[neilybealy]

better to be safe than sorry i guess but i've just renewed my insurance and the price went up by approx £40 because i told them my car had the factory fitted leather seats fitted as an option

and the bit that makes you laugh is they will only replace my seats with cloth seats because cloth seats are the standard fit

would everyone else have declared the leather seats?

neil

**EDIT - i was going to add a poll but can't see where you add one **

 

[Royster]

How can they up your premium and say they won't replace them??? I thought you only had to declare items that directly effect the cars driving characteristics?

 

[Reflex TDI]

That's plainly wrong on both counts.

The car is manufacturer's specification with some factory options.

Also, how can they justify charging a premium and refusing to honour the risk they are off-setting the premium against? That is inequitable.

Someone is spiing you a line in bull. Care to name and shame?

 

[neilybealy]

well it hapenned when i bought the car last month with bell direct - i had to pay an extra £5 when i told him about the leather seats

and i have just renewed my insurance with elephant....

the price was £369 and when i asked him to go through the quote to make sure everything was correct (because it seemed cheap) i told him it had leather seats that were fitted as a factory fitted option and also for some reason my licence type was IAM and i don't have that licence

the price now went upto £423 for the year with class 1 business use and 1 named driver

they says the endorsement is "standard parts replacement"

 

[Mikedav]

Surely the seats are standard on the car you bought so there should be no premium hike? and there should also be standard parts replacement - somebody is having a laugh

 

[neilybealy]

that was my view to be honest

but they say that if yuo lined up a row of cars exactly the same as mine and my car had leather seats it would be more attractive for thieves

 

[Royster]

Makes you wonder whether we should all walk to work!!!

 

[Reflex TDI]

quote:

Originally posted by neilybealy

that was my view to be honest

but they say that if yuo lined up a row of cars exactly the same as mine and my car had leather seats it would be more attractive for thieves

Bet you are talking to a call-centre operative with limited training and product knowledge then. Go higher up the chain to clarify as I wouldn't accept that. What if one seat is nicked LOL!

 

[Newbie123]

I'm with norwich union direct and I mentioned about the factory fitted options I had (leather/alcantara seats, Sat Nav, cruise)

response........

No extra charge, factory fitted options aren't considered to affect the risk. They did say that might be different if you want for some stupidly expensive alloys. But generally they don't increase the premium.

 

[ianhg]

oh dear i am with elephant.should i declair that i have a w8 light and tourag torch.gonna make the car more stealable with those! lol

 

[MarkReading]

I'm with VW insurance as they was cheaper then DirectLine when I bought my Golf 2 weeks ago now and they increased the premium because of all the extras on the car. I even got money back from DL too...[:O]

I did ask why even though they were factory fitted and they said they were 'extras' not the normal parts but it would be replaced with like-4-like if anything did happen.

Since then I've taken several photos both for on here for you guys to see and, the main reason, to keep safe to show the insurance company what was on there if the worst happened.

 

[karlh]

I've never declared any factory fitted options on other cars but will do from now on just to be on the safe side!

A mate of mine spoke to the underwriters at Admiral about the difference in cost between his renewal quote and online quote for his Z4 . When he was going through it they asked about factory fitted options as these would have an impact on the costs as anything over and above bog standard makes the car more nickable - just as you've said.

So the different alloys, heated seats, folding wing mirrors, upgraded stereo and whatever else he had factory fitted all attracted an extra cost!

Admiral even said our Clifford Concept 500 was a modification but wouldn't increase the premium - very considerate of them that []

My experience with insurance companies has told me to tell them about absolutely everything, they love an excuse not to pay out!

 

[Tolly]

quote:

Originally posted by karlh

Admiral even said our Clifford Concept 500 was a modification but wouldn't increase the premium - very considerate of them that []

Hmm... Potentially increasing a premium because you have an alarm/immobiliser that would actually make the car less nickable.

What do these people put on their cornflakes ???

 

[karlh]

quote:

Originally posted by Tolly

Hmm... Potentially increasing a premium because you have an alarm/immobiliser that would actually make the car less nickable.

What do these people put on their cornflakes ???

I know, made me laugh when she said it was a mod!

Didn't reduce the premium any either which I thought it might do, I guess as the Golf has a Cat 1 alarm fitted anyway it doesn't make a difference.....

 

[dlyall]

I've had arguements with DL before about the Satnav and Recaros in our Bora. They even considered metallic paint to be a mod! It would appear that the seats would be covered but the policy had a limit of £750 (IIRC) for audio equipment. So basically if the car was knicked/destroyed, I'd get a replacement without the satnav.

I had a similar arguement with them about about garden furniture cover on our house policy. We bought a set of Teak furniture worth around £1100 but the policy limits you to £500 for furniture. Again, they had no facility to increase cover with an increased premium.

Finally, what's the consensus on tracking products. Do they make much difference to your premium. We're thinking of getting an A3 and might consider a tracker for peace of mind.

Thanks

Dave

 

[Reflex TDI]

Don't buy a tracking system for the premium discount alone - you will get between 2.5% and 10%. However, as an investment protector they are highly commendable - think of all the uninsured expenses associated with a theft claim - taxis, hire cars, excess, loss of NCD, personal effects, increased premium, reduced insurability, modifications/factory extras[V].

As an example, Audi A3 TDI 140 premium of £665 with Zurich reduced by £35 for Tracker Monitor with Guard & Recover.

 

[cage]

Insurance is a funny old game. Insurance friend of mine informed me that all factory options are class as modification from the standard factory spec. Most insurance have a set price scale for every part on your vehicle. So there is a large chance that they will not fork out for things like leather. It is worst for cars over 3 years old now, as they will not pay for original manufactured parts, but OEM spec quality made part or if your willing second hand parts. This is total bol*!#ks.

 

[terminator]

What a load of bo****ks these insurance companies come out with. Basically, make sure you speak to the organ grinder (the underwriter) and not just the monkey (call centre operative)when negotiating your 'non standard' risk. If you car has factory fitted options as opposed to after market options, these should be covered. The key words to stress here are 'factory fitted'. Unless 'factory fitted' options are specifically excluded in the policy wording then the insurer has a duty to cover these, the onus being on the policy holder to prove that these items were fitted in the first place. Keep bill of sale if the car was new or take photographs of options fitted to the car with the Vin number noted, ideally signed by an independent witness.