Page 1 of 3

Admiral insurance & ARBs

Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2014 5:50 pm
by TechNick
Just a heads up that it seems Admiral will no longer insure RS6s with uprated ARBs. Something to do with the engine size in conjunction with performance capabilities. A modified B8 S4 with uprated ARBs, for example, is apparently OK as the engine is smaller. Go figure. :bash:

Re: Admiral insurance & ARBs

Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2014 6:09 pm
by pete62
Must be quite recent as I declared mine early September along with other mods and they covered it.
They did write up the ARB's as a roll cage initially though!
Sorted it out in the end

Re: Admiral insurance & ARBs

Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2014 6:09 pm
by PoP-PoP-BANG
Really? I just insured mine temporarily for two weeks with admiral for £46. Didn't declare any mods though

Re: Admiral insurance & ARBs

Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2014 7:02 pm
by TechNick
pete62 wrote:Must be quite recent as I declared mine early September along with other mods and they covered it.
They did write up the ARB's as a roll cage initially though!
Sorted it out in the end
Yeah, they seem to confuse ARBs with roll bars/cages often as well. What seemed like a straightforward correction at renewal time (i.e. you've got roll bars down when it should be anti-roll bars) resulted in the "sorry, we can't insure it with those fitted".
Presumably, you're more likely to drive/corner quickly with uprated ARBs fitted (and hence more likely to be involved in an accident). Fit a roll-cage, however, and obviously you're not likely to be the type that drives quickly and therefore no greater a risk :bash: :bash:

Re: Admiral insurance & ARBs

Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2014 7:16 pm
by Shoppinit
I don't like Admiral anyway. They are the only insurer to hold a speed awareness course against you.

Re: Admiral insurance & ARBs

Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2014 7:19 pm
by bilko1
Who did you go to after Admiral refused?

Re: Admiral insurance & ARBs

Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2014 7:23 pm
by Shoppinit
TechNick wrote:Yeah, they seem to confuse ARBs with roll bars/cages often as well.
Maybe this is what's happened again? The double bluff. Maybe they now think you're referring to a roll cage.

Re: Admiral insurance & ARBs

Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2014 7:34 pm
by TechNick
After the amount of time I spent on the phone to them querying it and escalating back and forth to their manager, I would hope not!

Re: Admiral insurance & ARBs

Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2014 7:37 pm
by TechNick
bilko1 wrote:Who did you go to after Admiral refused?
WIP - Sky, Adrian Flux and Keith Michaels are all on the list to work through quotes with

Re: Admiral insurance & ARBs

Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2014 9:05 pm
by pete62
I have to say that after all the back and forth trying to explain ARB changing I came to the conclusion that I shouldn't have mentioned it. I don't know how different looking the upgrade is from the original but I would be surprised if post accident that an insurance company would necessarily inspect the vehicle in that much detail. Even if they did I imagine you would have to be pretty good to know it wasn't the OEM part........

Re: Admiral insurance & ARBs

Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2014 9:24 pm
by Nobby
Oh god I'm with Admiral.....

Have they seriously not got any experts who know how a car works or are they all telephone monkeys who just fill in tick boxes?

Re: Admiral insurance & ARBs

Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2014 9:45 pm
by Ian_C
pete62 wrote:I have to say that after all the back and forth trying to explain ARB changing I came to the conclusion that I shouldn't have mentioned it. I don't know how different looking the upgrade is from the original but I would be surprised if post accident that an insurance company would necessarily inspect the vehicle in that much detail. Even if they did I imagine you would have to be pretty good to know it wasn't the OEM part........
Well said. Almost certainly far more hassle than its worth trying to explain every quote / renewal every year to the insurance company call centre agent who may not know what an anti roll bar is or does.

Swapping from one Audi-stamped anti-roll bar to a newer Audi-stamped anti-roll bar, you'd have to work on an Audi production line to spot the mod

Re: Admiral insurance & ARBs

Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2014 10:30 pm
by pete62
Nobby wrote:Oh god I'm with Admiral.....

Have they seriously not got any experts who know how a car works or are they all telephone monkeys who just fill in tick boxes?
Best you fit a roll cage sharpish to comply with the conditions of your insurance :biggrin3:

Re: Admiral insurance & ARBs

Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2014 8:01 am
by Shoppinit
pete62 wrote:I would be surprised if post accident that an insurance company would necessarily inspect the vehicle in that much detail. Even if they did I imagine you would have to be pretty good to know it wasn't the OEM part........
I would hate to put this to the test. In an accident where a death is involved I can imagine them looking very long and very hard for any reason not to pay up. If they find an excuse then we're talking about life-ruining debt for you.

Re: Admiral insurance & ARBs

Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2014 8:36 am
by pete62
Shoppinit wrote:
pete62 wrote:I would be surprised if post accident that an insurance company would necessarily inspect the vehicle in that much detail. Even if they did I imagine you would have to be pretty good to know it wasn't the OEM part........
I would hate to put this to the test. In an accident where a death is involved I can imagine them looking very long and very hard for any reason not to pay up. If they find an excuse then we're talking about life-ruining debt for you.
Yeah reasonable point but I still doubt it would come up unless the ARB failed and was considered to be a contributory factor to the accident. In those circumstances they might realise.
Despite this I agree that the best situation is to disclose and sleep well knowing you are fully covered.
It would be interesting to see what people pay for their RS6 insurance . I've no idea what is a good price. I'll put what I pay and what for if others want to give similar info then that's good.
This year I was just interested in getting cover but as I spend more on the car I would prefer an agreed value or at least something that takes everything into account.

2003 saloon MRC stage 1,bilsteins,H&R ARB,Miltek, 6k miles,market value -52years,no points-£370
:thumb: