Added St Spoiler - Insurance Invalid?!

[luke.grimbley]

I just added an ST spoiler to my car and called my insurance to declare it. Expecting my policy to go up in cost i was prepared to pay out and braced. When the assistant came back and told me I was no longer covered I was shocked.

If I can't change something as little as a spoiler what can be done.. I really feel like insurance companies take liberties as insurance is a legal requirement.

Does anyone know of any companies that will insure unlimited modifications for a 21 year old? I am willing to pay more if I don't have daft constraints.

Thanks in advance.

[alexp999]

It depends on the insurer.

I was with RSA previously through Ford Insure, and they just noted it on a "return to standard spec" basis.

So they didn't charge me any more, but if anything happened to the car, they would return it to the standard spec, excluding my modifications. That only went for cosmetic changes though, anything performance related was a separate issue.

The only thing I can think of, is getting some quotes through, with the modification declared and going with the cheapest one. I found Zurich to be the cheapest with mods declared, but it can vary massively by age, car, location, etc. Depending on what the insurer's "preferred" customer is...

I assume they have cancelled your insurance and are issuing a refund?

[luke.grimbley]

Not yet as I have told them I may remove the spoiler. Any idea if i will lose all my no claims if I was to cancel the policy, or just the few months I have been with them? I am highly tempted to change.

[alexp999]

You will only loose the no claims discount since renewal, so the past few months.

Your last renewal document is your proof of no claims.

[luke.grimbley]

That's good news, I thought I'd be looking at losing the whole lot. Thanks for that.

Do you know if the FOC insurance covers modifications? I'm sure I've seen an insurance rep on the forums too. If you see this...:P

[alexp999]

You can get a discount for being a member on here with Adrian Flux.

They are an insurance broker and yes they will definitely do modifications.

Just remember to still shop around and find yourself the best deal for you.

I had a rear spoiler fitted to my old Focus and didn't have too much trouble getting it insured, this included getting prices from Adrian Flux, but found it cheapest going with Zurich

[luke.grimbley]

Thanks for the help :)

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

Hi,

Please feel free to give us a try for insurance if you like. If you'd like to P me some contact details I'd be happy to arrange for one of my quotes team to give you a call back.

Regards,

Dan.

[luke.grimbley]

Thanks Dan, I did end up going with Adrian Flux. Now fully covered again.

[Brigante]

Being the one that sold you the spoiler I started to feel quite guilty after reading your first post mate

Though finishing reading I see you've sorted it and are now with a better insurer

Still though I can't believe they flat out said your insurance was now void. Yeah its a sort of mod but the all you did was swap the standard spoiler on your car for a different shaped spoiler that comes as standard on a different spec of the same car. Not a major change and not like its a fake fibreglass copy or aftermarket, it's a genuine ford part made for your car. At most I'd of expected a small increase in premium.

If you hadn't of gone with flux I was gonna recommend giving green light a shout who is the broker I use. I was originally with admiral for the first years ownership of my focus, paying between 1100-1300 with my old man as a named driver.

I then had a change of address and admiral wanted an extra grand!!! Yes an extra one thousand pounds to insure me at my new post code bringing it up to around £2300 for my second year. Would of been your age and I'd just modified the focus by fitting the st spolier, st rear bumper and various other bits and I got a quote through green light, they slashed my quote of £2300 from admiral by more than half, right down to 695pounds. Thats at my new post code that admiral wanted an extra grand to insure me at and with all mods declared and without my old man as a named driver so it was my own policy.

Best bit was when I told admiral I was leaving them and that green light was gonna insure me for under 700quid, admiral asked if I would stay with them if they matched the lower quote. So they was gonna magically make the grand for the change of postcode disappear as well as knock an extra 600quid off my first years quote. Took great pleasure in telling them where to go.

When I later modified the focus even further by fitting the halo headlights, st side skirts and ms design front lip I phoned up greenlight to declare the new mods and was very happy to find there was only a 25quid admin fee to pay and no nasty hike in premium.

If your modifying your car it really does pay to ditch the big mainstream brands and go with a specialized modified car insurer of the likes of greenlight and flux. They tend to insure from the age of 21 and actually see people that modify cars as less of a risk and not the usual boyracer, as if your spending money doing your pride and joy up your less likely to want to drive it like a naana and crash it.

[luke.grimbley]

Don't feel guilty, not your fault at all bud. If anything it's opened more doors now that i have a better policy. When I called Direct Line to cancel the guy I spoke to couldn't believe it ether and even double checked while I waited. He thinks it's all down to me being 21. I have more planned so being able to declare it without hassle is a must. As you say people spending extra modifying there cars are more likely to take care of them so refusing to cover me for fitting a very slightly different spoiler is crazy.

I think what make it worse for me is I need a business policy and do about 15000 miles a year bumping the price up reducing my options for cover.

An extra K for a change of address is just madness!

[Brigante]

Glad it worked out better for you then dude. definitely better off with flux. how much are you now paying?

I was in the same boat as you needing business insurance. added about 90quid to my policy bringing it up to nearly 800 for my second policy. Still a damn sight lower than what it would of been with admiral

My third policy was only about 550 including business use

then when i bought the titan it was only a 25quid admin fee again to transfer the rest of the focus policy onto the mondy. I had just turned 25 though so that obviously stopped a big hike. But still went from a 1.6 petrol focus to a 2.2 turbocharged diesel thats basically the st so was more than happy with just the admin fee.

Stick with it though mate, keep modding and enjoy the new policy. Couple years n your premium will plummet