Car insurance and under declaring!

[Rustyboy4]

Evening all,

I would normally say good evening but sadly not this one!!! I managed to get my first speeding ticket in 6 years of driving today (Not a bad achievement) and found out that traffic cops have a vast amount of wizardry to catch you nowadays.

Having taken it on the chin, quite rightly so as there is no doubt that I as caning it which I know is not big nor clever, I am now faced with the daunting task of informing my insurer that I have joined the ranks of the criminal fraternity.

One handly little tip that your friendly local traffic cop may bestow upon you is that you do not have to inform your insurer until you have actually had the endorsement through!? This I did not know and as such I thought I would pass it on.

Given my circumstances it means that my endorsement will take about 3 months to come through (They couldn't deal with it at the road side due to the speed involved) which means that I don't have to take an insurance hike until I actually get served the notice.

Having heard this I decided to delve further as we got talking about modified cars and it turns out that some remapping companies could be advising you not to declare it to your insurer to avoid the price hike (this is obviously stupid) however if it is found to be remapped and you crash not only will your insurance not pay out you can be charged as well. Rubbing salt in the wound is the technical term. Keep in mind however no matter how small the mod, even your shiny new alloys, need to be declared or the insurer can simply refuse to pay.

The moral of the story don't get caught belting up the M6 at 99mph, better still DON'T DO IT, and if you do have any mods on your car get them declared or pay the price. Oh and for the record the two cops that stopped me we're actually all right guys so a little bit of praise aimed towards Cumbria police for being nice to me when booking me at the side of the road.

 

[Yugguy]

Most insurers these days don't care about 1 or 2 speeding tickets. it shoudnt affect you much.

 

[obi_waynne]

Any change in circumstances like accidents and convictions are not disclosable until your renewal date. These things are only used to rate the annual premium and as such do not alter the year you are currently in.

If you know the conviction code and date and have a renewal due before the endorsement comes through you still have to tell insurers- the wording is generally along the lines of any accidents claims or convictions (pending or not) in the last 3 years.

Bans are notifiable because in most cases this changes a material fact - the main driver of the car.

Modifications are also immediately notificable because this again is a material fact and has been altered within the drivers control. Interestingly many modified car insurers only request that modifications are declared at renewal so check the small print, ask and if in doubt send a letter or email so you have proof.

 

[T9 man]

I prefer to declare absolutely everything! God forbid that anything should ever happen to my baby, I want everything put back onto the next donor Saab 9-3.
Actually, I just got of the phone to Adrian Flux about my renewal on the 7th of May. Even with the NOS declared and the CF Kit yet to be fitted but is now covered, and the valuation of the car raised another £16k because of the new engine and additional equipment, it will only cost me another £229 on top of last years premium. Very happy with this!

 

[HDi fun]

I thought that a conviction could only be brought about by a court. Strictly speaking if you're asked whether you have any motoring convictions you can accurately reply in the negative, even if you have received a couple of fixed penalty notices.

Then again, the insurer could probably still render the policy null and void on account of non-disclosure. This forms part of the Ts and Cs for just about any and every insurance policy ever drawn up.

Good to know that the police were courteous.They have a duty to be so. Had they been abusive or aggressive you'd be totally within your rights to report them, whether or not they were issuing you with a FPN. Most traffic officers (at least, those I know) hate speed enforcement duty, especially so on clear bits of M'Way.