Im insuring the MK2 8v in September and was wanting to know if I could get away with not telling the insurance company about some modifications I want to make. I know all the pitfalls whereby an Insurance company will go through a list of over 300 reasons not to pay out on a policy before you get the cash. But would an accessor really be able to notice that Ive fitted high lift cams and had the head gas flowed? Im only intending to have the car on the road for a year or so untill i move to America, and with the cost of insurance being so high in NI Im thinking I could get away with doing internal modifications that you will never see. Ive had a few quotes from different companys and the best so far is 1300 tpft which rises to over 3000 with only the cams declared!!! Opinions please.......
Don't do it. It's not worth it. Just leave the car standard if you can't afford to insure it modified.
Get another quote! I listed all mods and it came to 470. The cams cost 25 to add, with the power increase estimated at 25bhp. If you don`t declare they won`t pay out!
I agree declare all, if you go to specalist, they nomally quote you happish! the fact your in NI doesn't help much do search for insurance threads on here
If it ain't standard - and that includes any ICE you should declare it. A lot of stuff won't really make a big difference - unless you make a claim. Insurance companies work on the "nickability" of cars which are non-standard as well as the cost of replacing/repairing them or bits of them.
I have worked for an Insurance Company for past 4 years, also a trained insurance underwriter. In my personal opinion, I would declare F*** all. For the value of a Mk2 Golf, they arent gonna check anything, it just too much hassle. The cant tell what cams you have, if your head is gas flowed or not from looking at it and they certainly arent gonna strip it to bits. I recently made a claim through my Insurance for theft, my car had alloys, fancy stereo system and stainless steel exhaust and I forgot to tell them about my SP50. This all made no differance to my payout in any way. This is only my personal opinion and I would never recommend this to anyone but thats what the forum is about, opinions.
Thats only my opinion, I take the chance but would never recommend that others do. Every insurer looks at things a differant way.
What would happen is there's a potentially high liability, for example if a 3rd party was badly injured, surely then there's a chance the insurance company would make a far closer inspection of the vehicle??
do it, just in case it gets nicked, you need to get back as much as you can, other wise you 'll get tuppence and having shedded out a lot of cash on parts you'd be miffed! as will the insurance company when you try and tell them your car was worth so much in its "standard" condition.... i just find it gay when they ask you about the alloys wheels and if the car is standard, yes my car is standard and it came with the wheels from the factory.
Thats my opinion. An insurance company will always pay out a TP if you were at fault regardless what mods you car has. Insurance cost far too much for far too little in return so if I bend the rules to my advantage, so be it!
Higher insurance is part of the cost of modifications. If you can't pay, you can't play. This 'can I get away with it' stuff is what keeps bumping up the price of insurance for the rest of us. Cheers, Drew.
eh?? that can't be right. I know people who have been crashed into by other people who have had void insurance & they didn't recieve a penny! You must've worked for a very relaxed insurance company, that's all I can say.
Managed to get my renewal down to 750 by playing insurance companies off each other! Started at 925 no too bad for a 21 yr old student. I'm still phoning now see if i can get it cheaper! All mods declared as well its not worth taking the chance!
MrBen & GolfBryan, what I would like to know is, what implications does not declaring mods/mileage etc have exactly? We know: 1: They will not oay you out for what you have not declared. 2: They may not pay you anything if they discover you have undeclared mods. i.e your insurance is void. Is no 2 accurate? What exactly does it mean for the car/person you crash into? Will your insurers pay them regardless whether your mods are declared or not?
hayesey, If you insurance is void at time of incident, obviously nothing will be paid out. If you know the name of the driver that crashed into you and you proceed with charges against him, you can claim all costs back through the MIB(Motor Insurance Bureau)and this will show as a non-fault claim on your policy with no effect on your ncd but insurance companies may put a loading on your policy due to this. If you insurance is valid at time of incident whether you have declared convictions, mods or you are even drunk, the insurance company will pay out the TP you crashed into as they have to do this under GISC(General Insurance Standards Council) regulations. They dont have to pay for your car depending on incident. If your drunk, they arent going to pay for your car. If its points or mods or your over your mileage allowance, they will increase your excess or stick a loading on your policy etc but they almost always pay out. My point is for the hassle of 1000 for a Mk2 golf, they arent going to go into everything as this is relatively small claim for the insurer to pay out, and they just want it out the way. The TP will always be paid if the insurance is valid. I have worked for a broker before I work where I do now and this was the same for both. I insure with totally different company than the one I work for and this was the case for them also which was proven recently when my car was stolen. Drew, the reason that insurance is so high is not due to this (obviously it doesnt help) but the 2 main reasons are: 1. Un-insured drivers! 2. Personal injury claims. The first one is self explanatory but the second is just madness. I recently came across a case of a woman in a supermarket car park got tapped with another car(5mph max) and got 2000 for injuries. Surely when she breaks hard coming upto a junction must have put more strain on her neck than a 5mph bump in a car. I know you aren't all going to agree but this is my opinion based on fact which has been proven over and over again. Bryan
so, If i understand this correctly: If someone has a car, a beat up old gti that he just wants to use, but it isn't important to him, he can get 3 party (or 3pft) insurance to get it on the road legally (remmeber, he doesn't care about his car or getting a payout for it as it is worth hardly anything) If he doesn't decalre mods or mileage his insurance is still valid if he hits someone else. But if he claims on HIS car (which he won't anyway) he will be slapped with a high excess, and a loaded policy. sounds to me that someone who just wants to be road legal can get 3party insurance on the cheap and not worry about declaring stuff cos the car isn't worth that much anyway... and insurance will still be vaild when paying out to the other party. Correct?
No. Under the Road Traffic Act, if the policy is live at the time of the incident, the insurers will pay out to the third party. But if the policy is then declared void (due to undeclared mods, convictions etc etc), then the Insurer can reclaim their costs from the Policyholder. So, if they have paid out for a 20,000 car and 50,000 personal injuries, they'll then come after you with a 70,000 bill. NOT a good idea!
