Insurance for Modified Mazdas

[G ~ MINI]

Update...
Spoke to someone at BST insurance today.
Said they will get back to me next week.

[G ~ MINI]

So basically, the tl;dr is that if you have a modified engine (they might ask you what you've done, likely not, and if so, it's probably too much) that if you want to be "honest" and straight up with the insurance company with modifications to your car, you're going to be looking at Facility Association.

Facility Association is basically a non-profit organization setup by the insurance companies to provide insurance to the non-typical car or driver. They will give insurance to anyone, because it is the law in Ontario that insurance companies must provide underwriting to you and your vehicle. Just that most of them will refuse you, then you are basically shuffled into the Facility Association (FA) system. At this point, expect your typical insurance premium to double.

For reference, I am a 38 year old male with zero moving convictions (tickets), no insurance lapses, one of the first to proceed through the G1/G2/G staged licensing program, married, own a house, yada yada. Basically, I'm the ideal insurable driver.

It has been impossible to find an insurance company that will insure a car under 15 years of age with engine modifications. Note here that the 15 years of age is basically your barrier of entry to "do whatever the **** you want". I've called everyone. Zehr Brokers, Aviva, Hagerty, etc. As soon as you say "engine modification on a car under 15 years old", do no pass GO, do not collect $200.

I did end up with a quote through FA. For one year, with everything stated done to the car (GTX2871, forged interals, basically, they don't give a ****, you modify your engine, you're in this category), I'm at a $2645 per year premium.

Some of you might actually be paying this. Be assured that whatever you're paying is probably double and a little bit with FA. In my case I probably pay about $80/mth which works out to $960/year. I'm not sure exactly what my cost is, but it's pretty damn low. Also note that we have 2 drivers in the house (both same age, perfect driving records in terms of insurance coverage), and have separate stock cars for each of the drivers. The Mazdaspeed3 (modified) is a third, pleasure car. We also are both work-at-home, so our distance to work is 0km. Our yearly kilometer allowance is 40-50k per year total. You're not getting much lower on the premium list than we're at.

And yet, I am effectively uninsurable in Ontario. Straight to FA you go! Insurance premium is now (for that particular vehicle) about $215/mth. A car that gets less than 10k per year, mildly modified, but less than 15 years old (that's the ticket right there).

It's possible you saw my posts on Ontario Road Racing and BMW True North (you think you're an *******, well then, let me tell you about BMW True North ). Basically everyone in Ontario who is modified just "****ing sends it" and doesn't care about liability, the potential for a denied claim should something *really* bad happen, and open themselves to potential insurance fraud. Certainly worst case scenario, and I'm sure this doesn't happen too much (or for every speed racing incident, drunk driving incident, etc there isn't modified cause to result in denial of claim, or you never hear about it?), but let's say I'm trying to be an adult here. I want to claim my modifications on my 320HP car that's 10+ years old, and doesn't have collector or exotic status. Oops. Guess I should have saved up for the 800HP Dodge Demon. No problem sir!

Oops, I turned this into a rant.

So in case you're modifying a Mazdaspeed 3, just be aware that you're probably not covered in the event of something really bad happening. You didn't update your insurance company with your engine modifications, and if you had, they would have cancelled your policy (which is their right), and you'd be paying more than double for FA insurance.

If someone has a different story who has actually gone through this process, please let me know, but more than likely if you've modified your car (beyond stickers and parts from Canadian Tire behind the locked box section) then you can probably rest assured you're in a potential situation for personal liability. I am not a lawyer and have not challenged this legally to understand what your rights are.

Peas!

May I ask who you used for the for the $2645 insurance quote ?

[G ~ MINI]

So basically, the tl;dr is that if you have a modified engine (they might ask you what you've done, likely not, and if so, it's probably too much) that if you want to be "honest" and straight up with the insurance company with modifications to your car, you're going to be looking at Facility Association.

Facility Association is basically a non-profit organization setup by the insurance companies to provide insurance to the non-typical car or driver. They will give insurance to anyone, because it is the law in Ontario that insurance companies must provide underwriting to you and your vehicle. Just that most of them will refuse you, then you are basically shuffled into the Facility Association (FA) system. At this point, expect your typical insurance premium to double.

For reference, I am a 38 year old male with zero moving convictions (tickets), no insurance lapses, one of the first to proceed through the G1/G2/G staged licensing program, married, own a house, yada yada. Basically, I'm the ideal insurable driver.

It has been impossible to find an insurance company that will insure a car under 15 years of age with engine modifications. Note here that the 15 years of age is basically your barrier of entry to "do whatever the **** you want". I've called everyone. Zehr Brokers, Aviva, Hagerty, etc. As soon as you say "engine modification on a car under 15 years old", do no pass GO, do not collect $200.

I did end up with a quote through FA. For one year, with everything stated done to the car (GTX2871, forged interals, basically, they don't give a ****, you modify your engine, you're in this category), I'm at a $2645 per year premium.

Some of you might actually be paying this. Be assured that whatever you're paying is probably double and a little bit with FA. In my case I probably pay about $80/mth which works out to $960/year. I'm not sure exactly what my cost is, but it's pretty damn low. Also note that we have 2 drivers in the house (both same age, perfect driving records in terms of insurance coverage), and have separate stock cars for each of the drivers. The Mazdaspeed3 (modified) is a third, pleasure car. We also are both work-at-home, so our distance to work is 0km. Our yearly kilometer allowance is 40-50k per year total. You're not getting much lower on the premium list than we're at.

And yet, I am effectively uninsurable in Ontario. Straight to FA you go! Insurance premium is now (for that particular vehicle) about $215/mth. A car that gets less than 10k per year, mildly modified, but less than 15 years old (that's the ticket right there).

It's possible you saw my posts on Ontario Road Racing and BMW True North (you think you're an *******, well then, let me tell you about BMW True North ). Basically everyone in Ontario who is modified just "****ing sends it" and doesn't care about liability, the potential for a denied claim should something *really* bad happen, and open themselves to potential insurance fraud. Certainly worst case scenario, and I'm sure this doesn't happen too much (or for every speed racing incident, drunk driving incident, etc there isn't modified cause to result in denial of claim, or you never hear about it?), but let's say I'm trying to be an adult here. I want to claim my modifications on my 320HP car that's 10+ years old, and doesn't have collector or exotic status. Oops. Guess I should have saved up for the 800HP Dodge Demon. No problem sir!

Oops, I turned this into a rant.

So in case you're modifying a Mazdaspeed 3, just be aware that you're probably not covered in the event of something really bad happening. You didn't update your insurance company with your engine modifications, and if you had, they would have cancelled your policy (which is their right), and you'd be paying more than double for FA insurance.

If someone has a different story who has actually gone through this process, please let me know, but more than likely if you've modified your car (beyond stickers and parts from Canadian Tire behind the locked box section) then you can probably rest assured you're in a potential situation for personal liability. I am not a lawyer and have not challenged this legally to understand what your rights are.

Peas!

Update....

If you have been following this thread and need to know more about Facility Insurance
and how it works, what it covers, and when you will need this insurance and what your
Modified Mazda 3 will cost to insure......

Then reach out to Grant at BillYard Insurance Group ----> Grant@thebig.ca