Railgun Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 I've had the 370 now since the end of June. The car I had previous to her was a Honda Civic diesel. When I called up to see how much more Direct Line where going to charge me for changing to the 370 I was a little shocked! 40 quid for the civic increased to 94 quid for the Z! I was informed that if I left them, I would lose my 5th year of no claims, as my policy didnt expire till the end of october. Not sure if this is true, but at the time I went along with it! They have just sent me through a quote for this year, and its 47 quid per month. Now by my calculation, thats less than half what I've been paying since June. I suppose my question is.......have they been ripping me off while I had no choice?? Also, as they are now cheaper than the quote I got from Admiral, would it be worth going with them, bearing in mind I want to get a Stillen Exhaust fitted! Thanks for any advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vik54 Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 yes of courYes of course they've been ripping you off - but you'll just have to suck it up now No point in worrying about the exhaust until its fitted - and remember things like brakes & exhausts are wear and tear items and unless your insurance specifically says only OEM parts can be used (which to my knowledge no policy says) they do not count as modifications - you have simply replaced them with what was available at the time. The only things which should be declared are non-standard body kits, spacers and the like - and changes to engine or re-maps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky370z Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 my advice is to sack them off, on my previous car i added an exhaust mod and they wanted an extra 200 quid. also i canx my policy early because the buggers wanted an extra 1500 to change up to the Zed from my ST, i was 6 months in, but worked out cheaper to get rid of them and start again. have at look at: chris Knott sky insurance adrian flux and livingston warnam all to be found on here, that offer very good discounts for forum users Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Railgun Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 my advice is to sack them off, on my previous car i added an exhaust mod and they wanted an extra 200 quid. also i canx my policy early because the buggers wanted an extra 1500 to change up to the Zed from my ST, i was 6 months in, but worked out cheaper to get rid of them and start again. have at look at: chris Knott sky insurance adrian flux and livingston warnam all to be found on here, that offer very good discounts for forum users Cheers mate, I'll check them out. After the way Direct Line have dealt with me to date, they can do one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 If you change your car mid-policy then you will usually find that the insurance company your broker put you with for your old car, maybe not be the most competitive for your new one. The problem you have then is that you really need to keep with the same insurance company until the renewal else you loose your years NCB. So it really pays to change cars just before your insurance company needs renewing. When my missus had the same problem the other year it was cheaper for her to cancel her old policy, loose that years ncb and start again with a new company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMT Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Exhausts and brakes count as wear and tear on most insurance policies?!... So if I got my Z and put the same size discs, but groove/drilled and put an exhaust system on it, I should not need to declare it?? Anyone know any better... ollie from sky?? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Railgun Posted October 16, 2011 Author Share Posted October 16, 2011 Exhausts and brakes count as wear and tear on most insurance policies?!... So if I got my Z and put the same size discs, but groove/drilled and put an exhaust system on it, I should not need to declare it?? Anyone know any better... ollie from sky?? lol +1 on that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vik54 Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Find me an insurance policy that says you must replace wear and tear items such as exhaust and brake parts with OEM parts...I don't think there is a clause in anyone's policy that says that. (Though I stand to be proven wrong on that) What it does say is that you must declare performance enhancing modifications and non factory body parts. Otherwise anyone who even does so much as replaces their pads with non OEMs would be voiding their policy On a zed if you don't remap then even an upgraded exhaust isn't 'enhancing' performance is it - because the ECU will readjust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Find me an insurance policy that says you must replace wear and tear items such as exhaust and brake parts with OEM parts...I don't think there is a clause in anyone's policy that says that. (Though I stand to be proven wrong on that) What it does say is that you must declare performance enhancing modifications and non factory body parts. Otherwise anyone who even does so much as replaces their pads with non OEMs would be voiding their policy On a zed if you don't remap then even an upgraded exhaust isn't 'enhancing' performance is it - because the ECU will readjust. An insurance company will never buy the fact that it isnt enhancing peformance unfortunatley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMT Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Ah well, was worth the question lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Depends on the insurance company. Most will ignore any safety increasing or performance decreasing mods, but will happily loads for anything they think will increase performance. Im with Adrian Flux and I asked them about the exhaust situation. I pitched it to them that Nissan wanted a small fortune for a new exhaust so it would be cheaper to replace it with an after market stainless system. They said as long as the new exhaust did not increase performance then they were perfectly fine with that and it wouldnt cost any extra. As far as im aware on my 313 model, a K1 will add no extra power, unless i then get the car remapped etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vik54 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Find me an insurance policy that says you must replace wear and tear items such as exhaust and brake parts with OEM parts...I don't think there is a clause in anyone's policy that says that. (Though I stand to be proven wrong on that) What it does say is that you must declare performance enhancing modifications and non factory body parts. Otherwise anyone who even does so much as replaces their pads with non OEMs would be voiding their policy On a zed if you don't remap then even an upgraded exhaust isn't 'enhancing' performance is it - because the ECU will readjust. An insurance company will never buy the fact that it isnt enhancing peformance unfortunatley How exactly can they say either items increase performance? It would be down to them to PROVE that they do - and as experienced zed owners we can prove that they don't. I for one am not prepared to be a sheep on this one and would quite happily argue the toss with any insurer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choptop Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Get some quotes and go from there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Gotta say, Im pretty shocked at some of the responses on here .......... most insurance companies will see any non-OE part as a "modification" and most modifications invalidate your policy unless they are declared. Exhausts and wheels, for instance are pretty bloody obvious and should be declared in all cases. Brake pads, tyres and clutches are more of a grey area but theoretically you could still have a claim refused if youve got anything that isnt OE, however experience says that its pretty unlikely. The argument over whether a modification increases performance or safety is totally null, if its not standard then its a modification. Try declaring a rollcage (clearly doesnt increase performance but clearly does increase safety) and see what happens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Find me an insurance policy that says you must replace wear and tear items such as exhaust and brake parts with OEM parts...I don't think there is a clause in anyone's policy that says that. (Though I stand to be proven wrong on that) What it does say is that you must declare performance enhancing modifications and non factory body parts. Otherwise anyone who even does so much as replaces their pads with non OEMs would be voiding their policy On a zed if you don't remap then even an upgraded exhaust isn't 'enhancing' performance is it - because the ECU will readjust. An insurance company will never buy the fact that it isnt enhancing peformance unfortunatley + 1,000,000 You can't class replacing a stock exhaust with a Stillen or Nismo as like for like replacements, same as slotted / drilled disks. Brake pads I guess you may be ok with. If you didn't declare 'obvious' items like exhaust & disks that can clearly be seen then at worst your insurance would only cover you for stock replacements and at worst they would simply declare your policy null and void. When I had my accident I had just refitted my pop charger to see how it sounded and not declared it, luckily I could drive home and swap it over as when I picked the car up from the coach works the guy that replaced my drivers door said that he noticed my door mirror mod and said that he hadn't rewired it up and that it should have been declared really... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Technically speaking, Vik is right. If you had a Mondeo and the exhaust wore through, you'd get a cheapy from QuikFit not from Ford and the insurers wouldn't give a fig. When it comes to performance stuff though, they do. They could give a fig about the Mondeo too if they wanted, but they don't. Truth is that whatever you do, you should tell your insurer. If they don't care then great, but at least you have it in writing. Saying you'll go to court over it is all well and good, but I suspect they have significantly better lawyers than you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vik54 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Gotta say, Im pretty shocked at some of the responses on here .......... most insurance companies will see any non-OE part as a "modification" and most modifications invalidate your policy unless they are declared. Exhausts and wheels, for instance are pretty bloody obvious and should be declared in all cases. Brake pads, tyres and clutches are more of a grey area but theoretically you could still have a claim refused if youve got anything that isnt OE, however experience says that its pretty unlikely. The argument over whether a modification increases performance or safety is totally null, if its not standard then its a modification. Try declaring a rollcage (clearly doesnt increase performance but clearly does increase safety) and see what happens yeah - I get what you're saying - however that would mean that 90% of people driving around in a used car could potentially have their policies declared null and void. Simply doesn't happen and the industry relies on folks thikning they're over a barrel and declaring everything they do to their car - and at a bare minimum paying an administration charge to add to their policy. Just to be clear I am not advocating fraud or not declaring significant modifications such as roll cages - (which would require significant adjustments to interior of the car) - I am simply advocating a common sense approach here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 . Try declaring a rollcage (clearly doesnt increase performance but clearly does increase safety) and see what happens I did exactly that many years back. I had an 850cc mini which cost me £20 and because a mate used to rally them I bought some bits of him and throught it would look cool if I fitted his old rollcage into the car. The car only had about 18bhp as stock, and with the heavy old cage it made the car even slower. Safety wise, it made it safer, but for me it was mainly the looks. Even though it made the car significantly slower, the insurance companies wouldnt touch me. In the end the cheapest quote I got was nearly double the insurance I was already paying (£500 ish third party only), so I had to remove the cage. It is all a grey area really. Like others have said, once your consumable bits wear out, how many people still have OE brakes, tyres, exhaust, oil filter, etc. etc. You tend to have whatever the garage fits. Does the insurance company care if you fit falken tyres rather than bridgestones? In practise probably not, but they could do I guess if they get upset about it. The only car ive had written off and an insurance inspector come out to see was a Peugeot 106 diesel which someone piled into the back of me and wrote my car off for me. The interior was totally worn out, and a set of seat covers were going to cost me about 30quid. So, for £25 I bought the entire interior out of a Peugeot 106 GTI and fitted that instead. Simply because it was cheaper, as well as the seats were more comfortable (sporty bucket ones). Insurance company didnt even comment on it when they came and did the appraisel of the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Gotta say, Im pretty shocked at some of the responses on here .......... most insurance companies will see any non-OE part as a "modification" and most modifications invalidate your policy unless they are declared. Exhausts and wheels, for instance are pretty bloody obvious and should be declared in all cases. Brake pads, tyres and clutches are more of a grey area but theoretically you could still have a claim refused if youve got anything that isnt OE, however experience says that its pretty unlikely. The argument over whether a modification increases performance or safety is totally null, if its not standard then its a modification. Try declaring a rollcage (clearly doesnt increase performance but clearly does increase safety) and see what happens yeah - I get what you're saying - however that would mean that 90% of people driving around in a used car could potentially have their policies declared null and void. Simply doesn't happen and the industry relies on folks thikning they're over a barrel and declaring everything they do to their car - and at a bare minimum paying an administration charge to add to their policy. Just to be clear I am not advocating fraud or not declaring significant modifications such as roll cages - (which would require significant adjustments to interior of the car) - I am simply advocating a common sense approach here Unfortunately the insurance companies dont take the common sense approach though Weve had this argument a number of times on the SXOC, we all know that better brakes, suspension, tyres are an improvement on safety but insurers arent in a position to evaluate whether every change is an improvement or not. You are probably right, to the letter of the law a large percentage of cars dont fit the 100% OE rule, but then I bet you didnt know any non standard exhaust is also illegal to the letter of the law ....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Insurance companies just don't understand common sense. I had a conversation with them about my Milltek, said it was cheaper and IMO better than stock so how could they charge me MORE to insure something that would be cheaper to replace if rear ended than an OEM one... You take your choice, go to a mainstream insurer and blag it or take a chance or go to an insurer that understands the car and any modifications made to it. To assume anything or think you can argue when there is a problem is maybe a little naive, but each to their own opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.