mods on an insured vehicle

[sussgq]

G’day legends, so the age old dabble of having mods on our daily’s interfering with insurance. yes, i know the first thought is to get rid of them, or get engineering, but that’s not what i’m asking.

who has actually had a stack, either at fault or not and had troubles getting a claim back for things like 35’s, lift, no muffler etc? i’ve heard most people will truck the car home, and change stuff over before insurance inspect it to write off (if that’s the case)

am i correct in understanding that anything deemed ‘unroadworthy’, even such as a chipped windscreen, broken headlight, pillar pod, small things like that, also technically void insurance coverage?

any input is greatly appreciated

[mudski]

Those would be questions to ask your insurer, not us. I have every mod listed on my policy, except for the last being a Hi mount winch and new rear bar, but they will be notified soon with photos. As for having a chipped windscreen or broken tail light, again, ask your insurer about these as I am almost 100% certain, the answer will vary between insurance companies.

[MB]

I believe we hopefully understand your BOLD question SSGQ Mate
ADR’s (Australian Design Rulers :-) state very specific do’s and don’t’s so it is what is legislated....legal....hard to argue in court versus many other industries that are standardised but not legislated if that makes sense?
(‘Should’ versus ‘Shall’ in unlegistaled spelling check please :-)


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[mudnut]

Years ago, I stacked my XW Fairmont, and got a call from the assessor saying the claim would be denied, because the vehicle had extractors fitted. I told him that I had listed them as a mod. I heard the bastard swear under his breath, before saying "Fine, the claim is excepted."

As mudski posted. Make sure everything is listed, to be absolutely sure you are covered. Keeping the vehicle roadworthy is just an expense we have to pay.

[sussgq]

this is a very good point Mudski. i’ve got everything listed on my policy, lift turbo piping etc all the fruit, but i’ve heard lots of bad feedback from people saying insurers will deny claims if you’ve got 35s or such on the car at the time they inspect it. although i was in a serious accident with all the work boys in our bosses car, he had 35s on the 79 dually and insurance didn’t question it all. obviously he wasn’t at fault but still

[sussgq]

I believe we hopefully understand your BOLD question SSGQ Mate
ADR’s (Australian Design Rulers :-) state very specific do’s and don’t’s so it is what is legislated....legal....hard to argue in court versus many other industries that are standardised but not legislated if that makes sense?
(‘Should’ versus ‘Shall’ in unlegistaled spelling check please :-)


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i might ring up as a customer ‘looking to buy a car and enquiring about insurance’, question the whole big tyres/illegal mods situation and see what they have to say.

[sussgq]

Years ago, I stacked my XW Fairmont, and got a call from the assessor saying the claim would be denied, because the vehicle had extractors fitted. I told him that I had listed them as a mod. I heard the bastard swear under his breath, before saying "Fine, the claim is excepted."

As mudski posted. Make sure everything is listed, to be absolutely sure you are covered. Keeping the vehicle roadworthy is just an expense we have to pay.

lucky save there! haha

i do have everything that’s done to my car listed on my policy, but obviously the 35’s & a 3” straight through make it not roadworthy. i have heard lots of people say to deny your claim they’ve got to prove the illegal mods were the cause of the accident, but they way i see that is they’ll just make any excuse to make them the cause, because that saves them money

[mudski]

this is a very good point Mudski. i’ve got everything listed on my policy, lift turbo piping etc all the fruit, but i’ve heard lots of bad feedback from people saying insurers will deny claims if you’ve got 35s or such on the car at the time they inspect it. although i was in a serious accident with all the work boys in our bosses car, he had 35s on the 79 dually and insurance didn’t question it all. obviously he wasn’t at fault but still

What I was told by my insurer was they cannot deny a claim if a particular mod was in no way an influence on the accident. I.E your illegal 35's and someone ran into the back of you. But you run into the back of someone I could see them denying your claim because of the 35's hampering your stopping power.

[Cuppa]

If something on your car is not legal,insurers wont always automatically deny your claim, but the onus of proof that the illegal mod did not contribute to the accident is on you, & that could cost you more than what you are claiming. (eg.expert testimony etc).

[sussgq]

What I was told by my insurer was they cannot deny a claim if a particular mod was in no way an influence on the accident. I.E your illegal 35's and someone ran into the back of you. But you run into the back of someone I could see them denying your claim because of the 35's hampering your stopping power.

this is exactly what i was thinking, i’m so cautious now when driving after being in two accidents i was lucky to survive (both not my fault, one was a roll over in my old hilux), hopefully it’s something i won’t ever have to deal with. touch wood

cheers for the input legends