Modified car Insurance

Archer Fabrications · Oct 6, 2011

well. im doing a build for my dsm. its going to be a beastly street driven car, curious if anyone on the west coast knows of any good cheaper insurance companies that will cover modified dsms. or if anyone has an idea what should NOT be mentioned to insurance companies for they could be used on a different car (for instance huge turbo) that would make the quote cheaper OR something that might make them not cover my car because i have it (methinol injection and other non street legal stuff)
i have basic liability at the moment through 21st century insurance, but they stated they only modifications they cover are paint, wheels, and stereo. which isnt much of a modification in my eyes. basically, i got 7500 dollars invested in my 6 bolt swap and supporting mods that if stolen or wrecked, id like to see my money back, if anyone can tell me what the best place to go through is id appreciate it (this will not be a drag track car, just a 600AWHP street demon) :cool:

snowborder714 · Oct 6, 2011

If you don't tell an insurance company about something that's on your car (i.e. big turbo), they will most likely not cover it if something happens to the car.

I have Progressive insurance and they cover modified vehicles. I have a field I can fill in and tell them how much my aftermarket parts are valued at, up to $5000 I think. You're given a standard $1000 worth of stuff for choosing that option, with the addition to add $5000 more. It really doesn't add too much to my premium either. You also better keep every receipt for every part you bought, as they require it for a claim. I shopped around at many different companies when I was looking and most say they do not insure modified vehicles. If they find out your car is modified, they'll drop you.

'97boostinGST · Oct 6, 2011

When my brother's Civic was stolen he had Farmers premium and he had a couple bolts on/wheels/stereo and he only got a fraction of the money he had receipts for.

I would recommend just call your local insurances agencies.

snowborder714 · Oct 6, 2011

From what I remember, wheels, stereo stuff, and the like isn't really considered "aftermarket parts" as those are very common changes. Interesting.

UofACATS · Oct 6, 2011

Progressive insurance, as mentioned above.

Also second the saving of receipts. But I think I would get them on the phone or sit face to face and ask exactly how you would be covered should the worst happen. I'll be doing that on my next build.

99gst_racer · Oct 6, 2011

Progressive can also use aftermarket mods as a reason to cancel your service. I had it happen to me. They dropped me a month after seeing my car. The parts that they mentioned in the report include: hood pins, lowering springs, and aftermarket gauges.

Archer Fabrications · Oct 6, 2011

snowborder714 said:
If you don't tell an insurance company about something that's on your car (i.e. big turbo), they will most likely not cover it if something happens to the car.

I have Progressive insurance and they cover modified vehicles. I have a field I can fill in and tell them how much my aftermarket parts are valued at, up to $5000 I think. You're given a standard $1000 worth of stuff for choosing that option, with the addition to add $5000 more. It really doesn't add too much to my premium either. You also better keep every receipt for every part you bought, as they require it for a claim. I shopped around at many different companies when I was looking and most say they do not insure modified vehicles. If they find out your car is modified, they'll drop you.

oh believe me, i have every reciept.. as i have been acumulating parts since i bought the car in april. the only reason id say dont tell them about a big turbo is because in the likelyness of an accident, the turbo is most likely fine and could be re used in another car, so to keep premiums down id leave that one out, the say the same thing with stereo equip. good to know about progressive, ive got about 7500 in parts and supprting mods.. ill talk to them next.

99gst_racer said:
Progressive can also use aftermarket mods as a reason to cancel your service. I had it happen to me. They dropped me a month after seeing my car. The parts that they mentioned in the report include: hood pins, lowering springs, and aftermarket gauges.

wow they dropped you for NOTHING performance related... id take that to court... as gauges and hood pins and suspension do NOT = a risk LOL

...

ill be asking around and the best info ill post to help other people on the west coast with their modded insurance needs. just remember, when asking your company, give them all hypathetical situations until you get the answer you want. i told 21st that i had all the parts in my garage to do a huge build for a show car (as show cars arent driven much

and they said should you do an engine swap, they wont cover it. so for everyone who is curious...
21ST CENTURY INSURANCE DOES NOT COVER ANY MODS TO YOUR CAR (with the exception of paint, wheels, and stereo)

99gst_racer · Oct 7, 2011

urbansmoker1 said:
wow they dropped you for NOTHING performance related... id take that to court... as gauges and hood pins and suspension do NOT = a risk ...

Trust me, I went round and round with them for days. This was back when I was still on a bone stock longblock and T25, so my car wasn't nearly as modified as it is now. Before my cancellation date, I started pricing out other companies and realized it wasn't worth the fight to stay with Progressive. They saved me money by dropping me.

I haven't worried about extra coverage for my aftermarket stuff in a long while. Around here, I don't have to worry about my car being stolen. And I figure that an accident will be primarily body damage. As cheap as DSM shells are, I can just swap over all of my hard parts. So I'm rocking the cheapest, junk PLPD insurance I can find. Afterall, I'm rolling around in a cheap car with a boat load of expensive parts that will more than likely survive any collision. No sense spending alot of money insuring a cheap chassis.

Archer Fabrications · Oct 10, 2011

very true..... whats the cheapest place you found for liability?

snowborder714 · Oct 10, 2011

Interesting reason to be dropped, Paul. The only thing I've heard from most of the companies is they would want a weight and 0-60 time for my car. If the speed to weight ratio is too high, then either the premiums sky rocket or they won't even insure the car.

99gst_racer · Oct 10, 2011

urbansmoker1 said:
very true..... whats the cheapest place you found for liability?

Last summer, I was paying about $240 for 6 months through State Farm. It helps that I'm over 25 years old and have been ticket free for over 5 years now.

snowborder714 said:
Interesting reason to be dropped, Paul. The only thing I've heard from most of the companies is they would want a weight and 0-60 time for my car. If the speed to weight ratio is too high, then either the premiums sky rocket or they won't even insure the car.

Now that's interesting. I've never heard of any insurance company asking about power/speed to weight ratios. I'm surprised too because I'm sure most people doen't even know their 0-60 times.

gofer · Oct 10, 2011

I find this interesting since I haven't seen this brought to light before. When I started modifying my DSM I let my insurance company, State Farm, know and they said just hold onto the receipts. Even a few years after when I did my AWD M/T swap I called and told them about the VIN not matching the drivetrain any longer. They said they didn't care, as long as I have receipts and proof (not hard to prove the cars AWD) then I don't have to worry. Fortunately I haven't had to make a claim but at the same time, who knows what would happen if my insurance company actually had to cover something?

Brian, did they happen to tell you the fastest they'd cover for 0-60 with your cars weight?

Paul, your situation is proof that insurance companies have no idea what they're looking at. Dropping coverage for gauges and hood pins? LOL

snowborder714 · Oct 10, 2011

I wasn't sure how they could get accurate data for that Paul, especially if I were to sandbag it LOL

No, they didn't. I gave them an estimated 0-60 and the best guess weight from the last time I was on the local scale, and they said it didn't sound good. So I asked how they'd insure something exotic, but as always, people with money don't follow normal rules.

My old company was ok with engine swaps (told them it was from the same car, just different year), suspension components, wheels/tires, stereo, etc. Anything to make me go faster or make my car lighter thought was frowned upon.

phunny · Oct 10, 2011

I had mine insured as a "show car" with Geico and I had it covered to 40k. The problem was that if it was in a crash at the track it wasn't covered. I ended up canceling it and just putting liability until I find some better option.

I also had state farm drop me for having nitrous in my car. Just the mount for the bottle...

99gst_racer · Oct 10, 2011

gofer said:
Paul, your situation is proof that insurance companies have no idea what they're looking at. Dropping coverage for gauges and hood pins?

I wish I had our conversations recorded. It's was completely obvious that these guys knew nothing more about cars other than where to put the fuel. I was actually making headway in the fight, but in the end, I realized it just wasn't worth it.

They also didn't like my Eibach springs, aftermarket seats, and everything shiny under the hood. I told them about my aftermarket parts since day one because I wanted the extra $5k coverage and they were completely cool with it over the phone, but it was game over once they saw the car for the first time.

Archer Fabrications · Oct 14, 2011

phunny said:
I had mine insured as a "show car" with Geico and I had it covered to 40k. The problem was that if it was in a crash at the track it wasn't covered. I ended up canceling it and just putting liability until I find some better option.

I also had state farm drop me for having nitrous in my car. Just the mount for the bottle...

i havent tried geico yet, but i just talked to state farm, and they said they wouldent even cover anything aside the normal stereo and paint same as 21st... ill keep looking, i brought this to them saying it was a show car, and would be in a parking lot for others to view and only be driven on weekends... they still opted to not even give me a quote.

as for geico, i talked to them just now. they said if you keep all your reciepts you ahve a better chance that the claims dept will cover, but they dont promise it. as for getting show car coverage, the car being covered has to be the 3rd car you own, be a certian age, and drive less then 2000 miles a year. otherwise they dont cover engine stuff. ANYONE KNOW OF A COMPANY THAT WILL COVER MY CAR at 17,000 thats all i frickin need!!!

fourgsixthree33 · Oct 14, 2011

I remember reading an article about this is a magazine. I don't remember if it was Import Tuner, Modified, or what the hell it was now but there was a bunch of good info in there about car insurance for use of competition events.

Although this may not be the kind of coverage you are looking for, I am sure they could definitely help you out as they are involved with high performance car owners.

I think I still have it so when I get home after work, I will try to dig it out. It mentioned that you could speak with an agent and they will find the best insurance for you. Some insurance companies also figure in the number of events you attend per year. It was a great article. I am pretty sure I still have it so I will find it and post back tomorrow.

Archer Fabrications · Oct 15, 2011

i talked to state farm again, i told them out right, that i had read on the net a few times about people getting dropped for attending a time trial event. i asked if i had liability if they would still insure me for liability only. knowingly that i would not be covered during an event, and be re covered when im on the streets, they said that they were fine with that and wouldn't drop me for participating in a closed road course time trial event. now they did how ever say out right that they wouldn't under write my car and they wouldn't even give me a quote for comp and collision and said thet wouldent even consider covering any part of the car, even if i were to get it appraised, it was too likely that something would happen to the car and they didnt want to be responsable for engine parts. but they liked the liability idea. now all i need to get that in writing and at least im covered for the legal side of things... although now i gotta find someone that will cover my mods separately when off the track as well. that might be harder. i agree with racer that it would make sense if we did closed track events. it would improve driving. anyway point is they didn't seem to care about me being a "high risk" driver as long as its outlined that im not covered at any event, and as long as im covered in normal conditions. but i have yet to find a company that would cover loss or damage of the dsm.

fourgsixthree33 · Oct 15, 2011

I found the magazine article. It was in the July issue of Modified. Actually, right after the page with Jeff Bush's article about his 94 Eagle Talon. Anyway, I took some pics and they are down below. I don't know if it would be a problem to post pics of a magazine article but if it is, then it should be deleted by a mod.

First pic- In yellow, are a list of great motorsports insurance companies and brokers. I would definitely contact them!