Car Modifications, Do US Insurers care?

"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen) 10/11/2013 at 13:46 • Filed to: None

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Davedave brought up in interesting point when I posted about my airaid, in the UK he doesn't even want to put in an air intake on his car as it would violate the terms of his insurance. I've never heard of anything like that here in the US.

I think here if you can enjoy your performance mods responsibly, meaning you go to track days, auto-x or the drag strip, you'll be fine, as long as you drive your car according to the laws that apply.

Here you get penalized via points on your license, you speed, you get points, you street race, you get points. This in turn raises your rates. But I don't know of insurance company actually preemptively raising your rates as davedave described they do in the UK.

Our system hinges on you getting caught red handed. I bet a lot of idiots fly under that particular radar. So... While I am certainly glad that I am free to modify my car as long as I can enjoy it responsibly. Some rich 16 year old douche bag with more money than sense can do the very same thing.

TLDR: Should we preempitively insure? Meaning, should we raise rates for people that modify their cars and/or penalize people that don't report such modifications.

Personally I am inclined to say that with the way the average American is wired we are not suited to approach insurance this way. It would offend people far too much. It would be an infraction on freedom and it would be a form of discrimination. Do I personally think it would be good? Perhaps for the 16 - 19 y/o crowd, yes. But at some point I think we are just going to have trust drivers to be responsible, even if they aren't and even if they do decide to increase their vehicles power beyond stock.

Sidenote: Maybe there are some insurers that do already do this in the US?

dogisbadob > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 10/11/2013 at 13:50

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It depends on the insurance company and the modification made.

Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 10/11/2013 at 13:51

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I think preemptive insurance would work best for the youngin's like you mentioned. Teenagers new to driving. I think an adult shouldn't be penalized for modifying their cars, as many who do are able to enjoy their vehicles in a safe and sensible manner.

TheOnelectronic > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 10/11/2013 at 13:51

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Insurance is about calculated risk. People who mod their cars are probably, on the whole, more likely to require their insurance policy, so I think their rates should be higher. YES, this includes me, and it's not really fair, since my intake just makes nice noises and that's it, but insurers have to play the averages. For every tastefully modified Miata, there are five Civics by AutoZone crashing into pylons because their cut springs failed.

Meatcoma > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 10/11/2013 at 13:54

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I'm pretty sure your insurance will not cover any damage caused at a track.

At the same time, why should someone pay more to insurance companies to mod their car? Modding does not inherently mean they will be doing illegal things or that their chance to destroy property will increase, it may actually decrease.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Meatcoma 10/11/2013 at 13:57

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Insurance companies do charge more for sports cars than they do family sedan. But I can mod my family sedan to outperform a Corvette at the drag strip. I think this is where the rationale comes from to perhaps charge people that modify their cars.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager 10/11/2013 at 13:59

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I suppose the one caveat with this is the fact that I can mod my family sedan to outperform a corvette at the drag strip, should my car be reclassified to get similar rates as a corvette would?

Modding your car is almost a way to circumvent the component of insurance where you are paying for performance.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > dogisbadob 10/11/2013 at 14:01

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It sure does, but an insurance company doesn't have time for that, as another commented said, they play the law of averages. I sure don't want them to, but I think they could find a case to charge for people that modify cars.

Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 10/11/2013 at 14:02

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You raise a valid point.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager 10/11/2013 at 14:08

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lol, so V6 Mustang + Supercharger is cheaper to insure than Mustang GT? = win?

Meatcoma > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 10/11/2013 at 14:10

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Yea, my 86 944 is in the same insurance range as a corvette. It probably has less than half of the hp.

Sethersm > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 10/11/2013 at 14:24

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Do we insure the car or the driver?

If we insure driver, it would seem it shouldn't matter which car they drive. A responsible, save driver is a responsible, safe driver whether they drive a Lambo or a bone stock Civic.

In reality, I suppose we do a bit of both. We insure the driver, points on licenses, accidents, etc come into play, but we also guess at his or her likely driving behaviour based upon the car they drive.

dieselwagon > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 10/11/2013 at 14:46

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Just to confirm davedave is 100% correct... If it's not factory spec, they will not pay out. They probably wont pay out anyway, but any modifications at all will void your insurance if you havn't told them. Any claim, even if not at fault will make your premium go up.

Insurance companies do not want to pay your claims, that causes a loss in profit. This is an obvious way to get out of obligation. Also see what TheOneElectronic said.

The Transporter > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 10/11/2013 at 15:48

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That rich 16 year old douchebag already has a higher premium than you simply because he's 16 and all 16 year old kids are irresponsible as hell.

Not that it makes any difference, daddy's paying all the bills, anyway.

McLarry > Meatcoma 10/11/2013 at 16:04

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They're all about probabilities... I would expect a modded car has a higher probability of being damaged since most people mod their cars to be faster, so they'd cost more to insure. Other non-performance mods (like donk wheels or something) may or may not make the car more likely to be damaged, but would make it more expensive to repair in the event of damage which could also justify a higher premium.

//disclaimer: I have no idea what I'm talking about...just guessing.

dogisbadob > Meatcoma 10/11/2013 at 16:43

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Not only will they not pay the damages, but they'll likely drop you completely.

I read on some forum that Geico dropped someone just for ASKING about HPDE.

Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 10/11/2013 at 17:16

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Sounds like a win to me :)