[sicktara]

hey guys,
have use ever thought that the insurence for our cars most probable are invalid due to mods?
lift, body lift, tyres, bar work, role cages, all things effecting our drivelines, breaking abilities?

just a thought, has any one ever had this problem?
is it a problem?
id just hate to hit and expensive car, and find out insurence wont pay out because my car has to many unroad worth modifications

love to hear what you think!
jordan

[Scrawny]

Don't do mods that will affect roadworthy?

[sicktara]

thats keeping your car stock then, really?

[Scrawny]

Pretty much. If you want to do illegal mods then you run that risk. Reality is you probably won't have dramas but its still a risk

[Gwagensteve]

Go through the engineering approval process to ensure your car is legal and then insure it on that basis. If you are concerned about insurance, then you'd have to be concerned about a defect notice too.

If that's too expensive for you then consider the cost of a denied insurance claim, or a defect notice that put your car off the road, possibly permanently, depending on mods.

Having said that, I'm not aware of anyone that's had a insurance claim denied based on modifications. In my own experience with a mildly modified hilux, the mods were no problem at the time of a claim. That wasn't an "at fault" claim though. If I plowed into the back of a merc... maybe they would have been.

Steve.

[squibby]

My insurance is valid. All mods engineered and all mods declared to my insurer. Simple really.

[alexxx]

squibby wrote:

My insurance is valid. All mods engineered and all mods declared to my insurer. Simple really.

X million. In SA we dont have roadworthys but i disclosed everything that i have done so far to my insurance company!! i dont believe in running the risk...imagine if you pulled out and hit a ferrari!! a mistake that will most probably cost you the rest of your life!!!

All the mods didnt even really make a difference to the insurance premium!

[TZAR]

Went to school with a guy that was driving a shitty XD and he looked at his watch ( apparently my guess is he just didn't look left and was too busy looking right and just raced around the corner) and he smashed into the side of a train. About 4 million damage as the tracks were replaced, buses between the next four stations for 1 month, damage to the train etc etc etc and they just payed it.

They need to prove that the modifications were to blame for the accident. They cant deny a claim cause your wheels are too big, but if you put some sort of dodgy shit brake job on and it causes the accident then yes they are well within there rights to refuse to pay to cover your stupidity.

[royce]

if you caused an accident cause you couldn't stop in time, they will deny a claim if you have bigger tyres, reduced braking ability

If you run a red light and t bone something, they probably wont care that you have no rear seats

[303zuke]

TZAR wrote:

They need to prove that the modifications were to blame for the accident. They cant deny a claim cause your wheels are too big, but if you put some sort of dodgy shit brake job on and it causes the accident then yes they are well within there rights to refuse to pay to cover your stupidity.

Not quite true. If you don't DISCLOSE the modifications when taking out the policy, they can refuse the claim on the grounds of "Bad faith", but not on the grounds of the modifications specifically being the cause.

Even if you make a claim due to someone else being at fault and causing damage and you have not disclosed the modifications, then they are entitled to repair your vehicle to STOCK condition.

Even if you have disclosed your set of "Big wheels" (or any other mod), if they are larger than allowed by ADRs and/or State regulations and not covered by an engineering certificate, then the repairer is legally not permitted to fit them to your vehicle and the Insurer certainly won't pay for them. (An Engineering Certificate doesn't just state that the mods are structurally sound, they also state that the safety performance of the vehicle is within the required limits. Without one, the onus is on YOU to prove that safety has not been compromised)

And if you have modifications that are outright illegal or plainly dangerous, you will have no protection from your insurance, in the same way as a drunk driver cannot make a claim.

[sicktara]

some very good points guys! ill have a goodlook into it, i wouldnt call my self a stupid driver any way, but mistakes happen, thanks for your imput!