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When Is A Modification A Modification


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#16 Carlos W

Carlos W

    Mine is purple, but I have been told that's normal

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Posted 14 December 2016 - 04:44 PM

Some things on car stand out like a sore thumb, big wheels, arches, bucket seats, modified dash, big boy exhaust, air filter, Carb (s) modified brakes and so on (4 pot calipers for example.) so these are pretty much straight forward if you go pre armed with a bit of info of what the standard car should have (Google or even ask on here)

 

Engine modifications can be a whole different story though so without a strip down its impossible to tell.

 

I hear all too often people saying don't bother telling them everything, well as an example, you crash into me with your Modified car (undeclared) and the Police get involved along with the insurance company. Now the first thing that happens is the Police (if involved) will look at the scene and both cars. They will issue out a form to me stating who they are, the drivers involved etc which can then be passed onto the the insurance company i will be claiming off (ie the person who crashed into me)

Now depending on the state of the vehicles they are towed away as they are no longer driveable. The insurance assessor will then visit these vehicles to see whether they can be repaired economically. He reports back and mentions that the car that caused the crash has what appears to be modifications and so the insurance company WILL check to see if they are declared.

 

They find they are not which then nulls the insurance. Myself will be informed i cannot claim against that policy and will have to claim against mine. This may or may not affect my NCB, etc etc etc. You the person who has caused the crash will have a damaged car and an insurance company chasing you for fraud and other things like damages etc etc. I will then chase you for expenses incurred through the courts if required.

 

Now certain people will say "this will never happen" good luck with that is all i will say. The grief i went through with the serious RTA i had over 5 years ago shows the lengths Insurance companies will go to.

 

I do know that age and cost plays a very significant part, been through all of that with my son and god help us when we finally get Project Erm on the road with whatever power plant he decides to install.

 

My 'Mini' is actually a kit car registered as an Austin Mini Minus.  What was standard on a Mini Minus and what's a modification?  Does it follow the mini that went into it, or is it what ever was fitted when it was built?  Other than the details on the V5, it's impossible to say what is a modification and what went on when it was built.

 

Hopefully in your case a decent insurance company will recognise the car for what it is and what is fitted to it. I suspect you would have gone to a more specialised company.

If you have a crash and you're not insured due to an undeclared modification the insurance company should cover 3rd party losses. (The person you hit)

 

The same if you're found to be over the limit.

 

What the insurance wont pay for is the damage to your vehicle, the recovery costs, the storage costs, costs of cleaning the road of any fluids, any damage to road side furniture, any personal injury etc etc etc etc.

 

Then you face the likelihood of being charged with driving without insurance. Try getting insured once you've got 6-9 points for driving without insurance. 

 

So you saved 50 quid by not declaring that exhaust? It could end up costing thousands

 

Ignorance is not a defence in law, so simply saying I didn't know isn't likely to get you very far.

 

If the crash caused serious injury they will literally take your car apart and inspect everything, brakes, suspension, depending on the state of the car they may even rolling road it to see what power it's producing. 

 

I had a crash about 13 years ago and the car I was driving had a bigger (factory fitted) spoiler. The crash wasn't my fault, and the grief this caused was unbelievable. I ended up having to pay for the courtesy car provided and the car never was repaired



#17 paulrockliffe

paulrockliffe

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Posted 14 December 2016 - 08:11 PM

There's a lot more caselaw now compared with 13 years ago that limits insurers ability to walk away from cover on technicalities.  If you make the vehicle faster, but speed isn't the cause of the crash, then your insurance is not invalidated.  

 

In your example, you have an insured driver where the insurance company pays out the third party element, yet that same driver is charged with driving without insurance.  They clearly were insured to the level required by the law, so prosecution isn't going to happen.






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