UK Insurance

[Mark(The Miser)UK]

I've recently converted one of my 2 roadworthy Quantum /Passats to turbo diesel from petrol.  Just dropped the engine in from one of my others that died last year. Insurance is due at end of the month.

I received quotes through the post of £125 for its renewal as a gas guzzler with my existing insurer.

Applying anon to get quotes I get through the same broker £149 for it as a gasser and £153 as a diesel.

In the online bumph there is a broker note of assumptions including the following:
 (i) The vehicle has NOT been modified from the manufacturer's specification.
(ii)The vehicle is a standard model produced for sale in the UK market by the manufacturer i.e. not a "grey" import.

As the engine change is a standard factory option do I comply with the above 2 options?

UK replies especially welcome [as well as those in Australia]  :wink:

[aidan]

It'll probably be a different insurance company covering it with each engine, if when quoting as a diesel you've put that its been modified.

The best bet would be to try the companies that specialise in classics and modified cars, at least you know there won't be any problems if you have to claim

Basically you don't comply, even a change of wheels or stereo counts. You won't be insured in a crash.

[Mark(The Miser)UK]

Thanks for the response.
It's crazy.  :cry: How do you get a new shell then? Or if my engine blew up? Perhaps I'm better off taking it off the road for a year and getting one of my identical cars back on the road.

I thought that if were a factory option then it would be insurable at that level...

[Dirtrag2]

I may not be an expert but when I insured my vehicles I asked the broker about what "modified" meant to them, the response I got was that they consider a vehicle to be " modified " when performance upgrades are done to the vehicle. ie: suspension lowering, modded exhaust, Nos... that type of thing.

Here in Canada I recently had to swap an engine in my wife's subaru and went to a more powerfull engine and insurance told me no problem as long as  it "could have benn bought stock" with that engine in it.

best thing to do is call and ask.

[Mark(The Miser)UK]

Dirtrag wrote...
"best thing to do is call and ask...".

I went to the brokers and explained my problem. I reiterated that this is not a mod but an option. He said he understood but needed [naturally] to phone the Insurance co. 10 minutes phone ringing before pickup, and the broker explained that I wanted to drop a 1.8TDI engine in out of a Passat I owned to get it through the MOT road test...

 "NOOOOO"I said "A 1.6TD standard issue"...
10 seconds silence  and then the Insurance rep said that would be fine just notify when it is installed;and a price adjustment can be done then... Broker was a little taken back like me  :mrgreen:

Aiden wrote:
"Basically you don't comply, even a change of wheels or stereo counts::
... That's what I was told by an Insurance Company last year.
That saves me cutting off the dog tags from one of my dead QTD's

[clbanman]

In the long run you're best off asking your insurance company and getting the reply in writing.  I can't speak to the UK, but in Canada I had a car that I replaced the factory straight 6 with a V8.  I told my insurance agent under the assumption that it would make a substantial difference in insurance costs.  They didn't care.  I asked why and she told me they go by model and don't really look at the engine. YMMV.

[aidan]

Well you should have a 14 day cooling off period, and you'll get documents stating everything. As long as it states the modifications you have on and the agreed price, there can't really be a problem. You may need an engineers report on the change though, they might not ask for it but it could be in the small print

[Mark(The Miser)UK]

Well you should have a 14 day cooling off period, and you'll get documents stating everything. As long as it states the modifications you have on and the agreed price, there can't really be a problem. You may need an engineers report on the change though, they might not ask for it but it could be in the small print

The broker asked for the name etc of the Insurance chap at the other end of the phone. He also asked if an engineers report was neccessary. He (Insurance rep) declined the need as I was going to put the car through an MOT and it was a standard part... (He seemed to know more than the pleasant ,but thick, :roll:  youth in front of me who was calling the engine a 1.8TDI !!