Bespoke Insurers for Modified S3 - Help!

[Jimgrim77]

Hi All,

I've just been dis-instructed by Zurich, who have decided that my new S3 8L modifications represent one step too far for them, and now find myself uninsured from 12:00am tonight.

My broker is trying to find a bespoke insurer for modified cars but I'm wondering whether anyone on here could offer any help or advise a provider that might consider insuring me.

Much appreciated!

James

[aragorn]

What were the mods that they didnt like?

Have you tried the usual suspects? Adrian Flux and Sky? Admiral?

[slowcoach3]

I used sky and they were spot on, knew what they are talking about with mods and were well priced.....

[<tuffty/>]

Adrian Flux for me... and I have a few more mods than most

<tuffty/>

[Jimgrim77]

What were the mods that they didnt like?

Have you tried the usual suspects? Adrian Flux and Sky? Admiral?

I was told that it was the volume of them and they suspected the likely bhp increase as a result.

I hadn't notified them of the remapping and this is prior to the mani/hybrid/brembo's/new custom tip etc...going on this week.

I just think that they felt that it was going too far above and beyond the standard parts and the cost for replacement in possible accident , despite my age (35 years) and maximum no claims.

I haven't tried any of the above but I will investigate now and feedback. Have to be honest and say that I wasnt aware of the usual suspects as I didn't every expect this to happen...still can't believe it actually. Left me 12 hours to get insured otherwise i'll be in the cooper S tomorrow!!

Very much appreciated. Thanks again!

[aragorn]

Insurers almost never pay out for modified parts anyway, even if fully declared. Most will only pay for standard replacements.

A lot of companies just dont like modified cars, and while a lot of people might fit an exhaust, or change the wheels, and thus most are generally fine with that level of mods once you start getting into intercoolers and lots of other "involved" mods they just run away.

The other thing to remember is dont confuse them. Dont say "i have a 3" hi flow TIP with billet adaptor and jetex cone filter" instead say "I've fitted an induction kit". The first one makes them go "AAAH", second they've heard a million times and just tick the box.

[Jimgrim77]

Insurers almost never pay out for modified parts anyway, even if fully declared. Most will only pay for standard replacements.

A lot of companies just dont like modified cars, and while a lot of people might fit an exhaust, or change the wheels, and thus most are generally fine with that level of mods once you start getting into intercoolers and lots of other "involved" mods they just run away.

The other thing to remember is dont confuse them. Dont say "i have a 3" hi flow TIP with billet adaptor and jetex cone filter" instead say "I've fitted an induction kit". The first one makes them go "AAAH", second they've heard a million times and just tick the box.

Thanks.

Would you declare approx bhp figure as a result of the K04 hybrid?

[BigBird]

Greenlight have been very competitive for me & are less choosy than some "mod friendly" insurers, by insuring more areas of the UK etc

[<tuffty/>]

Mine wanted to know if I had modified the brakes and suspension, remapped the engine and what power was I getting... I then needed to fill out and sheet detailing the mods I had done and where the work had been done... I listed core stuff like intercooler, larger turbo, injectors etc... didn't go into loads of detail... for the most part they seem to want to make sure you haven't got 800hp but left the original 155/80/13's on with drum brakes...

<tuffty/>

[StaceyS3]

I just renewed my insurance last week and whilst im only 24 with 3 convictions 1 claim and 4 years ncb the cheapest i got on a comparison website was £1800 for a standard car but spent lots of time ringing around and am now insured with adrian flux for £1100 with all mods declared and will be replaced on a like for like basis, but greenlight came in at £1300 and sky is definatey worth trying as they came in at £1090 but went with adrian flux as they suited me better for future upgrades as didn't want to know such specific specs

All of these are fully comp with the other half on there who is 23 with clean licence etc but only 3 years driving experiance

Aragon is definately right on the specific details ie induction kit / badger 5 tip, i found it best to just say bigger turbo, bigger brakes front and rear, high flow manifold and exhaust..... rather than in depth details as they tend to get a bit more caggey and worried, your not lieing or giving incorrect details just makes it easier and more understandable what you have got, if they want to know more specific detail on certain things they will ask

[Jimgrim77]

I just renewed my insurance last week and whilst im only 24 with 3 convictions 1 claim and 4 years ncb the cheapest i got on a comparison website was £1800 for a standard car but spent lots of time ringing around and am now insured with adrian flux for £1100 with all mods declared and will be replaced on a like for like basis, but greenlight came in at £1300 and sky is definatey worth trying as they came in at £1090 but went with adrian flux as they suited me better for future upgrades as didn't want to know such specific specs

All of these are fully comp with the other half on there who is 23 with clean licence etc but only 3 years driving experiance

Aragon is definately right on the specific details ie induction kit / badger 5 tip, i found it best to just say bigger turbo, bigger brakes front and rear, high flow manifold and exhaust..... rather than in depth details as they tend to get a bit more caggey and worried, your not lieing or giving incorrect details just makes it easier and more understandable what you have got, if they want to know more specific detail on certain things they will ask

Perfect answer. Thanks

[Alex C]

The other thing to remember is dont confuse them. Dont say "i have a 3" hi flow TIP with billet adaptor and jetex cone filter" instead say "I've fitted an induction kit". The first one makes them go "AAAH", second they've heard a million times and just tick the box.

...so i guess you shouldn't start talking about ignition advance then lol

[jcs356]

If you have a play on the Admiral/Elephant/Bell websites (all same company) in the mods section each one is just a tick-box, so you can add stuff easily yourself. Things like power are something like +10%; +11 - 25%; +26% plus IIRC.

Their normal policy will just replace any mods with standard parts, but you can pay extra to have the mods insured as well.

I've been with Elephant/Admiral for many years now, just swap between them each year to get the new customer discount.

[Jimgrim77]

Just been told that I have been refused on some others due to the frequency and volume of mods in a short period of time...they must be using some kind of shared database. What a joke!!

Must think i'm some boy racer...yet 35, no points, married, maximum no claims and have a history of driving more powerful cars. In communication with Adrian Flux and Sky now...hopefully have more luck with them.

[StaceyS3]

Strange as all my mods appeared in one hit on a car i had owned for 3 years

[sideways steve]

Personally taking your signature as an example I would only declare the following and I would state them exactly as below:

Intercooler
Stainless Exhaust System
Lowered Suspension
Induction Kit

And that small list of 4 items I got from :

Ming Blue S3, Custom Stage 2 Remap, Forge FMIC, 3" Downpipe, 200 Cell Sport CAT, Full Stainless exhaust, Full Red silicone hoses, Forge 007p, KW Suspension Kit, Green filter, Custom tip, 11mm & 16mm Forge spacers, H&R Anti-roll bars, RS6 style 18" alloys, Michelin Pilot Sport 3's, Red Dog Bone Mount, Neuspeed quick shift, Goodridge brake hoses, Aero wipers, LCR splitter, Forge Tie-bars, LED internal/external bulbs, Armrest with cupholders & TT pedals.


Insurance company is not interested in stuff like the dump valve, wheel spacers, quick shift kit, dogbone mount etc etc

All they really care about is performance enhancing stuff and mainly the stuff thats actually visible to an inspector. Stuff like the remap should be declared legally, however you could argue that its not really able to be proven to have had a remap as n insurance assesor is not going to have the skill or knowledge to pull the map off the ecu and compare it with a stock one. So its upto you really.

Personally in the past I have delcared all the big stuff. On my 640bhp skyline they were advised of the aftermarket ecu, exhaust, wheels, suspension, bigger turbo, intercooler, bodykit and the power increase as a % and with that they were completely happy. I didnt go into detail about twin z32 MAF's, rods, pistons, etc as quite frankly it would mean nothing to most of them !

On my MX5 when i turbocharged it I simpy declared a turbo kit and a 30% power increase. That covered me for the turbo, the ecu, the induction kit etc etc and when the car was involved in a smash they inspected it and paid out without any hassle.

[StaceyS3]

Just out of curiousity did they pay out book value or a value relative to the car with mods?

[danger S3]

i just phoned up Admiral to tell them about my forge TIP and they increased the policy by £23 because apparently replacing an engine hose with a silicone one leads to larger engine mods in the future

[16Klappe]

Brentacre are THE BEST for modified cars, at the age of 17 they insured me fully comprehensive on a Mk2 GTI with big brakes, coilovers, full custom exhaust and downpipe, induction kit, full ICE, wheels, body mods and just generally everything. The price was VERY low, about the same as I pay for my 1.8t now. I also had unlimited any vehicle cover too which was nice, I got pulled a couple of times on this and it stood up and was no clause.

Brentacre quoted me at £1077 fully comp for my full stage two car with all modifications declared, they even knew my car and the specification from a build thread on E38 and gave me an additional discount. I am 20 with three years NCB, pass plus, IAM member and drive a company car.

Mainstream like AF or Admiral suck for mods in comparison.

[Jimgrim77]

Quick Update...I have just spoken with Luke from Sky and i'm sorted.

I had it agreed there and then, he mentioned ASN and quoted £692 all in with all of my current mods plus the ones going in this week inc brembo, xs power mani, stage 3 turndynamics K04 hybrid and custom tip.

It's like for like replacement in case of an accident and far better than my previous insurer Zurich. I specified each and every element down to the bushes and it's only about £100 more than I was paying prior to disinstruction by Zurich.

I am very impressed, thanks for the referral!! They don't deal with brokers, so you need to deal direct. Luke even took time to pass comment of his fondness of certain mods that I had...I couldn't believe my ears and felt like i was on a date....certainly not arranging insurance!!

Anyway..his details..should anyone be interested:-
LukeTillbrook
SkyInsurance
SkyHouse
28Station Close
PottersBar
Herts
EN61TL

Telephone:03303 331250
Fax:01707 622738
Mailto:luketillbrook@skyinsurance.co.uk
Websites:
www.skyinsurance.co.uk
www.insuredaily.co.uk


James

[sideways steve]

Just out of curiousity did they pay out book value or a value relative to the car with mods?

Put it this way, I paid 2.5k for the car, circa 1k for the turbo kit due to getting it all at cost price and ended up getting 4.7k from the insurance payout, so I would say they paid out for the mods although in fairness at the time there were only a handfull of turbocharged mx5's in the UK so there was no proper "market value" for such a car unlike now where almost every mx5 you see for sale is turbo'd or supercharged lol !

[Andrew@A.L.D]

HIC with me

Told them the basic mods and it came to £800 rather than the £1200 Adrian Flux wanted

[MUSH]

HIC for me too. Came to £770 with every mod declared on the sheet they sent me to fill in. I was happy with this as id had some shockers!!