If You Crashed Your Car Today Are You Insured?

[jasont82]

hey guys

getting wolf 3d put in at the moment so i thought i would ring just cars and let them know that i now have an ecu. I asked them to explain to me how the unlimited mods thing works.

Its full of shit your car has still got to be road worthy. So it isnt really unlimited, its limited to what ever vic roads say is ok and whats not.

i know plenty of people have got pod filters and intercoolers dont they? if you crash today theres a chance your claim will be knocked back. and im pretty sure any ecu is illegal and i know heaps of us have those, so are you really insured? were paying $1000+ for insurance that is void if we modify are cars too much. is it worth paying for full comp insurance? or should we just get 3rd party because the way my car is at the moment its not covered anyway. whats your thoughts or experiences with insurance mobs?

[Amaru]

If your car is not road worthy, it is not legal to be driven on the street and you are BREAKING THE LAW.

No-one will insure you for illegal activities... what did you expect?

Granted most people drive unroadworthy cars, but it doesnt make it legal.

Edited August 21, 2006 by Amaru

[djr81]

That is a bit harsh. (less harsh now after the edit )

A broader point to be aware of is that you have to be scrupulously honest with your insurance company. Make sure you tell them about all your infringements etc.

Edited August 21, 2006 by djr81

[THE_350GT]

If your car is not road worthy, it is not legal to be driven on the street and you are BREAKING THE LAW.

No-one will insure you for illegal activities... what did you expect?

Granted most people drive unroadworthy cars, but it doesnt make it legal.

Amaru I though that first comment was a little harsh..........

[kralster]

Says the guy who sells parts that will make your car illegal for a living.

[32GTRB]

can your ecu system be detected? or does it overwrite the stock ecu settings

[PHATR32]

no doubt theyll have alook to see if you have illegal mods.

unless you carry a old ecu around and after the smash you swap it over with out anyone seeing!!!!

steve

[msnismo]

Spend the $200 to get everything engineered. Then you will have no worries when it comes to insurance claims.

I claimed once (Suncorp) with my old car (R32 GTR). It was heavily modified but because it was engineered and I had declared everything at the time of taking the policy out there was no hassles in getting it fixed.

[Macross]

It depends on the wording of your policy, while you might drive a defective vehicle (has modifications that are defectible) these items might cause you to be in breach of your policy (which is what they will say to deny the claim), the law states that unless these items directly caused the claim they still have to pay out the claim ie. you have a pod filter exposed and it caught fire, causing the car to go up in flames = claim denied Vs. you have a pod filter exposed and crashed into another car = claim is valid.

[r34_skyline]

It depends on the wording of your policy, while you might drive a defective vehicle (has modifications that are defectible) these items might cause you to be in breach of your policy (which is what they will say to deny the claim), the law states that unless these items directly caused the claim they still have to pay out the claim ie. you have a pod filter exposed and it caught fire, causing the car to go up in flames = claim denied Vs. you have a pod filter exposed and crashed into another car = claim is valid.

exactly !

[nuffsaid]

He's right that is what Shannons said also.

If your aftermarket suspension caused an accident and it is deemed "illegal" then no claim.

The air filter was probably a good example.

However as with most our mods, they are all power mods, so if you were speeding and had an accident, they could easily say your power mods were the cause.

[R34NRG]

i think the whole insurene thing is bs. if someone rings up and insures their car.....pays the premium...i dont care wat happens if they say yes they should cover it...its like a contract.

if i put a ECU on my car....and they know its illegal...and the say yes...and i pay my premium...and then i screw my car...and they refuse to fix it....id be off my nut....

[Freddy Kruger]

agree with you there andru. we dont pay $2k+ on insurance with a company for them to say no.

[Duncan]

and while we are on the topic be very careful about tyres....both times I have made a biiiiiig claim the assessor went straight to check tread depth.

[R34NRG]

ive noticed that they are very nice to me...when they found out id be paying a premium of 3k+. unlike 3rd party which they would proberly be losing money. compre conver is a hell of alot more exspensive.....

tell em u want compre cover and see how nice they are

[mad082]

the main thing is to tell the insurance company of any mods.

it also comes down to who is at fault as to how picky they are about mods. if you are driving through an intersection and someone runs a red light and hits you, they aren't going to be overly concerned about mods being legal or not (but they won't pay for something that isn't on the policy), since the other person's insurance will cover it. if you are the cause of the accident then they will do everything in their power to get out of it since they have to pay for the other persons damage as well.

[TTT]

I’m surprised no-one has mentioned it yet.

What if you’re car gets stolen?

Is your $2K insurance worth it then?

Yeh… singing a different tune now aren’t you?

How can you come on here and complain that you might not be covered for a “NON ROAD WORTHY CAR”

Reminds me of the cases where thieves who get caught by the owner during a burglary and cope a well good hiding as they should, then take the home owner to court for the damages.

You do an illegal thing, knowingly break the law, then complain when you are denied insurance?

They say at the beginning “we cover you for unlimited modifications as long as they are legal and road worthy”

AND, if you bother to read your 80 page “Product Disclosure Statement” as they say at the end of every phone conversation, tv or radio advert etc.., you’d know this.

I for one only get the insurance on all my belongings (, house, contents, car life, wife…..) purely for the theft factor.

I don’t plan to get in to an accident.

I am in charge of a situation when I am behind the wheel, and I am in charge of the situation where I could get in to a bingle where I am at fault.

And I will not get myself in to that position.

But theft… You can do everything you want. Alarm, immobiliser, club lock, barricade lock, dogs, bees, dog’s with bees in their mouths and when they bark they shout bees at the thief.. you could even be there yourself.. but they can and will still take your car.

Tow truck, weapons etc.. they use what they want to take it from you.

THEN, your $2K insurance premium and close to $1600 theft excess all of a sudden looks great compared to the $15K you’d lose if you have 3rd party only.

Don’t be stupid about this.

Accidents can be avoided.. but theft can’t.

Believe me, $15K loss (in my case…. for you with an R34 gtt, I’d assume a lot more) is very hard to get back with regular living costs.

You think about how much time it is going to take for you to make $30K of pure spare savings to buy another R34.

If you earn $60K, live at home, pay nothing in terms of bills or food and don’t go out for a year, have your travel to and from work paid for, clothes paid for…. You might save $30K in a year..

But lets admit it.. unless you are very lucky, that ain’t going to happen.

I say re-think your insurance from another view..

[d0p3y]

I’m surprised no-one has mentioned it yet.

What if you’re car gets stolen?

Is your $2K insurance worth it then?

Yeh… singing a different tune now aren’t you?

How can you come on here and complain that you might not be covered for a “NON ROAD WORTHY CAR”

Reminds me of the cases where thieves who get caught by the owner during a burglary and cope a well good hiding as they should, then take the home owner to court for the damages.

You do an illegal thing, knowingly break the law, then complain when you are denied insurance?

They say at the beginning “we cover you for unlimited modifications as long as they are legal and road worthy”

AND, if you bother to read your 80 page “Product Disclosure Statement” as they say at the end of every phone conversation, tv or radio advert etc.., you’d know this.

I for one only get the insurance on all my belongings (, house, contents, car life, wife…..) purely for the theft factor.

I don’t plan to get in to an accident.

I am in charge of a situation when I am behind the wheel, and I am in charge of the situation where I could get in to a bingle where I am at fault.

And I will not get myself in to that position.

But theft… You can do everything you want. Alarm, immobiliser, club lock, barricade lock, dogs, bees, dog’s with bees in their mouths and when they bark they shout bees at the thief.. you could even be there yourself.. but they can and will still take your car.

Tow truck, weapons etc.. they use what they want to take it from you.

THEN, your $2K insurance premium and close to $1600 theft excess all of a sudden looks great compared to the $15K you’d lose if you have 3rd party only.

Don’t be stupid about this.

Accidents can be avoided.. but theft can’t.

Believe me, $15K loss (in my case…. for you with an R34 gtt, I’d assume a lot more) is very hard to get back with regular living costs.

You think about how much time it is going to take for you to make $30K of pure spare savings to buy another R34.

If you earn $60K, live at home, pay nothing in terms of bills or food and don’t go out for a year, have your travel to and from work paid for, clothes paid for…. You might save $30K in a year..

But lets admit it.. unless you are very lucky, that ain’t going to happen.

I say re-think your insurance from another view..

Bingo - My current insurance could quite easily be void if I have an accident but the thing is it's my own stupid fault if I have an accident. It makes me a more cautious and aware driver knowing if I f**k up, I take the fall. The main reason I've got comprehensive (under mums name, me as a listed driver) is theft. As you say - 15k+ is ALOT of money to get back when you've got regular living costs.

It sucks, but it's the risk you take if you want the goodies.

[jasont82]

what about about third party fire and theft? if you are driving a car that has been moified and would be denied in a claim anyway why bother with comprehensive? they are going to pay for the car you hit anyway,. if its burned or stolen your covered then to.

and i dont think it matters how cautious you drive shit happens, i dont think anyone plans on having an accident thats why there called accidents.

what if your in a multi car pile up. if the car infront of you slams into the car in front of it with out braking theres a fair chance you might also hit it. or even if you dont the car behind you might push you into it.

or what about oil on the road or some freak thing like that? or your brakes fail or something? MY mates car just had the master cylinder fixed. the first time he braked it didnt do anything he had to then release and brake again.

or what if a kid runs out onto the road and you swerve to miss him and hit a parked car or tree or something.

doesnt matter how cautious you are accidents can still happen

i think i'll just go with msnismos advice and get it engineered. thats the best advice ive heard. why take the risk of not being covered.

[jasont82]

out of everyone thats posted on here who can say they are insured in the case of an accident where they are at fault? thats my question. i know im not and im going to do something about it, get it engineered.