Im struggling to explain the mods to my insurance company to get a proper quote

[fireman]

Ok well im with direct line and to be fair they have been very good and quite competitive up till now. But i have asked them to quote me for modding my VRS but myself and the chap in the sales pool are struggling to as to what mod goes in what box on the computer they all use to quote.
He said i can have upto 6 mods when he started to put them in so first 1 i asked for was rear arb which he couldnt find directly so we put it in as a suspension upgrade ( computer just asked for details so he typed it in.) so that was first. then i asked for a front stutt brace to be included and nothing remotely came up on his list and we just added it as part on the same suspension upgrade which i guess it is anyway.
Then i asked about the larger air intake and again nothing listed. He suggested sports air filter by which he means like a green panel filter many fit i assume and then asked me if it increased power by less than 10% which i guess reading on here it does by 1 or 2 % so we went with that. I know its before the air filter but they really dont know what other box to put it in.

Can you chaps advise what mod goes in what box so i can ring them back

[Emily-Elizabeth]

Sky insurance - 08701121759

They will know exactly what you are on about and will no doubt be cheaper than direct line. Tell them you are a member of a car club and your quote will drop even more.

[ap0gee]

I had fun trying to explain that my upgraded brakes did not, in fact, increase the BRAKE horsepower of my car! Likewise, explaining that the PD160 intake only had a negligible effect on power output lead to a long-winded explanation of the significance of excess air in diesel combustion, and how it was only put in to keep a lid on the amount of soot coming out the back now the Dragon box is in. At least we got the Dragon box sorted in a one-er!

I imagine the poor girl on the other end of the phone spent the entire time hoping she never had to deal with another customer like me again...

[Joff]

Explain to the broker that the modifications aren't necessarily performance enhancing, at least not in the power sense that normally scares them.

Argue that you wouldn't declare super concentrated all-season screenwash with added bug-gut dissolver, you wouldn't declare 55W Super Blue Xenon-look Blue 80% more Blue H7 halogen headlamp bulbs and you wouldn't declare Shell/BP Super Mega Ultimate Diesel over the standard dirty derv from a village independant filling station in the middle of nowhere.

[Kaiserb_uk]

Or if you're coming up to renewal try getting a quote from Brentacre or Adrian Flux - they know exactly what you're on about and won't charge you the earth for mods.

[fireman]

At time of writing adrian flux is winning now and yes the bloke new about all the mods as i told him. Think Direct line have something to learn there

[Kaiserb_uk]

Did you mention this site as AF give a 10% discount to members...

[VRStu]

Be careful with Adrian Flux and who they try to place you with.

Their most common option is Trinity Lane Insurance - Registered in Malta and part owned by a director of Adrian Flux. Not for me i'm afraid.

When pushed they offered a quote with a company called Equity Red Star. Did some googling and found lots of positives and also they were Skoda Insurance last year.

I tracked down Equity Red Star and tried them directly who came out cheaper so I phone AF back and they beat the original price. AF are easier to get mods through with so I decided you use them as the broker for Equity Red Star.

[JMC]

Never call a 'remap' and 'remap' - call it a 'Engine Chip'!! My thread about Admiral can be found somewhere

[VRStu]

One other thing to be wary of with AF is the windscreen excess. My Certificate has a half hearted little box wich says "£70 W/E". They told me on the phone that it was £70 however my schedule and policy booklet states £50 if you use the approved repairer, in this case RAC. My windscreen cracked on the first day of the policy so it had to be replaced and the RAC checked their database and confirmed it was in fact a £50 excess.

AF also have a massive quest for data about you, they got really shirty when I refused them an email address and a mobile number stating that they needed them, so I took the opportunity to remind them that by supplying my mailing address and land line telephone I had more than complied with any legal requirements. The next time I phoned they tried to catch me out asking me to confirm my mobile number and email address for security - no need I said, you don't have them.

When the documents came through there was an additional information proforma where they wanted to know when all my other insurances such as buildings, contents, other cars, bikes, cats, dogs and budgie insurance was due for renewal.

[Hedge]

I moved to Chris Knott and they have been pretty good. They appear to understand mods and are more than happy to help.

My actual policy is with Highway (a Lloyds company I believe) however you only find out how good they are if you need to claim.

[VRStu]

I found your email re Insurance today Ian - do you still want info or have you sorted it?

Give me a bell if you want.

[fireman]

the quote they gave me is with highway. I asked them to send me the details in the post as i dont need to renew till end of month. 1 strange thing they did say was the quote wouldnt include written confirmation of the modifications but he did assure me they would be on the final policy should i take it out with them. Like eveyone says they are only good if you have to use them to claim and it goes smooth but not disclosing my mods to my current insurance and keeping with them is not an option as if i was to be involved in a claim im quite sure they throw the case out because of it

[tfboy]

To this day, I don't know what the situation is with Highway. I was told that they no longer insure modified Fabias due to the high claim rate. Last month, I renewed my insurance through Greenlight and I'm insured with Highway again

P.S Thread moved to insurance section

[Kaiserb_uk]

I went with Brentacre at the start of this month - a modified policy with Highway...

[fireman]

now you come to mention it they said at the end when i asked highway about adding some mods they did tell me they wouldnt insure my car if modified !!!!

[lordrobs]

Originally Posted by tfboy

To this day, I don't know what the situation is with Highway. I was told that they no longer insure modified Fabias due to the high claim rate. Last month, I renewed my insurance through Greenlight and I'm insured with Highway again

P.S Thread moved to insurance section

According to 'er in doors thats because you have an existing policy with them, changes to who they offer business to tend to only effect new customers not existing ones.

Its tricky because people like SWMBO (who is a junior underwriter) get a call saying Mr. X wants to add a cold air induction kit. How much will that add? She doesn't have a clue what one of those is! Also at her company she doesn't have direct contact with the customer, everything is one via agents and more often than not they know as little as she does

[ScoobyChris]

Originally Posted by VRStu

AF also have a massive quest for data about you, they got really shirty when I refused them an email address and a mobile number stating that they needed them

The other irritating thing about them is that they require copies of driver's licences for all people on the policy, which is a pain, especially if you add someone who doesn't live locally. If they don't receive it within 10 days, they then threaten to cancel your entire policy and no allowance was made for postal strikes or flooding which was apparently hindering their ability to process post. They also charge £25 for any change to the policy.

I doubt I'll be renewing with them next year.........

Chris

[fireman]

Sorted with adrian flux. Knew his stuff and very competitive. Guess they know what the competion is charging for modified cars and as they want the business they were very competitve for a broker.

[mannyo]

AF normally charge the £25, but the last time I made some changes I managed to get them to waive the charge.

When my policy was due for renewal with them, their quote was very uncompetive when compared to other quotes I had, so I phoned them and as per the agreement in the renewal paperwork they not only matched the very cheap price, but beat it.

For the time being they get to keep my business, I am now in my third year with them.