Do I need to inform insurance?

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gototravel

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I am thinking about having my vehicle's windows tinted, not driver and front passenger sides. Do I need to inform insurance company about it?
 
I am thinking about having my vehicle's windows tinted, not driver and front passenger sides. Do I need to inform insurance company about it?
Why not ask your insurance company?

Some will want to know, some will not care, some may add a premium to your policy some may not.
 
I am thinking about having my vehicle's windows tinted, not driver and front passenger sides. Do I need to inform insurance company about it?
Safest thing to do is tell them about every material mod. The vast majority will not affect your premium. Also make a Word doc of all that is current that you have told them as you want to consistent if you change companies.
 
E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G - declare everything ... My insurance told me that they would even invalidate your insurance if you fail to report winter tyres, PPF or anything the like.

My friend who used to have a mobile car detailing shop had insurance refused after an accident (his fault) because he had decals on his van and didn't declare it. It essentially lost him his business.

Give them as little reason to refuse you as possible. Even for the smallest stuff ...

And with tints even in the back - they can argue it causes bad visibility - no matter how idiotic that is ...
 
As Jib said . Insurance companies do not exist to serve you , they exist to serve their shareholders and are hardwired to not pay out if they can get away with it . declare everything in writing , no matter how trivial it may seem.
 
E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G - declare everything ... My insurance told me that they would even invalidate your insurance if you fail to report winter tyres, PPF or anything the like.

My friend who used to have a mobile car detailing shop had insurance refused after an accident (his fault) because he had decals on his van and didn't declare it. It essentially lost him his business.

Give them as little reason to refuse you as possible. Even for the smallest stuff ...

And with tints even in the back - they can argue it causes bad visibility - no matter how idiotic that is ...
I was going to ask whether adding or changing something that was an option at the time the car was new would count as notifiable (e.g. getting a different set of wheels) but based on this comment I would assume probably yes?
 
I was going to ask whether adding or changing something that was an option at the time the car was new would count as notifiable (e.g. getting a different set of wheels) but based on this comment I would assume probably yes?
Put simply, yes.

More complex answer: When you pay a premium for insurance, you enter into a contract with the insurer. If you say “my car is, with respect to options, as it left the factory” it’s up to the insurer whether or not they accept the risk. By accepting the premium they have kept their part of the contractual bargain.

If you have either lied or subsequently make changes to your car that you don’t tell them about, you have not kept your part of the bargain, and the insurer can - quite reasonably - void the contract. I honestly don’t understand why people fail to understand that.

Most insurers are pragmatic about retrofitted factory options, but some aren’t. For example, I had a genuine MB reverse camera fitted to one of my E63’s and Direct Line wanted to charge extra as it was “a modified vehicle”; Aviva weren't bothered and simply noted it on the policy. Guess who won my business?
 
I was going to ask whether adding or changing something that was an option at the time the car was new would count as notifiable (e.g. getting a different set of wheels) but based on this comment I would assume probably yes?

Yes. In fact, I was told once that unless the extra was delivered per factory, it needs to be declared. As retrofitting a standard feature still requires messing with the car - doesn't matter whether it makes sense or not :)

I once had LPG fitted to my car and insurance increased by 200 quid a year. I asked the insurer if that means the LPG system is insured, and they said no. The guy on the phone then apologised saying he knows it makes no sense to increase the premium, but it is what they do. As nice as the guy was - that comment made me switch for a cheaper insurance.
 
Unless you're in the insurance business, it can be difficult to work-out how insurers calculate risk.

This is an example I posted in another thread:


The BBC have sensationalised it to the extent that it is in fact click-bait, because insurers don't really care about your religious persuasion, but they (rightly) care if you have stickers on the side of your car, as this could change the risk profile - e.g. make your car more prone to vandalism, or change the way you use the car e.g. for work while it was declared as 'social & domestic' use, etc. And 'go-faster' stripes or other racing livery could indicate a 'boy racer' mentality.

Another example is something I heard recently on You and Yours on Radio 4, an insurance expert explaining why in some cases declaring lower annual mileage can increase your premium, rather than reduce it - because if (say) you have lost your job and consequently from 10,000 miles 'commuting' you have changed to 3,000 'social & domestic' - then it could be argued that you have swapped regular use of the car on a familiar route during daytime with infrequent use on potentially-unfamiliar roads and potentially-nighttime driving etc - which increases your risk profile.

It is true that both the Ombudsman and the courts often do not uphold the insurer's position when invalidating a policy, but that's a process that's best avoided... unless you have a lot of time and a lot of money on your hands, and you like gambling.

I keep hearing people complaining after talking to their insurer that 'it makes no sense' and 'this is total nonsense' etc etc... personally, I adopted the same attitude with insures as I have with US traffic cops - you put your hands out the window very slowly and comply with everything they say, no point in trying to argue or appeal to their logic..... it is what it is.
 
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I’m about to retro fit a reversing camera to my car, unfortunately Admiral charge £25 per amendment, that’s if you phone to discuss it, (if it’s done online it’s cheaper), this is whether or not it alters the premium. Better than giving them reason to avoid a claim though.
 
I agree with most of the comments here. Absolutely everything has be declared to insurance. And tinted windows is not just a small thing
 
Agreed, declare (as I do) but just to follow up, I have successfully argued that as a mod didn't impact their underwriting (info only not even a question given that the OEM head unit had died on the car, and was replaced) and it was not relevent to the accident, the after market head unit was no grounds to void the claim or policy.

This was for a friend of a friend who was just told, sorry, on inspecting your vehicle after the accident, etc etc.

Took a call or two, but insurer accepted this and the subtle threat of legal action and / or referral to industry body (but was actually reasonable about it)

As an aside, when dealing with AF for my father's Jag (when I took the car off him due to his dementia), I found them completely unsympathetic and struggled to get anything close to a fair RP. Won't use them ever again
 
Agreed, declare (as I do) but just to follow up, I have successfully argued that as a mod didn't impact their underwriting (info only not even a question given that the OEM head unit had died on the car, and was replaced) and it was not relevent to the accident, the after market head unit was no grounds to void the claim or policy.

This was for a friend of a friend who was just told, sorry, on inspecting your vehicle after the accident, etc etc.

Took a call or two, but insurer accepted this and the subtle threat of legal action and / or referral to industry body (but was actually reasonable about it)

As an aside, when dealing with AF for my father's Jag (when I took the car off him due to his dementia), I found them completely unsympathetic and struggled to get anything close to a fair RP. Won't use them ever again
Insurance has become something of a none sense in todays market, largely due to the fact that the people you speak to (usually an intermediary) have little understanding of insurance, contract and consumer law, and have little if any knowledge of what they are insuring, whether it's cars houses or whatever.
The addition of a reversing camera, different head unit and similar has no real bearing on the risk or the value of a vehicle. A reversing camera actually lessens the risk of damage, and often a different head unit is considerably cheaper than an oem unit. My response to an attempt by an Insurer to repudiate liability, would be that in the main, simple alterations are not facts material to the risk. No more so than fitting tyres of a brand that were not fitted to the car originally.
Insurers get away with utter rubbish nowadays and it's about time these companies that have sprung up recently got a really good dose of looking at by the Financial Services.
 

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