Insurance for cars with Modifications

[Ben]

Okay, so what would one do if for example someone bought a vehicle, and they VIN said the car was one thing, but the car has a motor swapped in. One that is alot more powerful than stock, what do you tell the insurance company?


For example, you buy a VW GTI, they came with several engine choices, and you swap out the base 1.8L 8V and put in say a 2.8L VR6.

what do you tell the insurance company?

[max_boost]

I have never told insurance about any of my mods......I'm not sure if you have to or not......but if you want to have the parts covered in case of theft/damage I think you should tell them.....Premiums would go up and I'm not sure how well they would react to it

[CLiVE]

can't you just have your car appraised, and then have it insured for the appraised value?

[Ben]

well would one just tell the insurance company what it was based on the VIN or whoule one just say it has the better motor?


Car would be insured as PL/PD, and not full coverage, so it makes no differnce whether you want them to cover it or not.

[kevie88]

hmm.. I didn't tell my insurance company when I did my swap.. I've asked myself this same question. I wonder if they'd even know?

I guess I cant expect to be covered for the motor if the car gets ripped off, I'll probably just get covered for a stock, base model Prelude.

[THREE40SEVEN]

Well, you could not tell them, and then loose all of the money that was put into the car. Not worth it at all.
If its been extensively modified(engine swap), get it appraised and send it to the insurance company. I'd rather pay a little more a year than loose MANY thousand dollars. My beast is insured for $25000, and from memory, i paid about 4-500 more a year.

[legendboy]

my insurance company told me that they would not insure me if the vehicle was higly modified...ie, turbo, engine swap...etc...

[SilverRex]

good idea.. I should just buy a VIN off someone's toyota echo and put that on my car.. woohoo cheap insurance.. -_- or maybe not keke

[DUBBED]

ya they consider you more of a hazard and more likely to crash and kill people... plus its more likely to get stolen... you make the call... you dont have to tell them about the mods... just park inside... and buy a sweet alarm with a flame thrower attached to the underside... :devil:

[Ben]

Originally posted by DUBBED
ya they consider you more of a hazard and more likely to crash and kill people... plus its more likely to get stolen... you make the call... you dont have to tell them about the mods... just park inside... and buy a sweet alarm with a flame thrower attached to the underside... :devil:


Alright, its...er...one is going to be getting it insured as the VIN ID, not as is.

[cocoabrova]

If YOU think the car's worth what's been put into it, then get it appraised. Although it cost a bit more, and again, if the car's worth it, get full coverage on it. Especially a VR6 swap into an MKII.... I don't think you'd want to try and find a complete swap again if it got stolen or whatnot:thumbsup:

[4wheeldrift]

You have two options. Get it appraised, and have it insured and claim the value at what the appraiser estimates, or have a rider put on your policy to cover the replacement cost of the mods that were done. To get a rider put on, you would need the receipts for everything. I'm not sure which would be cheaper.

[Ben]

how much is a vehicle appraisal worth?

Also, if one was to not tell the insurance company that the original motor has been swapped out for a higher performance one, what sort of issues could arrise if said vehicle was involved in an accident of which was not of said vehicles owner.

[Hollywood]

Originally posted by Benny
how much ius a vehicle appraisal worth?

120 bucks for a real good one..

[Hollywood]

Originally posted by THREE40SEVEN
Well, you could not tell them, and then loose all of the money that was put into the car. Not worth it at all.
If its been extensively modified(engine swap), get it appraised and send it to the insurance company. I'd rather pay a little more a year than loose MANY thousand dollars. My beast is insured for $25000, and from memory, i paid about 4-500 more a year.

Who is your insurance company? I called around and only found 1 that would cover my mods.

[gokuu]

just get rciepts and hold on to them, Also take pictures of your stuff. Have proof you had that stuff. I also told my insurance I had a kit and rims and etc, I just told them I had this stuff on and told them the prices. They said my premiums would go up, but I didn't noticed a big difference.:)

[THREE40SEVEN]

Originally posted by Hollywood


Who is your insurance company? I called around and only found 1 that would cover my mods.
Meloche Monnex. Been with them for almost 9 years. They had no problem with it. Thats with a couple tickets, and i THINK theres still an accident on there. From what i rememeber, it takes 4 years for a collision to clear your insurance.

[THREE40SEVEN]

Originally posted by Benny
how much is a vehicle appraisal worth?

Also, if one was to not tell the insurance company that the original motor has been swapped out for a higher performance one, what sort of issues could arrise if said vehicle was involved in an accident of which was not of said vehicles owner.
Nothing, except they wouldn't pay for the replacement of the extra mods- just the basic the book value of the car.
Book value on my car is around $6000. If i smashed her up or it got stolen without an appriasal, i would be out a TON of cash. I have over $30 g in the car.
Once again, if you do serious work to the car, tell the insurance company.

[subdermal]

My insurance company told me they wouldn't even think about insuring my car, even for just PLPD. Does anyone know of a Calgary company that specializes in (or at least tolerates) modified vehicles?

[12V]

I heard that if you have a highly modded car, and didn't tell your insurance, and you got in an accident they can deny coverage BOTH ways, saying that, that wasn't the vehicle they agreed to insure.

[LUDELVR]

Originally posted by Benny
Okay, so what would one do if for example someone bought a vehicle, and they VIN said the car was one thing, but the car has a motor swapped in. One that is alot more powerful than stock, what do you tell the insurance company?


For example, you buy a VW GTI, they came with several engine choices, and you swap out the base 1.8L 8V and put in say a 2.8L VR6.

what do you tell the insurance company?

You should direct this question to shadowz!!! ;) :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[dogstar]

also, dont tell them its a higher performance motor... tell them its a newer, more efficient motor ;)

if they really get nosy, just say the old one was a pos and you thought a swap would be able to make the most of the car by revitalizing it.

i have no really relavent comments to add to the discussion :)

[SplineZ]

Ive been told by many people that if you dont tell them that you've dont "some work" on your car, that if you get in an accident and find that its been modified, the insurance company will VOID your insurance and you will get squat.

My insurance didnt go up a penny when I swapped the POS 2.8v6 in my jimmy for a 305v8. They just asked if i changed anything.. and I said "new motor and drivetrain"

JZ

[RCBVtec]

Originally posted by SplineZ
Ive been told by many people that if you dont tell them that you've dont "some work" on your car, that if you get in an accident and find that its been modified, the insurance company will VOID your insurance and you will get squat.

JZ

You are exactly right... if you get into an accident and you have any mods on your car and you don't tell the insurance company they have the right to drop you.

[syeve]

I'm not proud of this but, I had a 94 civic and it got stripped, Including my intercooler, guages, turbo timer, and a whole bunch of other expensive aftermarket shit that the insurance company had no prior knowledge of. They thought it was a stock civic, when I told them all this shit had got stolen they were NOT pissed at all, they paid for everything and were very cool about the whole thing...my insurance never even went up. Now I drive a RSX-S and I'm only 24...I called around and the place I go through is the cheapest by over $400!!! So they are cheap and thhey pay when something happens...me so lucky!

I'll PM anybody who wants to know who they are.

BTW I pay $1650 for insurance and I have everything, 2million liab., $500 deduct., Full collision, and all glass...I have everything you can insure insured basically.

[RCBVtec]

check your pm

[m@+CH]

dont' say anythgin
ignorance is bliss!!
no one with a modified civic tells their insurance
even with a turbo and all

[jdmakkord]

Originally posted by m@+CH
dont' say anythgin
ignorance is bliss!!
no one with a modified civic tells their insurance
even with a turbo and all

Until you get jacked, and the insurance company tells you to go fuck your self. :(

[THREE40SEVEN]

Originally posted by RCBVtec


You are exactly right... if you get into an accident and you have any mods on your car and you don't tell the insurance company they have the right to drop you.
While i thought this was NOT true i phoned my insurance company just to be sure. YES they can void your policy in EXTREME cases, but its not typical.

[RCBVtec]

Originally posted by THREE40SEVEN

While i thought this was NOT true i phoned my insurance company just to be sure. YES they can void your policy in EXTREME cases, but its not typical.

Yeah I know it's in extreme cases, that's why I said they have the "right" to drop you ;)