Insurance companies & their strange modification prices.

[BenGarner93]

Just rang my insurance to add a few things onto it and I'm confused by their prices.

£20 for 17" alloys.
£17.50 for wind deflectors, aftermarket rear lights & badge less grill at the front.
£73.80 for aftermarket headlights.

Anyone else been quoted strange prices?

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Just rang my insurance to add a few things onto it and I'm confused by their prices.

£20 for 17" alloys.
£17.50 for wind deflectors, aftermarket rear lights & badge less grill at the front.
£73.80 for aftermarket headlights.

Anyone else been quoted strange prices?

Nothing strange with that. You just don't understand insurance pricing thats all.

What company was it out of intnerest?

 

[BenGarner93]

Admiral.

Just don't quite understand how the lights cost so much compared to alloy wheels.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Admiral.

Just don't quite understand how the lights cost so much compared to alloy wheels.

Statistics and risk assosiation / management.

 

[the stig/130]

"can we get away with this extra charge" ? "have you by the balls"/money profit.
(alternative meaning )

 

[portland_bill]

All to do with risk. You pay them a little, they take on a risk of up to £2m per person you may injure, including each of your passengers. Adding extras gives an insight into you and your attitudes, and therefore your risk compared to "average". Their experience will also steer them.

Additionally, in the event of a collision, you now expect them to replace the broken bits with the same, not original stuff. Headlights are more likely to get broken than wheels and wind deflectors.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Additionally, in the event of a collision, you now expect them to replace the broken bits with the same, not original stuff. Headlights are more likely to get broken than wheels and wind deflectors.

Although the funny thing is Admiral group don't do this it'll only be OEM parts they fit.

 

[portland_bill]

Although the funny thing is Admiral group don't do this it'll only be OEM parts they fit.

So if you broke one headlamp, they'd fit a pair of OEMs. I imagine that would be more expensive than one aftermarket one. Headlamps have to be a matched pair, so they can't just fit one if it is different.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

So if you broke one headlamp, they'd fit a pair of OEMs. I imagine that would be more expensive than one aftermarket one. Headlamps have to be a matched pair, so they can't just fit one if it is different.

Nope, they'd fit one OEM spec unit, and thats it.

Headlamps don't have to match as far as I'm aware, they just have to be levelled correctly and emitted a beam which complies with vehicle lighting regs.

I wasn't best happy when they told me they were happy to charge me £35 for a £1200 LPG system, but wouldn't cover its value and in the event of total loss, or repair it should it be damaged and vehicle repaired. So took my business elsewhere.

Then again they say they may use 'used' parts along in repairs, so if they can find a used chavved part who knows. Admiral group have some of the worst insurance T&C's I've ever read.

 

[portland_bill]

All external lamps must be matched pairs. An aftermarket replacement that is effectively the same is ok, but I assumed that the OP had fitted something with projectors, angel eyes, or HID, etc. If that is the case, an OE on one side only will not be legal.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

All external lamps must be matched pairs. An aftermarket replacement that is effectively the same is ok, but I assumed that the OP had fitted something with projectors, angel eyes, or HID, etc. If that is the case, an OE on one side only will not be legal.

I don't recall ever seeing that in any lighting regs, although makes sense about the same lens type matching (projector, reflector or refractor etc).
Andy Monty

 

[portland_bill]

Thanks for the challenge, took a while to find it. I used to have a copy of the lighting regulations when I worked in an office, now searching online is a bit more difficult. And being Government, it seems to be at a different web address each time I wish to look.

See if this link works: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/1796/schedule/2/made

See para 12 (a) requires a pair.

This was originally to prevent a round on one side and square on the other, or other significant differences. An aftermarket replacement designed to replace the original is acceptable, even if reflector and lens are slightly different, so a Bosch on one side and a Marelli on the other would be ok, as long as they were both intended to do the same job. However, a projector on one side and an HID on the other is a no-no.

 

[BenGarner93]

Although the funny thing is Admiral group don't do this it'll only be OEM parts they fit.

I'm aware of that which is why I'm angered by the stupid charges.

But for example, I have 17inch alloys, and the car came with what I was told where a optional extra "Wolfrace 15inch Alloys" would they replace me with 15" steelies or the Wolfrace?

 

[portland_bill]

Wolfrace would not have been an OE option, so you'd get whatever the car spec should have as OE. Although, a crash repair involving a wheel may well be a write off anyway.