2010 Mazdaspeed 3 car insurance

[WillyH]

Hey guys,

Does anyone tell their insurance company that your car has mods so that the mods will be covered in case of an accident?

I informed my insurance of my mods, and they said that I might have to go into residual market insurance because my car may be too risky to insure......wtf?

Please let me know how you handle insurance and if it's worth the hassle of listing your mods to your company and hoping that they will not freak out or increase your premiums/deny you coverage.

Thank you,

Willy.

[aris]

I don't bother saying anything about mods.

[hit26k]

I don't bother saying anything about mods.

+1. never bothered telling insurance. i'd rather take a loss on mods than have my premiums go up.

[WillyH]

Well, if there was a serious accident, your car was totaled, you made a claim to replace your vehicle, but didn't inform your insurance of yours MODS, there is a very high chance that you would have to cover everything yourself - including any law suits.

[thekid]

Well, if there was a serious accident, your car was totaled, you made a claim to replace your vehicle, but didn't inform your insurance of yours MODS, there is a very high chance that you would have to cover everything yourself - including any law suits.

That's not completely true. The insurance company can definitely not deny you Liability coverage would cover any law suits. As for the car itself, while I've heard they could deny paying out for the collision portion of the policy, from what i've heard they tend to just not pay for the mods, and in some cases upon the next renewal they've canceled the insurance policy.

What you're looking for is Facility insurance, they're generally willing to charge you extra premiums but will completely cover everything.

[Fuyuzora]

The insurance company can definitely not deny you Liability coverage would cover any law suits.

I'm not so sure about that; the legally binding contract between yourself and your insurance company typically includes a "total disclosure" clause that in order to retain the policy, the insurance company must be informed of any modification or other change in the vehicle. If you intentionally choose to violate that portion of the contract, they can declare you were (already) in breach of contract at the time of the incident and deny any association with you.

It would be really nice if they made it easier to insure cars for the same amount and simply forfeit the value of the mods, but alas it does not seem to work out that way.

[WillyH]

MY insurance company just told me that they will only insure my car is there is 1 mod max on it. They are contacting residual insurance to see what my rates would be with mods.

I don't get it......If our cars were to be fully modded to the teeth, they would compare to an BMW M3 right? Maybe close. Do they deny M3's insurance because they are fast? NO! Why are mods considered taboo? It's not like any driver that has mods on his car drives like a retard and get into accidents all the time (Higher risk).

Insurance companies are moronic with their stupid policies.

**** em.

[hit26k]

Insurance companies are moronic with their stupid policies.

**** em.

amen!

[aris]

I have had my insurance cancelled on my truck for non discloure cause of my mods when I told them.

I had 15 days to find new insurance and didn't say anything about mods to the new company

[Fuyuzora]

I think the silliest facet of the whole "insurance and mods" debacle is that they expel clients based on the premise of increased risk, regardless of their prior history. They then cite the number of vehicles in collisions which have been modded... And yet, because they aren't tracking which cars have mods on them and aren't in collisions (because they're not covered), they can't possibly generate a fully accurate risk assessment.

The only way they can come up with their numbers would be to make an assumption on the relative proportion of cars which are modded, then compare that assumption with the actual relative frequency of claims involving modded vs. stock vehicles.

It also seems to me that by rejecting this part of the market they are losing potential customers... They should allow modded vehicles, track in detail the nature of the mods, and start compiling detailed statistics on the relative claim rates involving different vehicle-mod combinations.

They'd continue to have paying customers, and we'd be allowed to pursue a hobby without undue grief due to insurance. Win-win.

[WillyH]

Answer me this: How is a modded car a higher risk to an insurance company compared to a car with with the same specs that isn't modded? They can't throw all of us in one bag and assume that because we have modded cars, that there is going to be a higher risk of a claim. There is no difference besides some of the parts from one car being custom.

[Fuyuzora]

Answer me this: How is a modded car a higher risk to an insurance company compared to a car with with the same specs that isn't modded? They can't throw all of us in one bag and assume that because we have modded cars, that there is going to be a higher risk of a claim. There is no difference besides some of the parts from one car being custom.

Well...

<Devil's Advocate>

- Quality control of materials
- Compliance with DOT and other specifications
- Increased risk of failure elsewhere in system due to performance enhanced beyond specification
- Lack of long-term documented testing in each specific model
- etc.

</Devil's Advocate>

... or so their logic probably goes. Not that I agree with it.

[PearlM3]

I find the easiest thing is to just do mods that make your car LOOk good, my insurance company has no problem as long as they are not performance enhancing. I will give them the fact that Ontario seems to have a street racing problem, and I can also say it is NOT the bmw drivers who are street racing. It is young guys with modded cars. So basically you have 2 choices, go my route, and refrain from performance mods, or do the performance mods, and accept the risk. Like it's been said on here before ballin aint cheap.

[WillyH]

I find the easiest thing is to just do mods that make your car LOOk good, my insurance company has no problem as long as they are not performance enhancing. I will give them the fact that Ontario seems to have a street racing problem, and I can also say it is NOT the bmw drivers who are street racing. It is young guys with modded cars. So basically you have 2 choices, go my route, and refrain from performance mods, or do the performance mods, and accept the risk. Like it's been said on here before ballin aint cheap.

True.

Just a note to all those who think that just because your insurance company doesn't know of your performance mods, doesn't mean that they will be willing to cover your a**. Your insurance company not knowing you have performance mods is equal to you not having insurance if there were to be an issue.

Worst case scenario - You hit a pedestrian and cripple him. He sues you for 2 million. Your car is performance modded. Your insurance company wasn't aware of the modifications. They find out about the mods when the cripple makes the claim against you. That pedestrian and his family own you. How long would it take someone making approx. 50k/year to pay 2 million off? Assuming that you also have a mortgage/car and other large bills to pay....hope your children have high paying executive jobs.

Damn, I think I am out of modding for good unless I can get a descent quote from an insurance company.

I still think that they are a bunch of thieves that take out all the fun from driving a rocket.

[hit26k]

Willy, what mods are you exactly running?

[WillyH]

Willy, what mods are you exactly running?

Currently, I have a K&N SRI, Magnaflow catback exhaust, and I was going to get a HP fuel pump this week. Next month, I was going to get a downpipe, racepipe and TMIC. Month after that, I was going to lower my car. Nothing huge, but I would have got some nice gains from it.

Are there any companies that provide cheap insurance for cars with mods? I am looking at paying $200/month max.....

[hit26k]

Currently, I have a K&N SRI, Magnaflow catback exhaust, and I was going to get a HP fuel pump this week. Next month, I was going to get a downpipe, racepipe and TMIC. Month after that, I was going to lower my car. Nothing huge, but I would have got some nice gains from it.

Are there any companies that provide cheap insurance for cars with mods? I am looking at paying $200/month max.....

the only performance enhancement i see is your SRI (correct me if im wrong). I dont know, it seems your insurance company is trying to scare you. if thats all you got going, and cosmetic enhancements are all you have planned next, then you should be ok. If you don't mind me asking, what are they quoting you?

in terms of cheap insurance companies that like modded cars. i doubt you'll find one.

[PearlM3]

Every single mod on his list is performance enhancing lol they are all engine related

[hit26k]

Every single mod on his list is performance enhancing lol they are all engine related

my bad, as you can see - i have a lot to learn. lol

[Odin]

depends on insurance company. Usually you don't have to let them know unless $1500 worth of parts has be added to the vehicle.

[Mr Wilson]

Grave dig.

Post count +1

[Queue]

....Damn, I think I am out of modding for good unless I can get a descent quote from an insurance company.....

Are there any companies that provide cheap insurance for cars with mods? I am looking at paying $200/month max.....

May have a solution for you... PM'd

...but I don't think you can get away with paying only $200 a month for a Speed3.

[Junior]

Price is irrelevant and can't be compared/applied to anyone else that owns a speed. Variations in age, neighborhood, experience, commuting distance, level of coverage, etc. will fluctuate rates across the board.

[cSPEED]

Yep, what Junior said.

I pay $150/mo for insurance but my car is "stock"

[Darkice]

exactly! ...why tell them when ur premiums will go up/or have your insurance getting canceled ... anyways tho risking your insurance to go up , the money that your paying extra could just pay for the mods that you might of lost in a accident.. ,never tell your insurance company about mods and if they come out to look at the car ... put everything engine related back to stock cause i know bel air direct is starting to do that...

+1. never bothered telling insurance. i'd rather take a loss on mods than have my premiums go up.