Factory/dealer fit options and insurance

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Sun 27 Jan 2008 20:52
Factory/dealer fit options and insurance - cpetzny
Hi,

I'm just about to purchase a new Mazda 3 and have the option of having an official Mazda lowering suspension kit fitted prior to delivery. By official, I mean that it is fitted by the factory or the dealer as an option/accessory and that the kit is not an aftermarket purchase or fitment.

Now my question is, does this mean I have to declare it to the insurance company as 'modified from the manufacturer's specification'?

Thanks in advance for your help,
Chris
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Sun 27 Jan 2008 21:23
Factory/dealer fit options and insurance - ukbeefy
Short answer Yes.

I presume if there was a total loss situation you'd want the car replaced with one of the same spec ie inc the extra suspension mods.

Hence the insurers would need to know. If they choose to not load the premium is their lookout.

When I worked in insurance we sometimes loaded the premium sometimes we didn't. The simple in house rule was "does it either make the car faster or look more attractive to steal to a passer by". If it did we added something eg another ins group.

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Sun 27 Jan 2008 23:00
Factory/dealer fit options and insurance - Bill Payer
I think this is a really grey area and it's quite surprising the insurance industry hasn't tried to make money out of it.

My MB has £7000 of options (I bought it used :-) ) which bumps its original list price up a lot, and its used value up a bit, but when I asked if I needed to declare them my insurance company said "no", as long as they were factory fitted. I was especially concerned about possibility of the COMAND sat nav unit, which apparently costs £3K to replace, being nicked but the ins co stressed their cover is unlimited for factory fit items.

I have heard stories of other ins co's who will only replace a car with a standard spec one, no matter what options were originally fitted.
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Sun 27 Jan 2008 23:04
Factory/dealer fit options and insurance - bathtub tom
Why are you considering this?
Are you fifty-odd years younger than me?
Will you be driving this on billiard table smooth race-tracks?

Trust me, comfort prevails.
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Mon 28 Jan 2008 06:40
Factory/dealer fit options and insurance - MrWednesday
Chris,
Just applied for Driveway cover for my new car from the manufacturers. They did ask about any additional items from the standard spec. They did acknowledge the item, and said that one of the conditions of the insurance was a like for like replacement during the term. So I guess if the accessories were expensive they would load the premium of the year quote they supplied to me as well.

For the record, my answer of a 'Dog Guard' got the response 'Thats ok, it's not performance enhancing.'
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Mon 28 Jan 2008 14:38
Factory/dealer fit options and insurance - cpetzny
Thanks all for the info.

Does sound like a bit of a minefield. Guess I'll hold off on the suspension kit ;-)

Cheers,
Chris
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