Do you tell your insurance when you make a mod?

[ve015891]

Something like lowering springs example. It makes the car worth a little more, it makes it more appealling for theft, etc.

that should change your insurance rate

do you guys tell them these things?

[TRD VVTi]

Springs don't make it worth any more at all.

I don't say squat, but it's a good idea.

My insurance company gave me alot of crap when I had a claim on my Pontiac Formula. The cried about all the modifications and didn't want to pay the claim. I then informed them that the only damage was to OEM parts. They paid.

[lammydi]

I only tell them if I upgrade the alarm or thief deterrant. They only gonna reimburse for the "market value" so I don't bother tell them that I have aftermarket rims or anything aftermarket because they are not gonna paid back the rims. So basically if someone steal my rims then I'm screwed.

[TRD VVTi]

Alot of times the factory parts cost more than aftermarket parts. I made out once because of that.

[ToyotaLexus]

lowering springs won't affect your insurance rate... at least on the Carmy...

my other car is a Mercedes C-class and I have a whole AMG bodykit, 18" AMG wheels, AMG lowering springs/shocks.(all installed by the Mercedes dealer) The whole kit cost about $3900. I did inform my insurance company and had the Mercedes dealer fax the invoice. It raised my rates by $17.

By the way, modifying your car usually makes it less attractive to car thieves. They prefer everything stock so they can sell the parts. (unless you have aftermarket navigation units instaled, or expensive wheels)

[Explicitstylz96]

I had my corolla stolen in 2001. I didn't notify the insurance of any modifcations or add-ons. But when the car was recovered, they stripped the audio system and they even took my neon tubes from inside the car. The adjuster said that as long as I can show a receipt then they'd pay for everything that was stolen from the car. Only catch was, only thing they would cover was anything that was screwed/bolted to the car. So they covered all the damage plus the stolen parts, minus my cds and some tools since they weren't bolted to the car or anything.

depending on what insurance company you have, they may or may not cover certain things.

[Aceventura9586]

Well the plus side of that little story is they at least took the neons away from you

[lammydi]

Originally Posted by Aceventura9586

Well the plus side of that little story is they at least took the neons away from you

[Tragedy]

Some insurance companies will cover up to a certain amount as part of your policy. Progressive for example will cover up to $1000 provided you have receipts. You can change that amount (online even) and your rate will go up a certain amount, but if you have thousands of dollars worth of mods in your car it might be worth the piece of mind.

It's also a good idea to snap a few pictures (if possible) of the mods installed in your car, and make notes for anything you did to secure it.

[razol]

On my Mustang, I notified them of all of my mods with receipts. My rate went up by about 30 bucks, but I had $15k in mods on that car. For certain mods (supercharger, nitrous, etc) my agent told me that they would not cover the car at all if it were involved in a collision if the mods were not documented. When you perform mods that increase horsepower by a few hundred, it makes a big difference. I think for cosmetic stuuf the risk you run is that they may refuse to cover the aftermarket parts.

[ONE_to_HATE]

i have 1 min. video clip of my mods. that i gave to my uncle (yeah! my insurance agent) and it went up $9. LOL.