Car modifications are a great way to personalise your vehicle, enhance its performance, and turn heads on the road. Yet, many drivers hold back due to concerns about rising insurance premiums. However, at Brentacre, we do things differently. As a modified car insurance specialist, we provide tailored solutions that make modifying your car simple, affordable, and worry-free.
Common Modifications That Don’t Typically Affect Insurance
- Non-Performance Cosmetic Changes: Cosmetic changes that don’t impact a car’s performance often have little to no impact on insurance. Examples include:
- Vinyl wraps or decals.
- Respraying a car in a standard colour.
- Adding parking sensors or reversing cameras for convenience.
- Factory-Fitted Options: Features that are optional extras from the manufacturer typically don’t affect insurance. When the vehicle is assessed for cover, these are often considered part of its standard specification.
- Alloy Wheel Changes: Upgrading to alloy wheels of a similar size and specification to the original may not affect your premium. However, oversized or specialist alloys could have an impact.
- Tow Bars: Adding a tow bar for practical purposes, such as towing a caravan, usually doesn’t increase premiums. However, you must ensure it is installed professionally to meet safety standards.
- Roof Racks: Installing a roof rack for added storage or attaching cycle carriers often does not affect insurance. However, misuse of the rack or its contents may void your cover.
- Window Tinting: Tinting windows to legal limits is usually fine, provided it adheres to UK regulations. The front windscreen must allow at least 75% light through, and the front side windows must allow at least 70% light through.
Why Some Modifications Don’t Affect Insurance
Insurance companies assess modifications based on their potential to increase risk. Changes that don’t impact the car’s safety, value, or performance are less likely to influence premiums. These include minor visual upgrades or practical additions.
Brentacre’s Policies: Brentacre provides a unique approach by excluding cosmetic modifications from their premium calculations. This allows car enthusiasts to enjoy aesthetic enhancements without worrying about increased costs.
The Importance of Declaring All Modifications
Even if a modification doesn’t typically affect insurance, you must still inform your insurer. Failure to declare any changes could result in:
- Policy cancellation.
- Denied claims in the event of an accident.
- Potential legal issues for driving uninsured.
As a specialist car insurance broker, we encourage transparency and work with customers to ensure all changes are properly declared. Our team understands the needs of modified car owners and provides clear guidance on what modifications are covered.
Tips For Keeping Insurance Costs Manageable
Modifying your vehicle doesn’t have to mean breaking the bank on insurance. By taking a thoughtful approach to your changes, you can keep costs manageable while enjoying your personalised car. Here are some practical tips:
- Choose Modifications Wisely: While it’s tempting to go all out with performance upgrades, extreme changes such as engine remapping or oversized turbochargers can significantly increase premiums. Instead, opt for non-performance modifications or practical upgrades, such as enhanced safety features, to minimise the impact on your insurance costs.
- Bundle Modifications Together: If you’re planning multiple changes, inform your insurer about all modifications at the same time. Bundling them ensures your insurer has a complete picture of your vehicle, which can help streamline the process and potentially reduce administrative fees.
- Maintain a Clean Driving Record: Your driving history plays a major role in determining your insurance premiums. A clean record with no claims or penalties demonstrates that you’re a low-risk driver, which can help offset the additional costs associated with certain modifications.
Why Choose Brentacre for Modified Car Insurance?
Unlike many other insurers, Brentacre specialises in both modified car and modified van insurance, offering benefits tailored to enthusiasts:
- Free Cosmetic Modifications: A wide range of aesthetic changes can be included at no extra cost.
- Flexible Policies: Brentacre calculates premiums based on performance-enhancing modifications, allowing customers to make non-performance changes worry-free.
- Expert Advice: Our team has extensive experience with modified vehicles and can guide you on what’s covered and how to keep premiums affordable.
Many of our other policies also accommodate vehicle modifications, ensuring that whatever you drive, we can offer a competitive and comprehensive quote.
Conclusion
For UK drivers, understanding which car modifications affect insurance can save time and money. While changes such as performance upgrades are likely to increase premiums, non-performance modifications often do not. Choosing a specialist insurer such as ourselves ensures you’re covered for a wide range of modifications without hidden costs or stress. Whether you’re upgrading your car’s look or adding practical features, Brentacre offers the peace of mind to modify your vehicle your way.
