You want to install a skirts to your car or even replace the rims of origin? The few lines that follow should help you to see a little more clearly about the consequences that might have changes in your car on your
auto insurance.
First of all, what do you mean by "change of vehicle?
The definition of "vehicle modification" is not cast in concrete and varies by insurance companies, but be aware that we can identify three types of changes:
Changes in the performance, as the addition of an engine with a larger displacement;
Changes in electronic equipment, such as the installation of a powerful sound system;
The aesthetic changes, such as the establishment of tinted glass
Is all this legal?
Before investing every dollar to modify your vehicle, better is worth to learn what are the changes that are allowed and those that are not. In Quebec, the police can verbalize and require you to change your car again if your changes are illegal.
Thus, perfectly can lower its suspension or add a stylized rocker, but we don't have the right to change the color of the lights or to touch safety belts.
Should I declare my insurer legal changes made to my car?
Yes, a thousand times Yes! As a policyholder, you have to inform your insurer of any change to your vehicle, including mechanical, sound changes or aesthetic, particularly if the engine power is optimized or aesthetic elements come to undermine sheet. This is essential information to the insurer, even if it only asks you not specifically in the police. If you fail to advise, you might expose you to serious problems.
I understand that I must inform my insurance company, but is it going to cost me?
Cost changes on a vehicle insurance depends on their nature and the insurance company. So, before you make a change, talk to your broker: it will be able to tell you if it will affect your premium, and how much.
Okay, but why my insurer would want to make me pay more for insurance?
Your insurance premium is based on the risk you represent. Thus, your current premium does not account, for example, the system of powerful sound that you have installed, and which represents a greater flight risk. Similarly, the modification of the power of your vehicle is an aggravation of the risk.
Finally, the cosmetic amendments increase your premium, because they make your vehicle more attractive to thieves and vandals as well as increasing the cost of repairing your vehicle in case of accident.
What risks I expose myself if I said no changes to my insurer?
In the event of failure observed misrepresentation before a loss, the insurer may, in the best of cases, propose you an increase in premium, or simply terminate your contract. On the other hand, if failure is found after the disaster, the compensation may be reduced even if the amendments did not have the slightest impact on the loss, but the insurer may well decide to reject purely and simply to compensate you.