Originally Posted by dagigu

i've never told my insurance agent (Safeco) that i've modified my tsx and i've been with them for one year, recently they found out that my car is modified and they were quite mad at it, my agent told me that Safeco will not insure for any modder (what!?) so they are gonna make me switch to another insurance company, and...my agent wanted me to provide her w/ the recepit showing the values of every single mod that i've done to my car ASAP

so...i am gonna switch to another insurance company shortly and let the carrier know about my mods and values, then what will happen!?

will my insurance rate go up a lot (values of mods i have = + 10000 USD)? how much approximately if you had the same kinda experience before?

by letting them know about the mods/values first, will the insurance company cover in full price for the aftermarket parts if something bad happen?

if the insurance company doesn't know about the mods at first, and mods got damaged later on, will they even cover for those mods?

for modders like you, what do you guys usually do about insurance? do you let your insurance carrier know about your mods at all!?

and oh...which insurance company will still offer a "good rate" for modders? if there's any?

these questions may sound a bit dumb, but honestly i haven't faced any situations like this before, help me out here

Originally Posted by gpsiir

Um, pretty standard practice for the insurance companies. If you "soup up" your car, they assume that you did it to race a insane speeds and generally behave in a completely unsafe manner. Sadly, there is some truth to this.... I had checked with my Allstate agent, and they would be "reluctant" to insure my TSX if I aftermarket turbo it (but a turbo from the factory is OK?!!) .... A hondata tune-up is OK, though. Good luck! Share your experiences when you finally get your situation resolved, I'm betting may folks aren't aware of your problems.

Originally Posted by camoe

Actually, these are really good questions. Ironically, I was talking to my agent this weekend about these very questions. She is a family member so she gave me the straight dope. While every insurance company is different, most will insure the costs of the mods if you give them the information...that's the good news. The bad news is they have a chart/list/spreadsheet that underwriters look at a determine if the mod increases HP by a certain amount, or if the HP goes over certain limit...(determined by some anal actuary sitting in a dark cubicle who knows nothing about mods), they will put you in a higher category. I informed her of my mods (CAI, Sway bars) and she is going to find out from the underwriters if that puts me in a different category. I also asked about insurance when solo racing, autocrossing, time trialing, etc. She is going to verify but highly doubts there could be any coverage in a situation with the word "racing" involved, even if it is just solo racing. I have approximately the same value involved in mods as you, so I'll post my agents response once I get it.

Originally Posted by Bass Mechanic

if your agent has issues come see me. send me a PM for my number. since your in colorado i can insure you but i would like to know a little more about your situation first.
just for the record we have the lowest rates in the entire state of colorado. if you call ill explain why.
we also refund 25% of your money every year after 3 years if your claim free.

Originally Posted by Dan Martin

I have read my policy cover to cover and I haven't seen anything in there to suggest that I can't mod my car. Does that mean I'm safe or are there some loopholes I should look out for?

Originally Posted by Dan Martin

I really don't care if my mods are covered, I just don't want to have my policy revoked because I had mods on my car. I've heard of people that got in an accident and they weren't covered because their lowering springs were considered "dangerous modifications" by their insurance company.

Originally Posted by camoe

Actually, these are really good questions.

Originally Posted by dagigu

guys, thanks a lot for all the valuable info!

it seems to me that no modders here report about mods before purchasing the insurance, i wonder how much will the rate go up if the insurance company knows about the mods, but i guess the case will be different w/ different companies huh.

i'll go see my agent within the next couple of days, i'll let you guys know ho it goes.

Originally Posted by gpsiir

Ask your agent, but I know that I didn't see anything specific in my policy as well, but my understanding at the time was that the insurance company has the right (and I'd guess conversely you have the obligation) to know what it is insuring. Think of it this way, let's say you love your TSX so much that you get some solid platinum rims (gold would be too soft ) worth $100,000, and the car gets ripped off. When you turn the claim into your agent (including the rims they didn't know about), what do you think will happen? Bass Mechanic, care to comment?

Originally Posted by dagigu

guys, thanks a lot for all the valuable info!

it seems to me that no modders here report about mods before purchasing the insurance, i wonder how much will the rate go up if the insurance company knows about the mods, but i guess the case will be different w/ different companies huh.

i'll go see my agent within the next couple of days, i'll let you guys know ho it goes.

Originally Posted by camoe

Thanks, I'll let you know what she says. 25% after 3 years....damn, I've been claim and ticket free for 10 years...that could've bought me more mods. BTW, that's some serious db for 2 10" subs...you could do internal damage with that setup... I'm a bit of a bass freak myself; I play electric bass through a Bag End 2*10 sub with 900 watts and have REL and Velodyne subs for home theater for the pure 18-100 Hz low end, but I digress and don't mean to

Originally Posted by Bass Mechanic

exactly, you guys have to realise that the premium cost for a particular vehicle has been determined based on the cars crash worthiness, replacement cost and cost of parts. also things like its size and weight are considered. for an example a dodge ram truck carries a higher liability limit than a TSX for the simple fact it will roll right over another car and cause a lot of injury to the occupants of the other car. verses the TSX.

also the way that car is generally driven, like a vette is going to have a higher insurance cost due to the fact many are probly wrecked because of the way they are driven.

so taking all this info into account you have a family sedan that cost a max of about 30k. it gets wrecked and all the syudden to replace that car with mods that werent disclosed. you cannot expect your insurance company to pay for all of it.
imagine for a minute it was YOUR money and YOUR insurance company.
would you think it was fair of the persons you insured decided to drive their cars like a fast and furious racer? what if they told you i lost my turbo, this, that, the other costing $xyz.00 but you were never told about it.
you need to consider that every time one of the people i insure gets behind the wheel the risk for shelling out a claim is riding right in your own very hands.

just last night on my way home i saw a drunk almost roll a brand new ISUSU AXIOM on academy. we went right over the curb at about 35 mph over a bush and got airborne. blew both tires on the left side. trashed the car. i hope he had insurance. i followed him and called the cops. he looked like he was about to cross into oncomming traffic he was so wasted.

Originally Posted by AutoWeek April 2, 2004

No Insurance Coverage: Forming A Policy Against Tuners
Insurance—Or Lack Of It—May Spell The End For Sport Compact Enthusiasts


By ANDREW LUU


Canadian Ron Shortt is a far cry from the fast and furious type: The 47-year-old Toronto man drives a 2002 Pontiac Sunfire back and forth to his job as a computer information technology specialist, and his driving record is snow-white clean—no accidents, no tickets.

None of that mattered when Shortt decided to dress up his Sunfire with off-the-shelf, bolt-on interior parts, special wheels, a trick exhaust and lowered springs. In response, his insurer of 15 years, State Farm, canceled his policy, citing the lowered springs as a big no-no.

As with muscle cars of yore, which faded away as much because of jacked-up insurance rates as the triple whammy of high gas prices, government emissions rules and safety regulations, insurance companies are embarking on a collision course with the booming population of drivers who insist on tuning their sport compact rides.

“The insurance industry may be able to accomplish what the police could never do,” says Shortt, “by making all these cars illegal to be on the streets because they can’t get coverage.” Shortt eventually wound up back with State Farm, but not before he reinstalled the factory springs and had the work verified by an insurance company adjuster.

Steve Budzinski of Ottawa also was dropped by State Farm because of performance upgrades to his Acura Integra Type-R. “My underwriter flat out told me it no longer wants to insure modified cars,” said Budzinski.

State Farm Canada spokes-man Derek Fee says the insurer has no blanket policy to refuse coverage to the sport compact segment, but he acknowledges some sport compact owners—particularly those involved in street racing—are a growing concern. “That subculture is causing difficulties for the rest,” Fee says.

In the United States, major insurers like AAA and State Farm say sport compacts aren’t a problem—at least not yet. State Farm spokeswoman Ana Compain-Romero says the company has no issues with minor upgrades such as lowered springs and tuned exhaust systems, but she recommends informing your agent about any modifications, especially when you go from minor to major. Changes discovered after the fact (say, after an accident when an owner is trying to collect against the policy) may void the coverage.

“Changes are subject to an agent taking a look and an underwriter deciding if we can extend coverage,” Compain-Romero says.

That kind of talk has some people worried Canada’s sport compact insurance woes could be a precursor of similar trouble in the United States. Steve McDonald, senior director of government affairs for the Specialty Equipment Market Association, says the aftermarket group is keeping an eye on the situation and gathering information.

“We’re not sure how widespread it is,” McDonald says. “We are alarmed by the possible implications of this.”

Meanwhile, auto manufacturers are powering ahead with plans for performance models, as well as building up their inventories of performance parts that can be used to turn their sport compact entries into tire-ripping street burners. Automakers contend they are merely responding to demand from customers who want performance.

Are they concerned about potential insurance pitfalls? “To a degree, yes,” says General Motors sport compact expert Bob Kern. “But 90 percent of kids say ‘So what?’ Most kids are dedicated to the cars and aren’t really reading the fine print. I think a lot of them don’t know they could invalidate their policies by modifying their cars.”

Originally Posted by ForceSHO

when i had to fill out the forms.. ie projector into my av6, i put new headlight to replace leaking old ones - tyc oem (haha)

lower suspension - new suspension to replace old sagging ones - hr springs + tokico blues

i never mentioned any "performance parts"

though i never had a turbo or sc so..

Originally Posted by Dan Martin

This is what I'm worried about...

Originally Posted by Dan Martin

So what about cancelling policies for mods that were on the car? If someone were to get in an accident can the insurance company deny the claim if the owner has altered something like lowering springs?
If so, what mods would be a problem?

Originally Posted by CGTSX2004

with the in mind...

new engine to replace one that died = comptech supercharged J30