passenger there like
 
Damian said:
aww right thats ok then. i really want to have a play round with my micra. be nice to have something different that stands out. thanks
Click to expand...

Not meaning to be rude to you, or anyone else but no, 'its not ok then' just because the person above you has posted that it is, that person is wrong.

If you were an insurance company, would you see the car covered in stickers, a change of seats and a funky coloured dashboard as the same risk as a standard car?
Which one do you think it more likely to get broken into or vandalised?

My points here are:

1) disclose ANY change to the vehicle from when it left the factory, let your insurer do the rest
2) take advice you read on forums by fellow members with a large pinch of salt

Ollie
Sky Insurance
 
R-REG-SR said:
total scam
may take a few years but we working onit to fix it.
as a wise individual said "what they doing with premium if you dont claim that year ? " they keep it . not even bank does that or ?
what it comes down to is the gov and its rich friends making schemes to get richer cause they grandchildren dont exist yet , for the next 100 years, so they planning their future. to do the same thing they doing to us now, they grand kids would be doing to our grand kids 200 years from now.
and they arent loyal to this land like me,,,,,,,they is standing for foreign influences to bleed it dry. FOOL STOP . :)
Click to expand...

The UK's private car insurance industry has run at a loss for a few years now, the industry has itself partly to blame but there are many other factors as well.
 
I do agree with all of your points Ollie (and thank you for coming on here to set the record straight), but just one gripe that would bother me - usually it's standard practice for insurance companies to charge some sort of admin fee when you ring up to declare a change.

I can imagine people being bent out of shape being tapped up for this charge just for fitting a couple of £3 vinyls from eBay.

Not saying Sky Insurance do that for that sort of thing (although my premium return when I switched to the Almera earlier this year was gobbled up by an 'admin fee') but it's always been something I've wondered about.
 
When I had my micra, I told Tesco about changing seats to a super s and fitting a body kit etc, and they said as it was a factory option then they didn't mind, but still it was better to declare it and stay legal than not mention it. However if you don't mention it and you need to claim, then usually the case only a third party will be covered. Fully comp on a cheap car is pointless though as you can still get third party with personal injury cover. When I wrecked my Glanza, I didn't bother chasing personal injury costs as just glad to be alive! It's a pity other people just see pound signs.
 
Was the old Glanza an at-fault claim then? As in, was it someone elses fault as I always thought you could only claim PI if someone else caused the accident?
 
James said:
I do agree with all of your points Ollie (and thank you for coming on here to set the record straight), but just one gripe that would bother me - usually it's standard practice for insurance companies to charge some sort of admin fee when you ring up to declare a change.

I can imagine people being bent out of shape being tapped up for this charge just for fitting a couple of £3 vinyls from eBay.
Click to expand...

Some insurers can be anal and charge an admin fee for every change, I see your point here of course. From our perspective, whilst we are entitled to charge fees, we do try and take the common sense approach, we also take the approach of asking about future planned modifications and we build these into the policy from inception and therefore avoid any future fees.

James, whilst you're here, this weekend, I'll do my usual JAE rounds, what I'd like to do is bring a Sky banner with me and get some photos by the MSC stand, if that's ok?
Cheers

Ollie
 
Sky Insurance said:
James, whilst you're here, this weekend, I'll do my usual JAE rounds, what I'd like to do is bring a Sky banner with me and get some photos by the MSC stand, if that's ok?
Cheers

Ollie
Click to expand...
Absolutely fine by me! Saturday is probably our best day for turnout so that would be ideal but whenever is good for you!

Incidentally, the renewal from you guys was nearly £300 cheaper than anything I could find elsewhere! I was absolutely staggered! :D
 
James said:
Was the old Glanza an at-fault claim then? As in, was it someone elses fault as I always thought you could only claim PI if someone else caused the accident?
Click to expand...

No I had PI cover for me and any passengers which I could have claimed for, but I didn't. It was an at fault claim even though I didn't fit the tyres backwards, but I didn't bother to persue it.
 
Sky Insurance said:
Some insurers can be anal and charge an admin fee for every change, I see your point here of course. From our perspective, whilst we are entitled to charge fees, we do try and take the common sense approach, we also take the approach of asking about future planned modifications and we build these into the policy from inception and therefore avoid any future fees.

James, whilst you're here, this weekend, I'll do my usual JAE rounds, what I'd like to do is bring a Sky banner with me and get some photos by the MSC stand, if that's ok?
Cheers

Ollie
Click to expand...
Got any car stickers?
 

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