should i declair my alloys?

[e30bmlover]

hi all, just after some thoughts on declareing my alpina reps to my insurance company, would you? is it worth it?

[Theo]

Hello mate, I think its a good idea, if you have an accident they will take one look at the wheels and see that you have a undeclared modification, and then you are totally buggered. Need to do the same for mine as soon as I put them on, and take the policy of suspension. Theo.

[dobbie82]

if you are insure with a highstreet/bog standard company eg direct line, norwich union etc, they wont actually insure the wheels they just want you to declare it, if you dont and you need to claim they wont pay up as they were not declared. if you do declare them and need repairs, they will only replace with standard spec either bbs or bottle nosed if you unlucky.



oooh I am waffling!

I havent declared the alloys on my 318i, because they are worth less than the BBS it came with!

[Mahmood]

Hi there

Yes you should declare all mods. Not sure who your policy is with but lots of insurers like Adrian Flux and Performance Direct will cover you as log as you declare.

[E30BeemerLad]

Yes declare them!

You may get stung for a few extra quid too, but the consequences are that if you overlook doing this then your insurers could refuse to pay out on a theft claim and also refuse to pay out on a third party claim or come and seek their outlay back from you.

An insurance policy is a "contract of upmost good faith" meaning they rely on the info about you and your car when deciding on what risk you are and how much to charge you for this risk. By not being straight with them, you simply give them an opportunity to shaft you, should you ever need to make a claim.

Often in the event of non-disclosure they will simply charge you the additional premium you should have paid in the first place, but they do reserve the right to decline your claim. Issues of non-disclosure will also delay any claim and it's not like they are ever in a hurry to part with cash in the first place.

[e30bmlover]

im insured with norwich union......this is my first car, i had a knock in her, just done the front passinger side wing the corner of the bonnet, they gave me Ԛ£600 to get it done with, so i thought oh well i had better get a m-tec2 kit so i have. should i declair that aswell? i paid Ԛ£500 for the complete kit(genuine bmw) and a wing and bonnet.

[bmwe30mtech]

I declared my wheels and tech 2 kit etc. .... but do you need to declare clear repeaters and eyebrow spoilers?

Paul

[Turbo-Brown]

Think about it this way:

If YOUR car didn't leave the factory with a bodykit, alloys or whatever, then tell your insurers. That most definately extends to "High Performance" brake pads and the like too.

Most likely they'll say "that's nice, cheers" and that'll be it but at least you're then covered!

[Zayyan]

If it's not a BMW part you've modified with you should definitely tell them.

Though if I were to change my BBS Cross-spokes from 14" to 15", add an iS lip and an M Tech II steering wheel, should I inform the insurance company of these even though they're some of simplest of factory/dealer options?

[bmwe30mtech]

Should i declare putting leather in it then?

[Zayyan]

Should i declare putting leather in it then?

That's what I'm wondering - Lee the insurance man will have an answer.

Turbo-Brown, re "leaving the factory" with bodykit etc, what about the cars which have had options like this retrofitted at the dealers?

Surely it's not a "mod" if it's been put on by the dealers and would this extend to something that the dealers "could have" put on, i.e. M Tech steering wheel etc.

Or does it count as a modification if you do it yourself, but if the dealer does it then it's not?

[fuzzy]

what theyre most likely to say is "thanks,that ll put your premium up" but in the event of a claim will only pay out for standard replacement parts. youve got to weigh up if the increase in premium and possible loss of no claims in the event of a claim is likely to be more than just replacing the parts yourself if you dont declare. it counts as a mod if its not a standard bmw part your fitting,right down to an aftermarket gear knob

[Zayyan]

it counts as a mod if its not a standard bmw part your fitting

So if you were to fit a Tech II bodykit and wheel, M Tech suspension, 16" Alpinas and a leather interior I wouldn't have to inform the insurance company?

Madness

[bmwe30mtech]

what theyre most likely to say is "thanks,that ll put your premium up" but in the event of a claim will only pay out for standard replacement parts. youve got to weigh up if the increase in premium and possible loss of no claims in the event of a claim is likely to be more than just replacing the parts yourself if you dont declare. it counts as a mod if its not a standard bmw part your fitting,right down to an aftermarket gear knob

so if its genuine bmw stuff, then its not a mod?

[Dan318-is]

it counts as a mod if its not a standard bmw part your fitting

So if you were to fit a Tech II bodykit and wheel, M Tech suspension, 16" Alpinas and a leather interior I wouldn't have to inform the insurance company?

Madness

Alpinas are not standard BMW

[Zayyan]

it counts as a mod if its not a standard bmw part your fitting

So if you were to fit a Tech II bodykit and wheel, M Tech suspension, 16" Alpinas and a leather interior I wouldn't have to inform the insurance company?

Madness

Alpinas are not standard BMW

I thought they were the "official" tuners and so were part of BMW?

Assume I said 15" BBS above if not

[E30BeemerLad]

if you listen to how insurers phrase their question, they usually ask "does your car have any modifications or optional extras fitted?"

Now indeed it is very difficult to know what "extras" may be fitted to a 15+ year old car. So if it is not obvious like 17" alpina reps etc or you know full well it ain't standard like an mtec kit on a non-sport then the most sensible reply you can make is "not to my knowledge".

But the bottom line is that any extra or modificaiton from how it left the production line is something that should be declared. Like fuzzy has pointed out, you will 90% of the time only get standard replcement items for your modified ones.

Paying insurance is a bitch, most of you on here are probably paying Ԛ£500+ per annum. Why do we do it? because it is a legal requirement and also peace of mind that if some thieving scum take your car for example, you will hopefully see some reimbursement.

Minor mods will not increase your premium much, so it seems stupidity not to delcare these mods and pay your insurers Ԛ£500+ only for them to say, "sorry old chap, you did not tell us about those drug dealer alloys which probably invited the attention of the thieves in the first place, but thanks for your Ԛ£500 contribution anyway"

Internal engine mods and chips etc are something you can probably get away with all day long, but anything visual and you are potentially cheating yourself more than your insurer.

[bmwe30mtech]

I may just give NU a ring tomorrow.

[e30bmlover]

join the club mate.....im going to give them a bell tomorrow!!!! i tried to call earlier but the were shut!!! nu are a bunch of asses!

[bmwe30mtech]

I find them to be ok, its the DVLA i have a ongoing hate for. I wont express it on here lol. (although they finaly reasiled they were wrong in the end lol)

What are you going to declare to NU?

Paul

[GuyM]

Internal engine mods and chips etc are something you can probably get away with all day long, but anything visual and you are potentially cheating yourself more than your insurer.

Noooooo....
if you have a big smack, especially if plod is inolved or anyone is injured, one of the first thing the insurance assessors do is check your chip, because they know it is so easy to change. (and therefore so easy for them to check!)
Different chip = invalid insurance = no payout!

Other mods under the bonnet.......
i guess if it's bored out cylinders that going to be tough for them to see, but if they open the bonnet and see anything out of the ordinary (breather pipes, air filters, performance manifold etc they could dispute the claim)
And lets face it, with any nice looking e30 that gets in a smack, both plod and the assessor are going to have a quick peek under the bonnet to see if they can imply "excessive speed" is a factor
Chat to your ins co and see what they say.

[Turbo-Brown]

You really should declare things like cams because even though they're not easy to spot, if you have a major prang, like that guy who derailed a train a few years back, you can bet your ass they'll have someone check very closely!

However, and this is just my opinion, if you took your 200k engine and rebuilt it with 1st oversized pistons, I think you could reasonably say that it hadn't been modded as it was just maintainence and not aimed specifically at increasing performance. Must stress that that is just my opinion though!