Insurance + Modifications

[3LGODZILA]

yeh so they pretty much lied to me, wen i got a few quotes for imports they stated all the crap they offer, then they tell me they do this unlimited modifications thingo, that doesn't bring ur premium up as long as u tell them and they are legal - sweet. i ring them up telling them i got a front lip and side skirts put on, and i dont wna bring up my agreed value coz its not much, so now my premium has raised $80. is every single mod i do to this car gna bring up my premium even if i dont wna increase the overall value of the car? is it worth telling them future mods? f*k sake isnt over $3000 a year for a 12grand car enough.. seriously

[gt-ahhh!]

i dont even bother mate. i dont feel comprehensive is worth the money.

by my calculations, comprehensive is the best part of $3k for me, for a $15k car. so in 5 years ive paid for the car. not to mention the excess, $2k+... so really if i were to write it off id only get $13k. now in effect im paying for the car in only 4 years. ridiculous.

this is ignoring the high probability that if i wrote it off:

-id probably have been doing something silly, and so they may not cover me.

-the modifications would be considered unroadworthy and they may not cover me.

alternatively i could pay $475 for third party. but i chose to pay $695 to inc. fire and theft.

now obviously im going to be way ahead if i keep it on the black stuff. ive had it for more than two years now, so im about $4500 ahead already.

its all a big gamble. but also in my favour, if i were to write it off, i still own it and can wreck it and get a few thousand back.

[Stealthed]

+1

I didnt bother with Full comprhensive, just got Third Party + fire and theft,

they prob wouldnt cover me if i crashed it myself because it would probably be in the process of trying new things + then theres "unsafe mods were involved etc.... otherwise i normally drive very safe, and if someone else hits me im covered etc

So i just save heaps of Mulah , and try not to do stupid things as i cant afford them ahaha

The Idea of paying 3k a year is to stupid anyway, you would have basically paid of your car after 4 years.

[gt-ahhh!]

my mates gf was paying $1600 or something for a lancer that would struggle to be worth $3000. lol at women.

[TAKUSHI]

mmm thats funny coz on my cef its write off value is $8500 but they've also agreed to cover my exh,

my seats, stereo, intercooler, bov, coilovers and up to $700 worth of rims, i started out back on my p's

paying $1600 a yr then a yr later it came to $1300, that was pretty much the same when i had my 32

4dr, no extra btw if you've lost your licence

[Dani Boi]

I'm a bit puzzled by how they determine the amount for the extra mods.

For example: I rang up to insure a fmic and pod which costed around $50 extra, I called up not long ago and added window tint, exhaust, side skirts, turbo timer, fuel pump and it only costed $33, I mean wtf surely those mods are worth more than the other two? I would think that the extra you have to pay might have something to do with the admin costs, but surely it shouldn't vary.

I'm going to query it when I call up next for when I add my suspension setup to my policy. I'm also going to consider switching to third party for my renewal, comprehensive price is just bs.

[gt-ahhh!]

I'm a bit puzzled by how they determine the amount for the extra mods.

For example: I rang up to insure a fmic and pod which costed around $50 extra, I called up not long ago and added window tint, exhaust, side skirts, turbo timer, fuel pump and it only costed $33, I mean wtf surely those mods are worth more than the other two?

i dare say that the increased premium has little to do with the cost of the modifications. after all, the agreed value of the car doesnt go up if you modify it.

its probably more to do with the likelihood of the car being involved in an accident. ie: if you have a bov, exhaust, aftermarket ecu etc. its pretty obvious (to an insurance company) that you are a hoon/street racer, and more likely to be involved in an acco.

[Wogan]

if you don't inform your insurance company of your car's modifications, and then you make a claim... they won't pay you because you haven't informed them of the mods and therefore your car is not the one they've agreed to insure.

It sucks, but it's true.

[SKYRYAN]

I added $10k worth of mods + 3 month loss of licence and it went up just under $200

[Dani Boi]

RyRy did that bump up your cars value by a lot if you dont mind me asking?

[Spynic]

i do agree with the whole insurance thing but to be honest on the roads i would only ever have fully comp on my skyline

yh its a bit more all my mods r covered they replace it to how it sits in my garage

BUT

have you guys thought about... what if a guy/girl hits u and has no insurance???? he/she does not have a driving license and is driving a stolen car??

3rd party wont cover u. its worth thinking about. yh u might pay the car over but if this did happen say a yr into owning ur 15k skyline well u have just lost ur car all to save 1k a yr :-)

[reNEGaDe88]

Nah. 3rd party fire and theft is the best way to go.

It will only bite you if U crash cos u weren't paying attention. Its only there if u crash into that 100,000$ Merc.

Otherwise ur car could get stolen if parked somewhere suss.

Comprehensive is a Joke, unless ur car is worth 50K and ur over 25.

[Spynic]

but with that if someone in a clapped out corrolla hit u wiv out insurance how would you fix ur car?? it wouldnt be ur fault and 3rd party wont cover u? its only there to fix the car you hit?

[Sklyn]

I had mine for 18mnths and crashed got paid out in full. Thanks to Full Comp. def wirth having. I am over 25, so its not super expensive.

but with J.C, at the time I made the claim I added a front strut brace. No increase in value or anything and they wanted to charge me an extra $26 per year. Just glad i didn't tell them when I got it.

[Spynic]

i guess it just depends if you think its worth the risk, to me a extra $1k a yr its not worth the risk :-)

[Ehgriez]

Ok so my sister works in insurance and i'm a bit of a finance person so i weigh up insurance in the following manner.

My car is worth 8k. If i write it off i can buy another at this price.

Full comprehensive insurance is 2.5k a year + 2k excess. You pay the 2.5k upfront and the 2k is payable on having an accident.

2.5k in a bank account would accrue 4% interest (depends on the account etc/whether you put it into bonds/ 4% is a safe assumption)

So if you have an accident at the end of the year thats 2.6k + 2k excess = 4.6k

Now 3rd party costs me 300 dollars @4% interest thats 312 dollars. The difference is 4288 a year.

Now if we look at it over a couple years that becomes (2.6k+2.5k)^1.04= 5304 +2k excess = 7304

If the accident isn't your fault the other has to pay out not you. If you were doing something silly they aren't going to pay out. So considering you had an accident where you were at fault but not doing anything illegal where you completely wrote off your car and you did this within 2 years of taking out the policy it would be worth it. Otherwise its not worth the money.

Now personally I haven't had my car insured AT ALL since last may, which im aware is a bit silly (what if i run into a merc etc), but i have never had an accident in the 3 years I've been driving. I recently took out 3rd party cover but if you look at the fact I've had my car for nearly a year I've saved 300 dollars as it is.

Insurance can be seen as a kind of a lottery. You pay your money so that if the small odds come up you get a pay out. Except the odds are pretty similar and the payout isnt $30m. Theres a reason insurance companies make money.

[Taxi_This]

I've read my JC policy but maybe someone who has been through the it can better explain.

If I have mods that are not legal, well Im pretty sure my 4" exhaust from the turbo is over the limit, and if I have a prang will that void my insurance?

What is deemed to be legal/illegal to void insurance in such a scenario?

FYI I'm under 25 have an agreed value of 17k on the 33 and pay $1300 a year including max no claim bonus protection.

[Spynic]

Greg i totally understand what your saying and you are right BUT

what if someone hits your car (god forbid they dont) and they have no insurance?? and u have 3rd party which will not cover you?

[Mayuri Krab]

If the accident isn't your fault the other has to pay out not you.

In theory yes, but reality is that if someone hits you & they have NO insurance, more often then not they are complete d**ks or cheap-arses who will try & deny responsibility in every possible way.

& if you only have 3rd Party then it will be solely up to you to try & get them to pay (whether that means bring them to court or going after them with a baseball bat, I don't know ), which is probably gonna drag on forever.

To me, I see having full comp insurance as paying the insurance company to go after d**ks/cheaparses like those, saves you the trouble of going after them yourself.

[Ehgriez]

but whats the odds you have an accident where you arent at fault where they dont have insurance where you cant take them to court?

I'm aware its a risk but you have to look at the odds. They are about the same as winning the lottery (well not that bad, but still its pretty unlikely.)

Worst case scenario, I'm up for a new car which as long as it happens after the second year would be cheaper than having insured it the whole time anyway.