What a difference a set of tyres can make to a car!

[Welly]

Is no-one taking any notice about my insurance comment? technically the car has been modified from original spec so by not declaring this the insurance would be void.

[lozz]

edit' just ring insurer.to be on safe side.

[Welly]

Most people fit winter tyres this time of year? iwonder how many has rang there insurer and told them ibet theres not Many

You are obliged to tell them, they put a 'note' on your file, I tell mine when I put them on and take them off again.

I also told my insurer I had fitted a genuine Volvo strut brace and an uprated rear anti-roll bar (this all makes the car more stable and 'safer') they said "thank you for telling us, now we've increased your excess to £500.00"

Bailes should not ignore this change, being his Mum's car I'd hate for there to be a problem and it sounds like he made this change 'off his own back' as it were.

I hate saying all this and know it sounds petty and stupid but it WILL be an issue IF the insurers want (or need) to get shirty about it later on. First rule of insurance payouts~ "how can we NOT pay for this".....

I negotiate the fleet insurance at work every year (just done it last week) so feel I've had my fair share of dealings with these policies. We run a few Merc Vito's and the LWB one had an extra (proper merc) seat fitted in the rear because it's too cramped having 3 blokes on the front bench......insurer DOUBLED the premium on that one

[lozz]

yeah your spot on mate.
My previous post was abit longwind-ed so ibinned it..

Ialway's keep to same size tyre on my cars for this reason its also one of the reason's idont fit winter tyres
Standard means standard don't it. But..but what about Makes of tyres?? hmm we couid have a big debate here.

well anyways' we don't want bailes thread turning all judge judy..so im oski's

[Bailes1992]

Most people fit winter tyres this time of year? iwonder how many has rang there insurer and told them ibet theres not Many

You are obliged to tell them, they put a 'note' on your file, I tell mine when I put them on and take them off again.

I also told my insurer I had fitted a genuine Volvo strut brace and an uprated rear anti-roll bar (this all makes the car more stable and 'safer') they said "thank you for telling us, now we've increased your excess to £500.00"

Bailes should not ignore this change, being his Mum's car I'd hate for there to be a problem and it sounds like he made this change 'off his own back' as it were.

I hate saying all this and know it sounds petty and stupid but it WILL be an issue IF the insurers want (or need) to get shirty about it later on. First rule of insurance payouts~ "how can we NOT pay for this".....

I negotiate the fleet insurance at work every year (just done it last week) so feel I've had my fair share of dealings with these policies. We run a few Merc Vito's and the LWB one had an extra (proper merc) seat fitted in the rear because it's too cramped having 3 blokes on the front bench......insurer DOUBLED the premium on that one

Direct line put a note on the policy but as the car was still on standard wheels and I'd used words like safer and advised by Kwikfit that it was a recommended sized they didn't bat an eyelid.

[Welly]

Direct line put a note on the policy but as the car was still on standard wheels and I'd used words like safer and advised by Kwikfit that it was a recommended sized they didn't bat an eyelid.

Hmmm, well if they're ok with it I guess that's the end of it

[lozz]

judge judy 123.jpg

[Doggy]

....advised by Kwikfit....

Nothing to worry about there then.

I have concerns about this
- if it's not in writing, it's not worth the paper it's not written on
- if it is in writing, then clearly someone else must have written it.

[steve_earwig]

There you go Welly, all those concerns and all you needed was a word by Kwikfit

Although the cynic in me wonders whether the note paper was the sort that comes on a roll and is perforated top and bottom. Oh, and whether the acceptance from the insurers was accompanied by an evil chuckle from their end

[davew]

totally agree with welly, you must inform your insurance there was a case not so long ago where the insurance company was refusing to pay as the owner had put some stickers on the body and not told them.
i know loads of people with remapped car who have not declared it, you might get away with it as long as you are not involved in an accident ,but the first thing insurers do now if there is a big claim is to try and find away of not paying out.
most of the time for small things like tires and such they are fine as long as you tell them

[Welly]

All I know is that they made a a right song and dance about it when I asked, I'm insured via Sainsbiz and the policy is underwritten by UK Insurance Services Ltd (the very same as Direct Line) and they're not in the habit of having one rule for one and one for another....

I'm guessing Bailes spoke to DL (maybe on Saturday) but was poorly advised, and by poorly advised I mean "we have no record of your call and you are still in breach of blah blah, oh and we've cancelled your policy".

When I declared my 'mods' I received a new set of policy documents and a revised cover schedule listing the items and the level of risk to them (in pounds).

[Welly]

most of the time for small things like tires and such they are fine as long as you tell them

As long as they are a size approved by the Fiat Factory. All cars are specified as having an approved 'range' of tyres by the manufacturer; my car comes with a choice of 16, 17 and 18" wheels with a certain size of tyre each time. Changing the aspect ratio, as petty as it seems, will not meet the approvals and no-one will cover you; you may as well change everything and stick some 20" wheels on as a 'modification' but tell them - and pay the extra lolly.

I've just dug out the e-mail I received from Volvo when I asked if I could change the AR of the tyres (the insurer said if I could get them to 'ok' it then they'd cover me:

File Ref: 516226

Dear Mr.........(me)

Thank you for your email.

I can confirm we can only recommend tyres originally tested and approved by factory, which are 205/50R17 W for your car.


So I was knackered, I could've changed the alloys to 16's or 18's (at the correct tyre size) or bollox to me.

[KozmoNaut]

totally agree with welly, you must inform your insurance there was a case not so long ago where the insurance company was refusing to pay as the owner had put some stickers on the body and not told them.

And this didn't go to court?

I would be absolutely furious if my insurance even dared to suggest a reduction in coverage because of the small sticker I have in the corner of my rear window, never mind a new set of alloys.

You insurance companies must truly have you firmly by the crown jewels. No insurance company or MOT equivalent or anyone else around here even cares about aftermarket wheels, as long as they're TÜV or similarly approved, the final rolling radius including tyres doesn't deviate more than 5% and the wheels or tyres don't rub or are similarly obviously unsafe (non-approved spacers, for instance). If I called up my insurance company to tell them I've put a new set of wheels on my car (or a sticker!), they would probably be rather nonplussed at why I was telling them this. I'm sure they would gladly increase my rates if I asked them to, but that would be rather silly of me. My insurance covers up to ~£1500 of aftermarket additions to the car, which is a standard amount and covers 99% of all the alloy wheels on the road.

You're being robbed, there's no other word for it.

[davew]

i don't know about the outcome ,i don't think it was a small sticker in the window if i remember it was some kind of flowery stickers on the rear quarters of the car, still seems very petty.

[Welly]

You're being robbed, there's no other word for it.

Actually, in the UK, the Insurance Companies are being robbed! by unscrupulous, fraudulent idiots who think it's ok to fake road accidents and then submit bogus injury claims for Whiplash and other things. As a result we all get clobbered and the insurers get tight.

Here's the latest alert I had on our Business Policy:

It has been recently reported that there is a new staged scam on the roads known as ‘flash for cash’. This involves a driver on a main road flashing their lights inviting a driver waiting on a side road to pull out, at which point they speed up, causing the victim to drive into the side of the car. They then claim that the victim pulled out without checking first.

This is similar to the ‘crash for cash’ scam where criminal gangs fake or deliberately cause accidents to make fraudulent insurance claims, usually claiming for injuries, vehicle damage, replacement vehicle hire, loss of earnings and other costs. The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) estimates that the cost of this scam for all drivers will add around £50 to the average premium per year.