GR Yaris Winter Wheels and Insurance

[Mr_Santiago]

Hi Folks - dumb question time (searched the forum but didn't see it come up before!)...

I am about to put winter wheels / tyres on the car, obviously I will need to let the insurance company know that it will now be 'modified' as they are non OEM wheels, but the car will revert back to standard in the summer and will therefore no longer be modified!!
How do others deal with this?, do you contact your insurance each time you change? or do you just tell them its modified? (if anything happened to the car when it has OEM wheels would the insurance be null and void because you have declared it as modified when it isn't? )..

 

[speeddemon666]

I would say most insurance companies would be entirely reasonable about this and say they would class a modification worth noting as something that brings with it an increased insurance risk. Given that each GR Yaris wheel is likely to cost a great deal more that an aftermarket one, it's not worth informing them...
...unless you are looking for a discount.

 

[CerN]

Hi Folks - dumb question time (searched the forum but didn't see it come up before!)...

I am about to put winter wheels / tyres on the car, obviously I will need to let the insurance company know that it will now be 'modified' as they are non OEM wheels, but the car will revert back to standard in the summer and will therefore no longer be modified!!
How do others deal with this?, do you contact your insurance each time you change? or do you just tell them its modified? (if anything happened to the car when it has OEM wheels would the insurance be null and void because you have declared it as modified when it isn't? )..

Haha, this seems so odd to me... Here your insurance would be void if you didn't have winter tires on this time of year, and police would also give you a fine.

 

[Dav1d]

I declared them just so it’s not at risk of them finding a way not to pay out but it had zero impact on my insurance.

Long story:

Bad memories of a previous car and insurer where I fitted winter tyres the day before a 7 hr drive to Cornwall, rang the insurers to declare them thinking I’d get a discount, only for them to say they didn’t cover any modifications at all and I’d have to have the original “Volkswagen branded” tyres on my car or else they wouldn’t insure it.

When I explained Volkswagen didn’t manufacture tyres and the originals that came with the car were no longer made due to years passing, they said sorry but the computer wouldn’t let them do anything. Cue me quickly taking out a new policy with somebody different and quickly cancelling the existing one.

It was so stupid, and they’re barely a modification (they were a safety improvement given the conditions!) so sometimes you can’t win.

 

[Mr_Santiago]

I declared them just so it’s not at risk of them finding a way not to pay out but it had zero impact on my insurance.

Long story:

Bad memories of a previous car and insurer where I fitted winter tyres the day before a 7 hr drive to Cornwall, rang the insurers to declare them thinking I’d get a discount, only for them to say they didn’t cover any modifications at all and I’d have to have the original “Volkswagen branded” tyres on my car or else they wouldn’t insure it.

When I explained Volkswagen didn’t manufacture tyres and the originals that came with the car were no longer made due to years passing, they said sorry but the computer wouldn’t let them do anything. Cue me quickly taking out a new policy with somebody different and quickly cancelling the existing one.

It was so stupid, and they’re barely a modification (they were a safety improvement given the conditions!) so sometimes you can’t win.

Thanks - I suspect my insurer (RAC) may not cover mods even if they are ones that make the car safer and less valuable , will contact them today to confirm.

 

[Dav1d]

Thanks - I suspect my insurer (RAC) may not cover mods even if they are ones that make the car safer and less valuable , will contact them today to confirm.

No problem, yes well worth it in advance rather than having the last minute panic that I had. Some allow notes to be added to the policy, so that can also be a catch all if you want to be cautious but it doesn’t seem like a modification.

 

[Mr_Santiago]

Got it sorted - just an admin fee to pay...

 

[Shadowphax]

I used to put winter tyres on steel wheels on a Fabia VRS I had.
Directline just needed a heads up that the wheels/tyres were on but didn't charge for the change.
Seems fair given less likely to have an accident when using winter tyres in snow and cold conditions.

 

[grydoc]

I’m with Admiral, just phoned them and no problem, no charge.