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Modified your car? Check your insurance!

There's no escaping the fact that modifying your car will affect your car insurance premium. Although insurers calculate your insurance premium based on many different factors, the condition of the car itself is one of the most important. Car manufacturers work closely with insurers so that a particular model of car can be insured to a set standard.

If you modify the car, by souping up the engine, for example, then the factors on which your premium has been based will have changed. Body kits, alloy wheels, suspension upgrades, even having the engine management system chipped are all likely to be classed as modifications. The bottom line is that modifying your car could dramatically reduce the number of insurers who are willing to insure you and your vehicle...

The devil is in the detail So before you embark on creating your 'dream machine', consider how much it could cost you in both the short term and in the long run. Not only do you have to pay for the materials to modify your car in the first place, you also have to re-insure it, which could be quite a challenge if it no longer meets standard specifications.

Modified your car? Check your insurance!

Your 'new' car is also likely to more attractive to thieves and therefore a higher risk to insure. And beware: when the novelty of owning your 'modified' car has worn off, the buying market could be limited and you could struggle to shift it at a reasonable price.

Top tips for those still keen on 'pimping' their ride...

  • The exhaust system must stretch out from the main body of the car otherwise poisonous fumes will engulf the car.
  • No red lights should be fitted to the front of the vehicle and no white lights should appear at the rear of the car.
  • Tyres must not stick out from the body of the vehicle; they overload and put strain on the axles.
  • Dont lower your driving seat too much so that your view through the windscreen is impaired in ANY way.
  • No bells or music should replace the standard horn.
  • You must inform your insurer of any modifications you have made or any modifications that have been made prior to purchase, even if they were carried out at the original dealer.

Before modifying your car, ask your insurer what the effect on your premium will be. Resist the temptation not to disclose the thousands of pounds worth of body kit and suspension upgrades you may have had done. Failure to disclose ALL modifications is certain to result in severe disappointment when the insurers refuse to pay out on claims. Think before you modify!

13 February 2006 © Moneyextra.com

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