I have been unsucessful in my attempts to find out whether the fitting of a reversing aid to my 2003 Honda Accord will affect my insurance premiums. All I can find out from TESCO insurance is that they will definately need to be informed if I fit this as it is regarded as a modification. Has anyone had any experience of this? It would seem to be self evident that the fitting of a safety aid would, if anything, decrease your premiums but nothing would surprise me. Just to confuse things, Tesco, for instance, have Insurance groups from 1 to 100 rather than the more conventional 1 to 20.
Kent.
|
Insurance companies will do anything to increase revenue or trip you up on a claim - so definitely declare them. They will probably say it makes the car more likely to be stolen, increases it value etc etc.
I remember once having a car with rather poor brakes. I uprated them with larger discs and calipers. Brakes were then much better but IIRC I got stung with £30 premium increase and £10 'admin fee'!
|
|
|
Are you saying that Tesco have told you that IF you have them fitted you have to inform you, but will not tell you in advance what difference that might make?
Why on Earth not?
|
|
There might be a school of thought that anybody who needed a reversing sensor deserved to have his premium put up as he obviously struggles to drive a car properly using his 4 eyes & 4 limbs. Alternatively, if the reversing sensor should fail, then may well increase the likelihood of an accident.
|
|
"4 eyes"?? Is that a "driver modification" that you have to notify insurers of??
|
|
|
There might be a school of thought that anybody who needed a reversing sensor deserved to have his premium put up as he obviously struggles to drive a car properly using his 4 eyes & 4 limbs. Alternatively, if the reversing sensor should fail, then may well increase the likelihood of an accident.
As most very expensive cars have some sort of reversing aid as standard does that mean that those who are wealthy cannot drive properly? My main reason for wanting this (in my opinion) invaluable aid is to avoid injuring a child who might creep unseen behind my car.
|
|
|
|
Not exactly. They were unable to access my details due to some technical hitch but wouldn't or couldn't tell me, in general terms, whether an increase was likely. In fact I tried twice but the question was too difficult for one operator and the second one tried but failed due to the technical fault. Neither of the two had ever been asked the question before which probably means that nobody ever bothers to inform them.
Kent.
|
There was a time when men could drag their women folk around by their hair, now it?s frowned upon.
There was a time when a man had to go out and kill dinosaurs with spears if he wanted to feed his family. Now he minces around Tesco with a trolly full of organic veg.
There was even a time when a man could slam his car into reverse and whack it into a space with only 6 inches spare at each end on his first attempt and have a sneaky peep over his shoulder as he walked away, slap himself on the back and allow himself a smug grin and check that a few people were watching.
But now, everywhere you go, numpties struggling to get their Corsas and Micras and Kas into a bay that would accomodate a Luton van. What next? Parking sensors on Smarts?
|
|
Firstly I would far sooner battle dinosaurs than battle the trolleys and checkout queues in Tesco, and secondly I defy you to reverse the Laguna to within three feet without bottling out!
|
Aah but I was taught by my old man who was fanatical about parking and reversing. Old school. I had to spend countless hours on countless Sundays on industrial estates in his 1977 Peugeot 504 7-seater just reversing, parallel parking, reverse slaloms through cones sometimes with his beloved twin-axle caravan hooked up, sometimes his trailer. He put me and my two sisters through hell. I might knock off every wing mirror on the street driving forwards, but driving backwards...
I?ll take your Laguna challenge RF and I?ll do it with a caravan!
|
I?ll take your Laguna challenge RF and I?ll do it with a caravan
Caravan is easy peasy. and you wont get the laguna within three feet of a bollard without touch parking
|
|
|
|
I defy you to reverse the Laguna to within three feet without bottling out!
I'm sure I could do easily it in a few seconds. As long as you don't mind touch-sensitive parking ...
|
I sell quite a few sets of these at work and have never heard of any problem with insurance companies as a result.
Only times customers have had problems that i know of are adding thing likes of spoilers or the twin exhaust exhaust options onto cars which i presume is the insurance comapny saying the car looks nicer so is a higher theft risk than the standard car.
|
Only times customers have had problems that i know of are adding thing likes of spoilers or the twin exhaust exhaust options onto cars which i presume is the insurance comapny saying the car looks nicer so is a higher theft risk than the standard car.
More likely, surely, that a driver going for that sort of bling fancies himself as a boy-racer and is less likely to be the sort of quiet, conservative driver who stays well clear of potential accidents?
|
|
No - generally most of my customers are the more mature type and they just want to add a few chrome bits or maybe the little rear spoiler just to finish the car off and make it look a little bit different to the norm.
|
|
|
|
|
Just a pedant note,in Tesco's car park (motoring link) in Stratford-on-Avon they have a notice refering to the trollies (sic.)area.
|
|
|
|
>>What next? Parking sensors on Smarts?
Micras, actually. No, really.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adding reversing sensors - how on earth can that affect a car's insurance grouping? I am absolutely astounded to see that even talked about as a 'mod' in the purest sense. Obviously I would have to notify my insurer if I did something outrageous to my cars, but adding reversing sensors to the car surely not?
I mean something as innocuous and diminuitive I wouldn't even contemplate telling them about - and if anything did happen, then I'd just shrug my shoulders and say 'they were there when I bought it I guess'.
Will be then expected to notify our Insurance Co. if we add a bumper sticker or put on 'alloy locking dust caps'?
I'd be interested to know what your Insurer's final response was to this :)
-----
Im not plain stupid, just a special kind of stoopid.
|
|
The insurers need to know because it will cost to put right if the rear of the car gets damaged. You don't declare it and have an accident, repair invoice states 'replacement of parking sensors' as an item at say £200. Insurance query if this car has sensors as standard, if not have they have been declared as an additional item? If they haven't they could refuse to pay out completely as the mod hasn't been declared.
|
they could refuse to pay out completely as the mod hasn't been declared.
>>
Yeah OK I understand the 'technical facet' of it all and I am NOT encouraging people to lie/mis-represent fact or codoning such behaviour to the relevant authorities. But in the real world, how often do these invoices get trawled through in such depth? And how many owners and companies actually know what they've bought and whats on their car? Any Insurance Co. would be hard pressed to 'prove' that you amde the 'mod' if you say 'Oh I didn't know what they were until you told me' or 'I thought the car came with those thingies when I bought it'? They'd much rather surely pay the bill and hike up your premium as they have a 'win-win' situation.
I'm just saying that it wouldn't have corssed my mind to inform my Insurance Co. that reversing sensors had been added since to my mind it's a very minor, insignificant element/addition. Now if I add SatNav to my car, then yes, it should be disclosed...but something as mundane and routine as reversin sensors man :P
If push came to shove, I'm ignorant when it comes to cars, and consequently, I want it repalcing/repaired as per my Insurance policy. How do I know what the intricaices are? It's there, it broke and I expect it to be fixed.
-----
Im not plain stupid, just a special kind of stoopid.
|
"Now if I add SatNav to my car, then yes, it should be disclosed...but something as mundane and routine as reversin sensors man :P"
Not many people reverse into your sat nav.
|
DIY parking sensors set for £24.99 at Tradex:
tinyurl.com/8y4ed
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
|
|
>>Not many people reverse into your sat nav.
Indeed not. But it will change the likelihood of your car being stolen or at least broken into. That would be a material change in risk.
In addition there are frequently "mods" which can cause reassessment of the risk.
One cannot imagine that loads of extra lights on the front of your vehicle actually makes nay difference to your chance of an incident. However, it does indicate why type of driver you might be, or what type of attitude that you might have, which may well indicate something about the risk assessment - be that a positive or negative effect.
Another example of this would be that a large part of the discounts one can get for advanced driving qualifications is related to the differing attitude to driving, not the differing capability.
|
|
|
|
|
>> I'd be interested to know what your Insurer's final response wasto this :)
Tesco's final decision. I MUST inform them if I have sensors fitted but the premium will not be affected and there will be no admin charge. Wonder why they couldn't just tell me that in the first place?
|
|
|
|
