Insuring modifications

[Sol's Eye]

I remember reading somewhere about taking any modifications you do to your car and adding them to your insurance so that they are replaced if the car is destroyed/stolen. Does anyone know how to go about doing that? And is it obcenely expensive, or just a function of what modifications you do to your car and how much they add to the total value?

[Wren57]

talk to your insurance agent... I would imagine however your insurance would go up relative to what the mod was... insuring rims or a stereo shouldnt be much, but if you tell him you have a turbo/sc/nitrous your rates might jump very high because with such performance additions to your car, you are at higher risk of going fast and wrecking, killing yourself and/or others...

[Sol's Eye]

Originally posted by highlander
talk to your insurance agent... I would imagine however your insurance would go up relative to what the mod was... insuring rims or a stereo shouldnt be much, but if you tell him you have a turbo/sc/nitrous your rates might jump very high because with such performance additions to your car, you are at higher risk of going fast and wrecking, killing yourself and/or others...

Yeah, I figured performance mods would up the insurance for more than just their value. But major speed mods are pretty far in the future, so I'm not really worried about that yet.

EDIT: For anyone interested, I called my insurance company. That type of insurance is called Stated Value insurance. And they said that not only would it be obcenely expensive for someone my age, but that I would have to have a my car liscensed as a show car. And that would be expensive in and of itself.

[Duckydos]

Insurance is like that, if they can find a way to screw you, they will. This is my understanding (which goes back to that kid who lost his 'teggy).
When you pay your $200/month or whatever, you are insuring your stock '92 Integra (we will use him as an example, sorry dude). So, all the after-market performance parts, clear corners, CAI, exhaust, wheels... he will receive the value of STOCK parts, minus wear and tear and depreciation.
When it comes to getting specialty insurance, you declare the value of your car (lets say.. $20,000) but you will probably pay $5k/year because the company knows that you're insuring it that high for a reason. It is usually more practical to have regular insurance and take your chances.
When it comes to racing. Insurance for racing is insanely high and most solo and amatuer drivers can't afford it. SCCA offers a program, but even then it's hard to qualify for it and it's still pretty expensive. If you go out to the track (wether it be road, rally, 1/4 mile, whatever) and it is a competitive or timed event, insurnace (non-specialty) normally won't cover it. Driving school accidents will usually be covered.

That is just my understanding of the whole process.
-Ducky

[ebpda9]

well the insurance company said if we have all the receipts they will reimburse for us minus wear and tear, depending on how long the stuff was on the car. i think the mods insurance is well worth it IMO.

[thermal]

What was mentioned is the bottom line. Your insurance will go up for sure. Luckily, my insurance company is very understanding. The best one I've ever had to deal with. When my car got broken into, they replaced everything that was stolen after paying my deductable of $500 (which is high, but that was my decission). They paid for my car stereo, 2 amplifiers, MTX subwoofer (two 12's) CD's, windows, dash, 2 autometer gauges, and yes.....even my funky Honda shoulder pads :yes:. I had receipts on the car stereo, 1 amp, Honda shoulder pads, and a few CD's. They asked if I had pictures of the rest which I was able to produce. I purchased one of the amp and the MTX subwoofers from a friend so I had him write a statement of how much I paid for it. He signed it (it wasnt notarized or anything like that). I sent it out to my insurance company and they replaced it. They even upgraded my stereo and amps :yes:. Sh1t caught up with me later tho. My car got broken into again a month after. The deductible was less than $500 since they only broke the other window and stole my new gauges:no:. All these.... my insurance is still the same....no increase!