Personalization of the latter through modifications to one’s car remains one of the most widespread ways, in which vehicle owners could have their drive more experiential, receive better performance, or make their vehicle look a lot better. The modifications may make your car a good deal more fun to drive or look improved; however, they can raise your car insurance by a significant amount. This is a peace-giving attribute in understanding how these changes could be affecting your insurance policy—you will know that you will not be hit with more premiums and gaps in your coverage.
At any time that you upgrade your vehicle with a new sound system, fitting a turbocharger, or indeed changing the exhaust system, you are changing the vehicle away from what it was designed for in the first place. All of these modifications therefore indicate your car’s performance, safety features, and general value could now be different from the original spec. An insurer may thus view the risk of a modified car as being greater by all these changes and price your premiums accordingly.
Among the concerns an insurer would have is that such modifications increase the risk of accidents. Speed-enhancing devices, such as engine or sport suspension systems, make the car faster and hence give less predictable handling characteristics than what a given driver may be used to. From the standpoint of an insurance company, this increases the probability of accidents, and so the cost of coverage will naturally rise. This even includes non-performance-enhancing modifications, such as custom paint jobs or body kits, since these would make the car more attractive or appealing to thieves, hence increasing the likelihood of the car’s theft.
Another example of how modifications can affect your insurance is in regard to appreciating value. Aftermarket modifications can raise the replacement value of a vehicle astronomically, especially if they involve high-ticket components or customization. In case your car is involved in an accident or is stolen, the repair price, or even replacement, for a tuned vehicle can be way higher than in the case of the stock version. Therefore, because of an increased value and probable repair cost for the improved version of the vehicle, insurance companies increase the premium.
Not all modifications need to result in a premium hike. Other modifications, such as those making the vehicle safer through advanced alarm systems, anti-lock brakes, or parking sensors, actually do reduce insurance premiums for the owners of the vehicles. Since this kind of fitment reduces the chance of accidents and theft, it is seen as favorable by the insurance providers. Even in case of safety-related changes, the insurer should be informed; otherwise, the company may refuse a claim, or worse, cancel the policy.
Another very common mistake among car owners is not letting their insurance company know in case they do some modifications. Many have a wrong impression that minor changes won’t make changes to the insurance, or they simply don’t need to bring it to the notice of the insurance provider. However, you might not know the danger of probable denial of claims in case the insurer proves that you have a modification that results in an accident or increases the value of the car without adequate cover. You should update your insurer each time that you make a modification, no matter how small.
Before modifying your car in any way, get advice from your provider to be on the safe side. Some insurers deal specifically with modified vehicles and can offer you policies that look toward the types of changes you want to make. In practice, such policies usually include coverage for the full value of the modifications—hence, in case of an accident or theft, variations are properly protected. Agreed value Some insurers may further offer agreed value policies, under which you and the insurer jointly agree on the worth of your car, modifications and all, at the time the policy is written.
In a nutshell, car modifications can have a main impact on your insurance policy, in most cases raising premiums or different coverage provides. THOSE CHANGES, IN PARTICULAR IMPROVEMENT OF PERFORMANCE, COSMETICS, AND VALUE, ARE WHAT EFFECTIVELY CHANGES THE WAY UNDERWRITERS VIEW YOUR RISK AND PRICE YOUR POLICY. KEEP YOUR INSURER AT ALL APPROPRIATELY INFORMED OF THE STATUS OF MODIFICATIONS FOR THE BEST POSSIBLE PROTECTION. YOU MIGHT WANT TO WORK WITH THAT INSURER DEFINED BY THE MODIFIED VEHICLES TO GET YOUR RISK RIGHT. This will let you get a kick out of your improved car without worrying about whether you have proper coverage.