Need to declare factory fitted options on a new car to insurance companies?

[johnny6]

I think Directline also ask you to declare optional extras now.

Admiral was a funny one if I remember rightly. They wouldn't provide an online quote for my wife's Mini as it had 'too many' optional extras. So she called them and their advice (on multiple occasions speaking to different people) was to pick the 4-5 most expensive options and not declare the rest.

 

[Finglonga]

You need to remember Insurance companies want to squeeze every last penny they can out of you

Actually optional extras do come into it. You have insured the car as a whole. Everything must be covered as long as you haven't misrepresented.

If your car has a £2k sat nav system then your payout needs to ensure you can get something like for like (obviously with the relevant depreciation).

It can be unreasonable to expect the exact same specs but it cannot leave you out of pocket as far as payout/compensation is concerned.

There is the rub though, insurance companies are clawing every penny of you with their threats of not being covered yet never offer the true value of your pride and joy no matter what you declare. They will sell you things like no claims protection and then ask if you have had any claims in the last 5 years.....Why? Money making is their only goal nothing else.

 

[Nasher]

I think Directline also ask you to declare optional extras now.

Admiral was a funny one if I remember rightly. They wouldn't provide an online quote for my wife's Mini as it had 'too many' optional extras. So she called them and their advice (on multiple occasions speaking to different people) was to pick the 4-5 most expensive options and not declare the rest.

I still wouldn't have declared any tbh. It's very unlikely to ever come up, even if it's a total write off. Are they really going to start ripping interior panels off to check if you have slightly upgraded speakers etc? No chance. Obviously if it's a barry mobile with nothing declared they will refuse to pay out.

 

[johnny6]

I still wouldn't have declared any tbh. It's very unlikely to ever come up, even if it's a total write off. Are they really going to start ripping interior panels off to check if you have slightly upgraded speakers etc? No chance. Obviously if it's a barry mobile with nothing declared they will refuse to pay out.

We only declared them because it was a 2007 Mini which I am told was a confused time for the brand as it didn't officially recognise the JCW as a model in its own right. So my wife's was actually a Cooper S with the upgraded JCW bodykit, wheels and engine modes. To be perfectly honest if it was just a Cooper S with the chilli pack or satnav I wouldn't have bothered.

 

[Armageus]

To be perfectly honest if it was just a Cooper S with the chilli pack or satnav I wouldn't have bothered.

When I had a Cooper S, bought from new, I had something like £6k worth of options over the base spec. When I spoke to the dealer they specifically recommended GAP insurance, to cover the cost of the options, should anything happen, as it was unlikely that an insurer would pay the equivalent value.

 

[Nasher]

Dealers always try to sell you GAP insurance, just never buy it from them because it's about 4x the price

 

[Armageus]

Dealers always try to sell you GAP insurance, just never buy it from them because it's about 4x the price

I was young and naive at the time

 

[muon]

When I had a Cooper S, bought from new, I had something like £6k worth of options over the base spec. When I spoke to the dealer they specifically recommended GAP insurance, to cover the cost of the options, should anything happen, as it was unlikely that an insurer would pay the equivalent value.

Nice misselling there. Sounds like the next big scandal.

Insurer has to provide a comparable vehicle as that is what they are insuring, including options.

GAP should only be required if you want another brand new vehicle to replace the one written off or if your car depreciates faster than any outstanding finance. Some insurers actually do this anyway if the vehicle is less than 12 months old.

 

[carrot1401]

So I added aftermarket wind deflectors (which are a standard option on my car anyway but stupidly overpriced) and a rear number plate holder and haven't declared....are we trying to say if someone drove into the back of me I wouldn't be covered?

 

[Armageus]

So I added aftermarket wind deflectors (which are a standard option on my car anyway but stupidly overpriced) and a rear number plate holder and haven't declared....are we trying to say if someone drove into the back of me I wouldn't be covered?

Unlikely, but not out of the question. If undisclosed parts are the cause of the accident then yes probably would void your insurance, in most other cases though it's just more likely that the insurers refuse to pay out for the undisclosed modifications e.g. aftermarket wheels etc.

 

[roboffer]

Unlikely, but not out of the question. If undisclosed parts are the cause of the accident then yes probably would void your insurance, in most other cases though it's just more likely that the insurers refuse to pay out for the undisclosed modifications e.g. aftermarket wheels etc.

I think he might have been being sarcastic

 

[carrot1401]

I think he might have been being sarcastic

I'm genuinely not sure if I am or not, that's the problem

 

[matthab]

When I insured my Cupra with Admiral they wanted every option it had, being new from the factory I couldnt really lie. I was expecting the quote to drop when I told them it had ACC/collision avoidance etc, but nope . When renewal came I ended up with Hastings and they were only interested in bits added when it left the factory.

Always best to get them to define what they need to know. I can see its pretty impossible on older cars to know what was original.

 

[adolf hamster]

Always best to get them to define what they need to know. I can see its pretty impossible on older cars to know what was original.

indeed, as well as for example swapping the radio for an aftermarket unit with more modern features is hardly the same.

hell i consider doing it on mine as instead of trying to fish my phone out of the glovebox, unlock it, and tap the next track button i can now just press the original steering wheel button, or tell google to do it, which doesn't require taking one's eyes off the road.

 

[DereksDontRun]

Always best to get them to define what they need to know. I can see its pretty impossible on older cars to know what was original.

Which is why you're always asked "to the best of your knowledge, are there any mods?" and the line above the signature on the contract is similarly worded... So, used car buyers can probably claim ignorance to options, but new buyers can't if they've presumably spec'd the car...

 

[adolf hamster]

Which is why you're always asked "to the best of your knowledge, are there any mods?" and the line above the signature on the contract is similarly worded... So, used car buyers can probably claim ignorance to options, but new buyers can't if they've presumably spec'd the car...

thing is, for the most part that can be used as a plea of ignorance for a plethora of mods, for example i could fit coilovers and as long as i don't crash before they get dirty who's gonna know? just pretend you dont know about cars and thought that they were normal.

kind of defeats the purpose of it anyway.

 

[Nasher]

If they really put "To the best of your knowledge" in the terms, it pretty much gets you off the hook with anything. They can't prove that you knew it was modified, even if it's obvious.

 

[Vertigo]

But, as I edited, 95% of "joe public" buying a 7 year old Kia won't know if anything was standard fit or an option. It's not like it's always possible to find an outdated brochure.

In a 7-year old Kia, everything will be an option!

Indeed, just looking at an Audi A3 has about 80 options beyond engine and gearbox - even assuming these are all just binary options results in a total of 1.2x10^24 possible option combinations. Do you think insurance companies have these each individually costed?

It's not just a question of overall value in case of a write-off but also repair costs. What if you've specced Matrix LED headlights? A front-end shunt suddenly gets a lot more expensive to repair.

 

[Jokester]

It's not just a question of overall value in case of a write-off but also repair costs. What if you've specced Matrix LED headlights? A front-end shunt suddenly gets a lot more expensive to repair.

This is just reflected in increases in annual insurance costs.

Rear end shunts are a lot more expensive theses days because of colour matching bumpers and reversing cameras and the like.

 

[Skiddley]

Admiral have always asked me about fitted options - but I just kept it to the big ticket items - alloy upgrades\leather\nav etc. Doubt they care about rear wiper deletes etc!