Advising insurance company about modifications

[RS4SH]

OK, so I'm finally going to modify my car but I need to contact my insurance company (currently elephant £422) and ask them how the mods will affect my premium. I know elephant will only replace OEM.

Do I tell them about absolutely everything or only certain mods? I've already added reversing sensors and a bluetooth kit but I haven't advised them of these (I wouldn't claim on the insurance if they were stolen or damaged) - but should I?

The mods I want to get done at MRC include:
H&R ARBs
Custom remap (definitely advise)
Milltek (definitely advise)
Gut pre-cats
Tanoga short shift

Do you think I should ask the insurance company about all of these?

Any advice appreciated.

[frazered]

well you are doing it the right way round by asking first to see what the impact is

I would ask about them all - then you can choose which ones will cost / be worth it - Elephant are not the most mod friendly insurer so depends if you want to stick with them, you could look at a quote elsewhere as it may be cheaper to cancel and reinsure getting the cover for the mods

[RS4SH]

I was thinking a change of insurer might be on the cards.

[graemep]

Elephant/Admiral, etc only cover up to four mods - remap will increase the premium, but the others on the list haven't so far in my experience.

Also get the changes in one policy change if possible, as they charge £17.50 for each policy revision.

Looking at the list, maybe think about the ESP Engineering shortshift - cheaper but similar quality, and more adjustable. More than happy with the Tanoga item I have, but I bought before the ESP one was available. Oh, and brakes??

[RS4SH]

Cheers for that Graeme. I'll give elephant a call now to see what's what.

Brakes will have to come after unfortunately...

[RS4SH]

Just spoken to elephant. A remap (10% power increase), exhaust, removed pre-cats and anti-roll bars will add £175 to my existing premium (£422). Sounds reasonable to me.

I got worried when I mentioned removing the pre-cats as she had to go and speak to someome but eventually came back and said that was fine.

[graemep]

With the exhaust changes, this will probably put you into their higher 11-25% bracket for power increase. Didn't change the premium when I went from a stage 1 map to stage 3 (cats/exhaust/custom map) though.

All in all pretty reasonable..

[RS4SH]

Who were your insurers when you went to stage 3?

[graemep]

I was with Admiral (same group as Elephant) then, and still am at the moment - have been with one or the other for a few years now - went to Admiral for the multicar policy.

Will be shopping around for a more mod-friendly insurer next time round though - I have got used to it being pointed out that they do not cover upgraded parts in the event of a claim.

[RS4SH]

Used to have the RS4 with Admiral but elephant beat their quote and then I added my smart car (2 elephant policies were cheaper than Admiral multicar) but have now moved the smart to the AA (includes free AA breakdown).

[Blue_Thunder]

When I was with Elephant, they wanted £600 more (50% increase!) when I only wanted to fit bigger brakes.

Goodbye Elephant, hello specialist broker! I managed to get a policy through Noel Dazely for the same price with all the mods than what I was paying for the standard car through Elephant.

[lushman]

I'm with Bell (Part of the Admiral Group) and was paying £327 FC and protected full NCD with a second driver. I infromed them of my brake upgrade, ARB's ( They class this as a roll cage which I argued to no avail) and Cat Back Milltek. They increased my premium by £180 which I was happy with. Cant understand when the mods improve handling and braking and they increase the safety of the car they load it. Also I would have had to pay an extra £14 to insure the mods up to a one off claim of £500 per year which I declined as they only replace exhaust brakes ect with manufacturers originals.
My opinion is if you are upgrading the brakes to genuine Audi parts ie B7 discs and RS6 calipers I wouldnt inform the insurance about them as they are original Audi parts! I foolishly did and unfortunately had the discussion about this afterwards.
I would inform them about most things but reversing sensors and bluetooth kit no.
Only my opinion.

Good luck Paul

[graemep]

As Paul's post reminded me - I was informed that there would be the option to cover mods (no details at the time), although with a claim limit of £500 it hardly seems worth it.

[RS4SH]

Cheers for all the feedback. Just need to book the car in with MRC and I can finally unleash some of the car's potential

[rikrose]

Possibly worth noting that your mods are now public information on the internet, and your insurer can now check this. Personally, I'd declare everything, and go with the insurance company that deals with it best for you.