Norwich Union refused insurance if I fit a Brabus D4 kit

[kbhogalW126]

Does anyone know which insurance company will insure a "chipped" car?

Any experiences?

I would like to fit a Brabus D4 kit to the CLK.

Dealer wants circa £1200 fitted.

Norwich Union have told me I cannot fit any chips at all because they will not insure a chipped car.

tia,

KJ

 

[ADY1983]

Adrian Flux specialise in modified, classic and sports cars etc..

 

[kbhogalW126]

Thanks Ady,

Just missed them by 20 minutes!

They shut at 4pm on a saturday.

Apparently this chip increases the economy of the car as well as increasing the bhp from 170 to 205.

Does anyone have experience of this economy increase and how much more you get?

tia,

KJ

 

[Chris_J]

You won't notice any economy increase when you're using those 205 ponies, your fuel gauge will plummet . It will be a little more efficient when driving normally but probably not much. More noticeable will be the tickover and how smooth the car runs.

Try Greenlight insurance, they'll insure "chipped" cars.

 

[mercmanuk]

more than insurance wont insure my w203 if i change the backbox

 

[kbhogalW126]

SO, I take it that would probably be the case if i got R2D2's amg exhaust on the C270 then?

Damn these Insurance companies!

Don't they realise we just wanna have fun?

 

[Howard]

Have either of you tried explaining to them that its an OEM factory option and not some barry boy baked bean tin exhaust .... that it's actually on the option list , and would they not insure it if it had been specced from the factory with an AMG exhaust ....

Don't certain MB dealers offer the Brabus upgrade now (approved by MB) , get a letter from them explaining that it is OEM , and approved and see what they say then ...

A lot of them don't realise that when you say can i change the backbox, that you mean to a Mercedes Original AMG box ....

Usually after this , they wise up and will just charge you a small premium ...

 

[kbhogalW126]

NU only want £142 more a year for exhaust!

Thats the price of a pizza a month!

I'm highjacking my own thread here but will fitting the exhaust affect the warranty (1 year MB warranty)?

And can I get anyone to fit it?

Such as I B Walker?

Or does it have to be the Main Dealer?


Finally, Main Dealer price for a D4 is about £1200 fitted.

I think Mrs B is going to get a mod on her C270 and maybe not myself on the CLK!

 

[andy_cyp]

I dont understand why you even bothered informing NU about the d4 kit ?????

If something "touch-wood" was to happen then cant you simply unplug it and bring it back to norm ?????

 

[fuzzer]

I dont understand why you even bothered informing NU about the d4 kit ?????

If something "touch-wood" was to happen then cant you simply unplug it and bring it back to norm ?????

quite

 

[kbhogalW126]

I'm too honest not to tell them!

I wouldn't want them to not pay out if I had the D4 fitted and something happened.

 

[Tigger]

Norwich Union will insure modified cars as my Brabus D6 was insured by them.

I did it through a broker and their price was a lot cheaper than most mainly due to my modification being done by Brabus Germany complete with invoices and type approval certificates. I am quite happy to forward their details via pm.

Insuring modified cars isn't cheap but I would recommend informing them just in case you are unfortunate enough to sustain that kind of damage which means that you are unable to open the bonnet etc etc.

Please also be prepared for the extra costs involved in running a modified car...

You do get improved economy (high 40's easily on a 320cdi) but it requires discipline or cruise control. The economy reasoning does serve well as justification to the missus for why you've just spent thousands again.

Cars have enough problems as they are and once you are running in extreme mode (i.e. chipped) you tend to tear around a little bit more so you get through more brakes, tyres, bushes etc.

You also start to see sparks flying from the back of your car at night under hard acceleration which is due to "Oh thats just your catalytic convertor burning up under high exhaust gas temeperatues - its normal"!!!

I have personally been through two sets of injectors, a new rear diff and countless bushes and ball joints.

Was it worth it? Well financially no never!!! But whilst I had more disposable income it was a lot of fun!

 

[Chris_J]

I had a remapped Golf 1.8T, but that's all that was done to it performance wise. The obvious was the extra torque and acceleration, which I loved to use. In the end I went for Brembo brakes to make me feel a bit safer, and fitted Eibach ARBs to make it steadier.

Fuel consumption, forget it. That went through the floor after a remap because of my heavy right foot. The only other component I wore out quicker was the clutch, and I opted to uprate the ARB bushes.

 

[Parrot of Doom]

Try PEART associates, or A-plan insurance.

 

[illidan]

if i were you i would try any of the insurance companies in the back of max power or fast car. they will deal with anything from a back box on a nova to a 1200bhp skyline so i'm sure you may find one that is helpful

 

[Dieselman]

I dont understand why you even bothered informing NU about the d4 kit ?????

If something "touch-wood" was to happen then cant you simply unplug it and bring it back to norm ?????

Guess what? Insurance companies are now very smart about this kind of mod and are likely to remove the ECU for investigation if they feel there MIGHT be an issue.

I was insured with NU Direct and they refused insurance if a chip was fitted, so I didn't bother.
I am now insured with Royal and Sun Alliance Via Adrian Flux, who will allow something like 12% upgrade for about £25 and a 30% chip uplift for about £200 extra.
Knowing more about the EGT and other downsides to chipping I now wouldn't do it anyway so aren't bothered.

Even with a chip you will soon get used to the extra accelleration and will want more...

 

[fredfloggle]

Maybe the law has changed but .....
An insurance company didn't used to be able to refuse to insure , what they could do is impose conditions , one of course was a Road Traffic Risks only policy .
I insured my C coupe with direct line , and manage to total the first one . The assessor was pretty fair down the line (in saying that , it could have cost them a whole load more) , to the point of effectively asking me if I wanted the car back as it was a bit 50/50 . Premiums cheap , no loading after wrecking the first one , and to buy a bigger engined variant of the same car was pennies extra .
I am not sure I would go to the trouble of chipping a car .

 

[GrahamC230K]

Two points I'd like to contribute:

1. Do not risk not correctly insuring your car.

2. Take into consideration modifying your car will increase your premium and will reduce the number of insurers to choose from. Every year you will pay the increased premium for your upgrade. Is it worth it? There are two valid answers to this, but only uou can decide.

I have chosen to go modified for the S4 but keep the TDI stock, depsite the easy power gains on tap.

 

[Dieselman]

Maybe the law has changed but .....
An insurance company didn't used to be able to refuse to insure , what they could do is impose conditions , one of course was a Road Traffic Risks only policy .
I insured my C coupe with direct line , and manage to total the first one . The assessor was pretty fair down the line (in saying that , it could have cost them a whole load more) , to the point of effectively asking me if I wanted the car back as it was a bit 50/50 . Premiums cheap , no loading after wrecking the first one , and to buy a bigger engined variant of the same car was pennies extra .
I am not sure I would go to the trouble of chipping a car .

Fred
I think you are mistaken here. An insurance company will usually honor a 3rd party claim whatever the circumstances but are quite within their rights to refuse to insure a driver or car.
They can even terminate the insurance if they feel they want to, at very short notice sometimes, like same day.

Sorry for being a bit dim but I didn't understand what the rest of your post was saying. Care to elaborate.

 

[ddentrec]

If kbhogalW126 was refused insurance for his Brabus chip, then he will have to declare that he has been declined insurance when he does eventually take out a new policy.

Norwich Union will keep a record of this refusal and may share it with other insurers later on if they want to decline a claim.