elephant car insurance

[DevilDamo]

me being the good citizen telephoned elephant (my insurance company) to tell them that i had a cosmetic modification (dimma grill). after bing on hold for about 25 minutes, the guy came back on the phone and told me that they will charge me an extra £10 for the modification.

i asked why and he said it is because the cosmetic modification attracts thieves, etc... i was like yeh, yeh, yeh, whatever.

he then said something (i didnt understand as he WASNT english) so i asked him to repeat it and he said...

"your modifications are listed on your policy but are NOT covered as a result of an accident"

i said... PARDON!?! i then asked why the hell am i paying additonal premiums for modifications if none of them are covered as a result of an accident. he then said, it is in the policy, that elephant do not cover modifications.

i have looked in my policy document and cannot find anything about it. i dont want to phone them back as i will not be able to speak to an english customer advisor and so i will not understand a word they are saying.

fcuking insurance companies!!! smileys/smiley7.gif

[Dan]

bad news matey, surely they would have told you that when you took out the policy.

switch companies i say

[DevilDamo]

well dan, theyve charged me £10 until the end of my policy to add the dimma grill. i have one more payment so my next installment will be £10 more than normal. i will then get a renweal notice and i think i WILL be changing companies.

but, this is the first time i have ever heard of anything like this before. is anybody else insured with elephant and has a a modded car, because take note.

[Raysax]

Im with Elefraud too!!

It does say somewhere in the policy details that modified parts will only be replaced with standard. But same as me, i dont understand why the fuck we still have to pay for them then???? smileys/smiley5.gif smileys/smiley7.gif

I will be changing next renewel, any1 got ne gud suggestions??? smileys/smiley17.gif

[DevilDamo]

oh right mate, so it IS in there. i never got told this when taking out my policy.

a few people on ssc knew about this already and said that the majority of insurance companies are also adopting the same approach smileys/smiley5.gif

what they basically mean is that if your car is involved in an accident, the insurance company will not replace the modifications, but will put the car back to factory standard.

[Raysax]

I didnt get told either when taking out my policy, but have read it in the details and asked em y they weren n they sed it wos policy!! Yet they wnt give me a discount for fitting a snap off steering boss or my alarm!!

[SlowOB]

Most insurers are the same you will find. Think only a few specialists insurers (the expensive ones) will cover your mods!

[Certi]

I'm with Elephant and I was fully aware that if my car was involved in an accident it would only be covered to be put back to standard.

U cant expect the insurance company to cover the cost of fixing a fully modded car such as mine for say £50 more onto your policy (thats what it cost me to add a bodykit onto my insurance policy). As it would cost a shit load to get it back to the way it was, escpecially if u have custom/1 off bits and flip paint etc.

[DevilDamo]

smileys/smiley7.gif smileys/smiley7.gif smileys/smiley7.gif

better than nothing i suppose.

[Dan]

try tesco's, adrian flux etc etc

[DevilDamo]

yes mate, i think i will be phoning around a lot of insurance companies when my policy is due for renewal.

[wideboy]

im with elephant too, i hav to admit iv had no problems really!

iv informed them of pretty much everything (apart from a few things under the bonnet anyway...) and it put my quote up a bit,but to be fair - like andy said u cant expect the insurance companies to fully restore a custom car!itd cost A LOT.

bit irish (no offence) bout the fact that they wont cover the mods even tho theyr paid for...i think ill hav to look into it and if it is a different case with other companies,i think ill maybe switch! i dont want my car to go up in flames and only get the standard shit back!no way josé!

[rsands]

try living in northern ireland and telling them about mods...it doesn't happen! they will NOT cover me at all for the mods except the alloys

[wideboy]

dont shout that too loudly mate! id recommend about 5 alarms...just incase!!

[rsands]

lol @ wideboy

i'm going to develop a system means even after the hot wire the car it still won't start! got a good idea for it

[wideboy]

put a manual immobiliser in...then run a switch for it sumwher unnoticable and sumwher u only kno. i did that with my old 205gti! stopped it gettin stolen twice smileys/smiley10.gif

[rsands]

ye i was thinking something similar but a bit more advanced!

just a switch on the live wire would be sufficient but want something harder to crack

[wideboy]

cud always just get a respray...white with blue and luminous yellow stripes...and a few decals...maybe sum roof neons too!ha! neeee naaaw

[DevilDamo]

lol at joe!!! smileys/smiley16.gif

[rsands]

lol!! smileys/smiley4.gif nice thinking

[wideboy]

smileys/hijack.gif

bit of a hijack goin on here lads sorry!

anyhoo, back to the matter at hand...

elephant.co.uk, thats elephant.co.uk - remember... elephant dot co dot uk


is it just me or does the fella off the advert irritate the living hell out of u? that guy in the elephant suit shud deck him..for shits and giggles

[DevilDamo]

hehe. cheap and cheerful mate.

[wideboy]

aye, cheap and nasty! through and through

[mike_obuk]

im with elephant, tried to tell them about my tints they wanted an extra 60 quid!!!

just gonna take the risk and not cover the mods.

[DevilDamo]

thats one thing they did pick me up on. i told them about my tinted windows and they asked me by how much as they knew what the law is and if you had them any different then i can guarantee they would have invalidated my policy. so i told them they were legal smileys/smiley20.gif

[mike_obuk]

lol, i tried to say they were legal, but they wanted to know the exact percentage so i said 25%.

told them i was thinking about getting them done and was just enquiring about the price smileys/smiley2.gif lol!

[DevilDamo]

yeh thats the best thing to do. ive made that mistake in the past. saying ive had something done and should have said, im thinking about getting something done.

on my old saxo, i went and got a dual exit powerflow zorst system fitted. i got home (after 40 mile drive) and then telephoned my insurance company (direct line at the time) and told them i had the system fitted. at that precise moment, they cancelled my policy and said...

"we do not insure drivers under 21 with modified cars"

so, there and then, i had to find somebody who did. wasnt very nice knowing that i had driven about 40 miles uninsured though.

[Mark]

... the guy came back on the phone and told me that they will charge me an extra £10 for the modification.

i asked why and he said it is because the cosmetic modification attracts thieves, etc...

I think the answer is in the question. If statistically you're more likely to have your car stolen, then your premium will go up. Seems reasonable to me.

Not covering your mods in the event of a claim is something else, and I'd look around for a better broker next time.

I'd also advise everyone against "forgetting" to declare modifications. It's my experience that insurance companies will get out of spending money at every opportunity.

[DevilDamo]

definitely agree with the last comment there mark.

they will try and get out of it anyway they can.

[Zany_Jim]

And charge way to much while doing so smileys/sad.gif

[tstapleton]

I hope Tesco ain't the same, that's who I'm wit. Sounds like a rip-off man, they charged me an extra £20 per month for lowering my car, that equates to £240 per year and they may not recover it in a result of a claim. smileys/smiley7.gif smileys/smiley7.gif smileys/smiley7.gif

[DevilDamo]

spoken to many other people now and it looks like that is the way insurance companies are now operating or aiming to operate.

well at least they will cover your car and put it back to standard as a result of an accident (if you are fully comp. and declared all of your modifications). we all know that nobody likes paying out and insurance companies are re-nound for non pay outs.

just think of these heavily modified 'show' cars that could be involved in a major accident where a write off was the result. how annoyed would those people be knowing that their 'show' car will be put back to standard.

as mark said and what other people have also told me, there are insurance companies that will pay out and replace modified car parts but these are usually specialist companies and would charge you more than the normal insurance companies.

[S9_DAN]

If i was you i would try Arian Flux as these have brought out a new policy, think it is called M2 or summit like that, but it is only for moddified cars and in some cases it works out cheaper than insuring a standard car. I dont no all the details but got to be worth a call to get a quote i say.

[Gav]

WWW.QUINN-DIRECT.COM</font>

[Gav]

aint ya sposed to get cheaper car insurance for tintered windows??

[mike_obuk]

i wish! lol, my cover is only third party, fire and theft, worth the risk i recon. generally insurance companies are wankers, grabbing what they can!

[DevilDamo]

If i was you i would try Arian Flux as these have brought out a new policy, think it is called M2 or summit like that, but it is only for moddified cars and in some cases it works out cheaper than insuring a standard car. I dont no all the details but got to be worth a call to get a quote i say.

i will try adrian flux when my renewal is due (1 month). you also got discount if you are an ssc member (which i am) smileys/smiley20.gif

aint ya sposed to get cheaper car insurance for tintered windows??

well, yes and no. in some instances you could blag that the windows also act as a secuity device with the tinting film making the window harder to break. but the majority of insurance companies will say that its a cosmetic modification and it will attract thieves. so my guess, the premium would increase.

[wideboy]

possibly sumthin that shud b looked into before either choosing an insurance company...or doing modifications!

if u think about it - its better takin a little longer doin ur homework on diff companies and gettin better cover - rather than just goin for the cheapest possible! u get wot u pay for really...

im def changing from elescam.co.uk wen my renewal is up

[DevilDamo]

well joe i got quotes from around 10 companies and of course elephant were the cheapest. the next one was an extra £200 per year but they were more of a respectable company, but i cannot think of their name. it may have been endsleigh (student insurance or something).

but elephant were cheap and that is why i went with them. it did not even come across my mind that elephant (any insurance company) now do not cover mods. i thought, if i declare them, then are covered and replaced following an accident. i was obviously wrong.

[Natalie]

If i was you i would try Adrian Flux

I ring Adrian Flux everytime i want to renew and they always say "sorry, we don't insure someone of your age on that car" so I told them to stop putting it in their bloody adverts then

I also rang shitroen insurance who told me that "I have to be 21 to insure a saxo vtr with them" to which i replied "well thats funny you gave away free insurance with the vtr brand new to young people a few years ago"

i'm sorry this is off subject but i thought i'd share if your ranting about insurance companies smileys/smiley4.gif

[DevilDamo]

nat, you are only three years younger than me and you're saying adrian flux didnt want to know!?! i think there is another reason because adrian flux is an ssc approved insurance company. i will have a look into that when my renewal is due.

yes, citroen insurance USED to give away two years free insurance. i had that when i bought my first saxo (six years ago). so many younger drivers took out this deal but then there were too many accidents, so they now only give the free insurance to drivers who are over 21 and usually with a clean driving history.

the two years free insurance was a very good deal because that started me with two years no claims bonus.