I am fully aware that the thread was started by Roger, but the article that he posted quotes “ purchaser” so I cannot understand your post above, it’s irrelevant.
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Warning: your towbar could invalidate your car insurance
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Once again it seems that you are in a nit picking mood. However for your benefit the definition of a Purchaser; a person who buys something; a buyer. The item can be new or second, third etc hand. Simple. 😀
Don't you start! 🤣 🤣 🤣
The purchaser/buyer of a car, be it new or second had. Will also be the proposer when obtaining insurance. It is their responsibility to describe the vehicle accurately. (To the best of their ability). Most of the time this is straight forward. But if the proposer is not fully aware, so fails to make a full declaration. They run the risk of cancelation.
I know of people who run a chipped engine. And are content to remove the chip if the insurance get involved.
I feel that years ago, the accuracy of the description was not given much weight. But recently, it seems to have come to the fore.
For many years declaring a tow bar never even occurred to me, and when I started to do so, the insurance companies seemed to be thrown by the ‘unusual’ request.
John
I know of people who run a chipped engine. And are content to remove the chip if the insurance get involved.
I feel that years ago, the accuracy of the description was not given much weight. But recently, it seems to have come to the fore.
For many years declaring a tow bar never even occurred to me, and when I started to do so, the insurance companies seemed to be thrown by the ‘unusual’ request.
John
Most, if not all, insurance companies clearly view a towbar as a modification. I have always declared one, and have never had an increase in premium as a result.
Then it's pointless, as its now 2024, not 1999/2000
No clarity has been established in this thread. Apparently some insurers don't count the fitting of a tow bar as a modification, but others do. Where does that leave the customer? Unless you ask your insurer about their policy on tow bars or any other modification, then you will never know until its too late.
Regardless of what may have happened in the past, insurers do change their policy limitations over time, so you should not assume the policy you have this year is the same as last years. Your insurer is required to advise you any changes they make to their T&C at renewal, so don't cast the letter aside, read it and if there is anything you need further explanation about take it up with your insurer.
I really cannot understand why so many of you are so put out about the need to declare modifications to your insurer. Surely its so much better to declare and be told it wasn't necessary rather than finding you have claim refused because you didn't declare a mod.
The problem falls on both th einsurance companies and the customers, not knowing what each needs.
I suggest flooding the insurers with information, and when they decide its too much they might produce a consistent industry wide policy with clearer definitions of what customers need to tell them.
Happy New Year.
Regardless of what may have happened in the past, insurers do change their policy limitations over time, so you should not assume the policy you have this year is the same as last years. Your insurer is required to advise you any changes they make to their T&C at renewal, so don't cast the letter aside, read it and if there is anything you need further explanation about take it up with your insurer.
I really cannot understand why so many of you are so put out about the need to declare modifications to your insurer. Surely its so much better to declare and be told it wasn't necessary rather than finding you have claim refused because you didn't declare a mod.
The problem falls on both th einsurance companies and the customers, not knowing what each needs.
I suggest flooding the insurers with information, and when they decide its too much they might produce a consistent industry wide policy with clearer definitions of what customers need to tell them.
Happy New Year.
Whilst shopping around for my wife’s car insurance I like to check out other Policy holders views on Trustpilot, other consumer sites and the Financial Ombudsman Service site.
As everything is legally in the public domain I see no reason why you can’t see This
The final result is most informative and illustrates dare I say the potential danger of not disclosing what is or what is not a modification.
I’m still in the camp tell them everything!
As everything is legally in the public domain I see no reason why you can’t see This
The final result is most informative and illustrates dare I say the potential danger of not disclosing what is or what is not a modification.
I’m still in the camp tell them everything!
What an excellent document, so clear and well written. Clearly CIDRA is a powerful tool for the Consumer. I was going through the Service booklet for the RAV4 and noticed that at the back were pages where additions/accessories etc could be detailed if fitted by a Toyota dealership. It wouldn’t catch non dealer fitted parts/items. I’ve not found anything on this car that could be a modification and since the previous owner seemed to use Toyota dealerships I’m pretty certain it’s a standard fit model. So I’m quite relaxed about my status.
The FOS raises an interesting point. Our Rio came with v rated budget tyres, but when changing them I had premium H rated ones fitted as they were cheaper than V rated and still well within the cars maximum speed downhill and with a following wind. The load index is slightly higher than the original tyres as they are all seasons and XL. Declare them??????
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🤪🤪Most people go to Kwik stick or ATS and ask for new tyres. Few will,check the ratings.
BUT could you be “ overrated “ 😜😜
I have sent a copy of the FOS document to my grandson as he is considering having the BMW OEM wheels removed and new non OEM wheels with higher tyre aspect ratio fitted. He's now had five new run flats replaced and a front alloy repaired due to pothole damage. Fortunately he took out wheel and tyre cover when he first bought the car and its saved him. a lot of money. Needless to say he's not impressed with low aspect run flats on British roads.
Best keep him away from Shropshire! Must have more potholes than anywhere else.
And yes tell his Insurers just for peace of mind!
What surprises me most in the Financial Ombudsman's report is that no mention is made anywhere whether the car manufacturer approved the fitment of 20" wheels in place of 19" ones. Over here on the Continent it would even require the registration document to be amended if the manufacturer hadn't included 20" wheels as an alternative in the vehicle type approval. In other words, it's not only the insurance company that has to be notified, the vehicle licensing office must also be informed. Otherwise, the combination would be illegal. The registration document for my car states that it must be fitted with alloy wheels 7½Jx17/ET32 and the tyres must be 225/60 R17 99V. Steel wheels and other wheel or tyre sizes are not permitted.
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Here at one time it could be difficult to get an exact match if putting on winter tyres, particularly in lower aspect ratio sizes. So a Volvo owner I knew fitted steel smaller diameter wheels and higher aspect ratio winter tyres. His insurer accepted it with no increase in premium, but other cases were reported where insurers rejected winter tyres even though they were the exact size of the summer OEM tyre. Assume that’s not a problem in Germany.
It would be a problem in Germany if the winter tyres differ in size from the summer tyres and if they are not included as a possible alternative in the registration document. It would result in an MOT (TÜV) failure. The registration document does not normally differentiate between winter and summer tyres, so changing from summer to winter tyres or vice versa is not notifiable.
However, one does have the option of fitting winter tyres with a lower speed rating, but in that case a warning sticker must be applied in full view of the driver (usually in the centre of the steering wheel), displaying the maximum permissible speed of the winter tyres if it is less than the top speed of the vehicle.
Are you not permitted to fit one of the manufacturers recommendation for winter wheels/tyres? Many winter tyres aren't available with high speed ratings, nor do they need to be.
If the manufacturer has recommended an alternative wheel/tyre combination, then it will already have been included as such in the vehicle registration document.
A minor concession is made in the case of speed rating. Theoretically, my car must have tyres with a 'V' (= 240km/h) speed rating because its top speed is quoted as 235km/h. If I were to fit winter tyres with a lower speed rating, a warning sticker would have to be applied in a readily viewable location indicating the maximum permissible speed with those tyres.
The car came ex-works with runflat tyres. As the registration document doesn't mention them specifically, I can change to non-runflat tyres without notifying anybody.
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And when you tell them about aspect ratio and tread compound and single direction rotation and nitrogen gas fill do you think they will still want your business🤪🤪🤪
Haven't we a "conclusion", in that its up to us to decare any mods to our own insurer?
IMO its better in "writing" rather than a phone call, unless we have all the technology to record and store the dialogue exchanged.
Unless we are inclined to ignore the insurer's instructions and if later needed take them on through the system if they don't share our opinions on what is not a modification.
I think the general consensus is that it’s advisable to notify the insurance of any change, however minor, that has taken place after one has taken ownership of the car. What appears to remain unclear is whether factory fitted options, if any, have to be reported, too. A towbar, perhaps, but what about other factory fitted options, in particular those which were intentionally ordered? In a strict sense they aren’t modifications because the vehicle was never built without them, so nothing was ‘modified’, but how do the insurance companies see it?
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