Admiral insurance & ARBs

[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.

[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

[PoP-PoP-BANG]

Really? I just insured mine temporarily for two weeks with admiral for £46. Didn't declare any mods though

[TechNick]

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

[Shoppinit]

I don't like Admiral anyway. They are the only insurer to hold a speed awareness course against you.

[bilko1]

Who did you go to after Admiral refused?

[Shoppinit]

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.

[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!

[TechNick]

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

[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........

[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?

[Ian_C]

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

[pete62]

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

[Shoppinit]

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.

[pete62]

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