850 Insurance

Brian,

I thought that the re-mapping of the ECU by Volvotuning was completely invisible because it was just a software thing. If that really is the case then you'd probably get away without telling your insurers. Maybe the ECU can be removed and analysed in some way.

Your point about disclosure is a good one though. If an insurer discovers you have failed to disclose any material facts that would have been considered to rate the risk had they been disclosed then they may very well cancel cover ab initio. However, they can not prejudice a third party making a claim against you because of your failure to disclose material facts. Therefore, theoretically, your insurer would still pay for third party liability. In the event that your insurer did not meet it's third party obligations then the third party would be directed to the MiB which every insurer [providing cover which falls under the Road Traffic Act] must contribute to.

Therefore, in theory, the worst you are likely to suffer in the event of non disclosure is a damaged vehicle with no payout. More often than not though the insurer will just reduce your portion of the claim proportionately in relation to what premium was actually paid and what premium should have been paid.

People give insurers a hard time for, refusing claims, making adjustments and refusing cover to certain people or groups. Nothing is ever really said about the reasons for why claims were refused etc. AT the end of the day, they work on a system of utmost good faith. They are trusting you to tell the truth and investigate random claims in order to enforce such faith. It s also worth remembering that they are businesses and not charities (although looking at some of your quotes Brian they may as well be charities!)

Andy

You're not far wrong in everything you say Mike although the bit about writing good rates for the first year is not entirely true. Some insurers may offer a discount for the first year (usually a cash discount rather than a percentage) but this is usually no more than £40 or £50.

If insurers cut their throats for the first year of a "good risk" and then hike the rates for subsequent years it would not make good business sense. Insurers are always reviewing their rates and a more likely scenario is that your insurer has increased their rates throughout the year and another insurer has reduced theirs therefore creating a bigger gap. They are untimately trying to find the perfect rate for their target audience.

[Col]

Seems everyone gets different deals from different insurers. I'm currently hunting around for the best deal (V70 10V, 38, full NC & no convictions etc, Aberdeen) and e-sure are the best at £205.00 - my renewal. Next best was Direct Line at £259.00, NU Direct are £337.00. Price includes business use & legal protection but not protected NC.

This is the first year (in over 10) that I am not changing insurer, but I always search cos you never know what you may find.

Cheers
Col

[Andy]

Just spent the day trying to get insurance on my heavily modded 855R.

With full disclosure of all mods, chip, turbo, exhaust, new alloys, Racelogic TC etc etc quote came in at £810. Cheaper than the insurance last year with less disclosure ;)

Thats with 9 years NCB, protected no claims, and business use.

Just thought I'd share that with you all as I thought a modified car policy would be alot higher than that.

Policy through Adrian Flux:

https://www.adrianflux.co.uk/highper...e/frameset.htm

AND I get a special deal on Track Day insurance.

Well chuffed.

[PTV70R]

Of course another thing to remember is that all of us who do pay insurance are covering those who dont bother at all.

You may also be aware that some companies are now using lie detectors on their phone systems to ensure peoples claims are genuine - I heard of one company (cant remember which) who recently installed this and around 40% of the cars that had been stolen just prior to this miraculously reappeared and the clients dropping their claims !! Maybe in time we will see a drop in premiums as the companies pay out less to bogus claims!