Tyres - insurance

[dpsubaru]

Just a thought but Tyres - according to the insurance companies you must keep the car as per OEM or advise them of any changes. Do tyres therefore, if changed to a different type, as these can highly affect the performance of the car, need to be notified to the insurance company (referring to road legal, correct treade depth etc..) - can the thieving weasles at the insurance company try and wriggle out of paying a claim if the tyres differ from oem's ??

 

[obi_waynne]

If in doubt tell them. Fitting a different brand of tyres is no different to fitting a different brand of oil filter. The standard element is the width, profile and height.

It is interesting that some car makers have specific makes/models of tyres specced so this would probably need to be notified if you go outside of that spec. That said a lot of tyres change over the years as new treadpatterns and materials are released.

Speed ratings also come into it. You can get away with a faster speed rating but if you fitted lower speed rating tyres and they blew out then I wouln't expect much help from an insurance company.

 

[HDi fun]

Provided size, speed rating and construction are the same as OEM spec or listed in the cars documentation as suitable fitments then you're OK.

 

[turbonutter69]

I'm almost sure that tyre's won't affect the insurance. If you go online for a qoute and then add modifications to the quote I have never seen anything that says about what tyre's you have on. When my mum put some new alloys on the Scoob she rang the insurance and all they asked was wheel make and size. They didn't even mention tyre's at all. My sister also put some alloys on her old Saxo VTS and again the insurers didn't mention tyre's once.

 

[pgarner]

so what would happen if you have an older car ? OEM spec tyres are unlikly to be avalible.
OEM for my bora in 17" is bridgestone Re040 but these have been replaced by 050.
as said as long as they match sizes they should be fine

 

[turbonutter69]

I would say that if the tyre is road legal and safe then the insurance wouldn't be worried regardless of what tyre as long as it's road legal and an mot pass I'm sure they wouldn't have a problem.

 

[HDi fun]

Some insurers get very silly about aftermarket wheel rims. Some assume that any fitment will attract a higher premium.

I don't understand why this should be so.

If I replaced my 16" factory alloy rims with a set of Peugeot branded 17" alloy rims and fitted suitable tyres to them it should not be necessary to declare the situation. Given that the 17" wheels are a listed fitment for the car anyway.

I suppose that the answer is, in this case, just tell 'em nothing as they'd no case to pursue anyway.

 

[turbonutter69]

Some insurers get very silly about aftermarket wheel rims. Some assume that any fitment will attract a higher premium.

I don't understand why this should be so.

If I replaced my 16" factory alloy rims with a set of Peugeot branded 17" alloy rims and fitted suitable tyres to them it should not be necessary to declare the situation. Given that the 17" wheels are a listed fitment for the car anyway.

I suppose that the answer is, in this case, just tell 'em nothing as they'd no case to pursue anyway.

Buddy it's not the wheels that we are talking about it's just the tyre's mate. Say a standard rim with an aftermarket tyre as such.

 

[HDi fun]

Buddy it's not the wheels that we are talking about it's just the tyre's mate. Say a standard rim with an aftermarket tyre as such.

Ok, well if the physical dimensions match one of the listed tyre fitments then you are not going to have any problems. Make sure that you use tyres of the OEM speed/load rating or higher.

I can no longer buy the OEM Michelin fitment for my current car. It's no longer made.

Insurers do not have a problem with after market tyres.

 

[turbonutter69]

I would have thought that it wouldn't matter as long as the Tyre's are road legal and pass an MOT. Regardless of size/width as long as they pass the MOT and are legal to use in all conditions I don't think any insurer will mind.
I think they would have something to say if you used road slicks that can only be used in dry conditions. But not all weather Tyre's.

 

[HDi fun]

the daftest thing is that I cannot fit winter tyres to my car because there isn't v rated fitment. But why would I need a v rated tyre for the winter? Am I likely to go around driving at 149mph in adverse conditions?

I suspect that any challenge to such flaky legislation in court would see the insurer withdraw the case fairly swiftly. I suspect that they'd drop it long before judgement was entered against them.

 

[turbonutter69]

Unless the tyre was actually faulty or at fault for the accident I don't even think they'd look at them.