lowering suspension and insurance help please

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S3XY
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Im guessing that my insurance company is going to want to know that im lowering my car with -30mm apex springs? What has the impact been on cost of your insurance?
 
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anyone else? im insured with admiral, dont think they r gonna like the fact that i wanna lower it but who knows :shrug:
 
It's generally a 10% addition to premium per mod across most insurers though there are obviously difference dependant on which company you're with, if they don't affect performance. Unless you have a modified car policy then i think it be less.....
 
It's generally a 10% addition to premium per mod across most insurers though there are obviously difference dependant on which company you're with, if they don't affect performance. Unless you have a modified car policy then i think it be less.....

thanks very much for the info :icon_thumright:
 
I know it's not what you're talking about but tinted windows can actually reduce your insurance with some companies if not all.
 
How bizarre, I was having this conversation with my brother last night. My brother asked the same question of Direct Line Insurance, they were unsure at the time how it might affect the premium, i think suspension maybe a hazy subject with them.

However my brother then asked how is the premium affected by putting nice grippy tyres on the car - they said it doesnt

So my brother said, well nice grippy tyres give you increased grip and means you can corner a bit harder, they still said its not affected.

My bro then said, well suspension is the same, it makes the handling of a car better - at which point Direct Line said fine and there was no increase in premium

So thats my brothers experience, I asked him because i am also planning on uprating it and am unsure how the premium will be affected
 
The cheapest quote i can find for my A3 tqs remapped (with green cotton filter and forge DV) and lowered (on billy b8's and -25mm eibachs) is from Admiral, perhaps thats because im considering changing my policy to Admiral, but they seem very competitive to me.
 
This will be an interesting one for me as well, as we insure five cars with them (Admiral) and I am thinking about ARBs, Billies and a remap.
 
Just phoned Admiral and had to pay an extra £148 to declare my springs (25mm drop) and ARBs. Apparently it's the ARBs that killed me as statistically people with these are more likely to have an accident. Go figure.

As for my Billy's, they didn't have uprated dampers on their system so didn't need to pay a premium on them.

Just note that Admiral don't pay out for modifications that aren't factory fitted!
 
Also, make sure that you declare your remap as under a 5% increase in performance, otherwise they won't insure you!
 
Just phoned Admiral and had to pay an extra £148 to declare my springs (25mm drop) and ARBs. Apparently it's the ARBs that killed me as statistically people with these are more likely to have an accident. Go figure.

As for my Billy's, they didn't have uprated dampers on their system so didn't need to pay a premium on them.

Just note that Admiral don't pay out for modifications that aren't factory fitted!

Run that last part by me again? Surely they will pay out, if mods are declared, otherwise what are you paying an extra 148£ for?

Also, make sure that you declare your remap as under a 5% increase in performance, otherwise they won't insure you!

But it's not. I don't intend to lie to my insurance company . . . ?
 
Some insurance companies quote on power increases by percentage and it's normally in bandings...for example 1-14% increase would cost less than 15-29% etc etc. That's what I've found in the past.
 
Haven't any of you tried Adrian Flux, they will replace like for like on any mods and are pretty competitive when it comes to renewal time.
 
Not had an issue with like for like with Zurich Premier, but then again, this car wasn't meant to be being modded, hence going with the best quote from Admiral!
 
My Ibiza Cupra was insured with Admiral and they gave me cover for my modifications as I had paid the extra premium for them. Even got a nice booklet explaining all the cover.
I think most companies will now a days - I even got my mods covered by Aviva (prev Norwich Union) and they never used to even consider it.
FYI - Admiral will cover remaps now, they never used too. (if u tell them :yes: )
 
Run that last part by me again? Surely they will pay out, if mods are declared, otherwise what are you paying an extra 148£ for?

You'll be paying the inflated premium due to the increased risk of you writting your car off now that you have made it a bit more of a boy racer

Whether your more likely to write the car off now that it has better handling is debateable.

Remember Insurance companines aren't honest people
 
How old/NCB you have? wondering as i think age will be a big factor in whether u can mod!
 
The whole insurance and mod thing is a load of tosh to be fair. Its just of course a reason to push up premiums as we know. There are sooo many exceptions it is often not even worth telling them about most mods, now im not suggesting you do that but the net effect is often nothing anyway. I had an insurance co once tell me that changing the tyres was a mod and suggested it may affect the premium as the tyres were not as OEM specifies. ...Now think about this a minute..how many vehicles, of all sorts, over say 5 years old are running the same brand and exact spec tyres they were the day they left the dealers???? very few Id say, and did everyone of the policies get adjusted??? not a chance. So by the inurance companies definition, the majority of used cars, bikes and trucks out there are uninsured. Tosh

I had a seat once that had a tuning box fitted, i didnt even know as it wasnt declared to me when I bought it...drove it 3 years, had a scrape, not issues.

Of course a serious engine mod that dramatically changes the performance, yes, different pot of haddock but ARB's? engine bushes? cmon man???? How many people innocently pop down the scrappy, pull a bit off a car and bolt it to theirs not even knowing if its OEM or upgraded parts? every week that probably happens. Minefield guys im telling you.
 
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Basically if you don't declare certain mods, write the car off and the claims investigator spots them, they legally have every right not to pay out a penny. Then you're screwed completely for the sake of a couple of hundred quid. As my ARBs and springs are bright red, they'd have to be complete muppets not to spot them. Unfortuntely I didn't realise this when I took out the original insurance but will change to someone like Adrian Flux when I'm up for renewal.

Insurance companies are just a bunch of cu*ts! Simple as that!
 
I've been putting a bit of thought into upgrading to an s3 and thought i'd have a look at the insurance quotes. And again Admiral seem to come up trumps, with the volunteer excess set to a reasonable level it was about £800 which is a fair amount of money but I am 21, the rest, however, were fairly insane, most being around £2000! :scared2:
 
You'll be paying the inflated premium due to the increased risk of you writting your car off now that you have made it a bit more of a boy racer

Whether your more likely to write the car off now that it has better handling is debateable.

Remember Insurance companines aren't honest people

No, I understand that. The guy wrote that Admiral won't pay out for modifications, but earlier wrote he had declared mods, costing him an extra £148. Maybe it was just the way I read it.

The whole insurance and mod thing is a load of tosh to be fair. Its just of course a reason to push up premiums as we know. There are sooo many exceptions it is often not even worth telling them about most mods, now im not suggesting you do that but the net effect is often nothing anyway. I had an insurance co once tell me that changing the tyres was a mod and suggested it may affect the premium as the tyres were not as OEM specifies. ...Now think about this a minute..how many vehicles, of all sorts, over say 5 years old are running the same brand and exact spec tyres they were the day they left the dealers???? very few Id say, and did everyone of the policies get adjusted??? not a chance. So by the inurance companies definition, the majority of used cars, bikes and trucks out there are uninsured. Tosh

I had a seat once that had a tuning box fitted, i didnt even know as it wasnt declared to me when I bought it...drove it 3 years, had a scrape, not issues.

Of course a serious engine mod that dramatically changes the performance, yes, different pot of haddock but ARB's? engine bushes? cmon man???? How many people innocently pop down the scrappy, pull a bit off a car and bolt it to theirs not even knowing if its OEM or upgraded parts? every week that probably happens. Minefield guys im telling you.

It really isn't at all. It is, in fact, perfectly simple. If you declare your mods to your insurer and they agree to cover you for a higher price, you're covered. Simple. If they don't, don't do the mods.

If I want bacon in my sarnie, I need to pay more than just the price of bread and butter!! You also get what you pay for with insurance companies. People are obsessed with finding the best deal, and while this is good at saving you money, it will bite you in the **** if you don't have full cover.

My old Clio was highly modified (for looks, not go; I was 17, bare with me!). I had two accidents in the six years, both non-fault. All parts were replaced like for like. I had a hire car, legal protection and kept the hire car when the paint came back in average condition until it was sorted. I had no contact with any recovery, legal or car hire people. It was sorted. Now, yes, I paid £50-£100 more per year for six years, but the current 6 month headache/worry that my boss is going through after a non-fault accident and claiming off a low budget insurer was avoided.

Basically if you don't declare certain mods, write the car off and the claims investigator spots them, they legally have every right not to pay out a penny. Then you're screwed completely for the sake of a couple of hundred quid. As my ARBs and springs are bright red, they'd have to be complete muppets not to spot them. Unfortuntely I didn't realise this when I took out the original insurance but will change to someone like Adrian Flux when I'm up for renewal.

Insurance companies are just a bunch of cu*ts! Simple as that!

And again. They're not. If someone came to you and said they had crashed their car, could they have £1000 more than the car is worth due to the mods (that affect the handling and/or power of the car) they had not declared, would you pay them?! If you had more understeer, would you have missed the other car and hit a nice soft hay bale (bale? bail?!) instead? Who knows!

Yes, they want as much money off you as possible. I sell advertising; I know I want as much money off Vodafone as possible! Standard business practice!



All the above, however written, is my own opinion. Please don't take it as having a go :)