BB Tyre Reviews Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 Taken from a BMW forum ..................................................... Just called my insurance company to inform them that the car will be going onto Winter tyres at some point in the next month or so. Going from M Sport double spoke 245/40/18 Summer RFT's to standard E60 SE, 225/55/16 M&S rated non RFT's. The insurance company have advised that as the change of alloy wheels to non standard wheels is classed as a modification and therefore is an increase in premium and admin charge. They have advised that there will also be an admin charge when i switch back to standard wheels. The additional premium is not massive, but £17.50 Admin charge per swap is wrong in my eyes. I fully explained the reasoning behind it and the chap agreed that he understood but still kept saying that the wheels "maybe" more "style ish" therefore is more risk and as they will improve handling they are a modification!!! I advised that the rims are OEM 16 inch, and this is a safety improvement not a style improvement. Plus, the rims are less risk due to their size and style, but got the generic reply of, I understand but its a mod, as the car did not come out of the factory with them wheels!! Having read other forums online, its seems that this is becoming very common with insurance companies "cashing in" on motorist who want to be safer at winter. If you are invloved in an accident and are found to of changed any equipment which they class as a mod and you have not informed them, your policy cover could be void. ..................................... I think that is an utter conn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sagitar Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 Taken from a BMW forum..................................................... Just called my insurance company to inform them that the car will be going onto Winter tyres at some point in the next month or so. Going from M Sport double spoke 245/40/18 Summer RFT's to standard E60 SE, 225/55/16 M&S rated non RFT's. The insurance company have advised that as the change of alloy wheels to non standard wheels is classed as a modification and therefore is an increase in premium and admin charge. They have advised that there will also be an admin charge when i switch back to standard wheels. The additional premium is not massive, but £17.50 Admin charge per swap is wrong in my eyes. I fully explained the reasoning behind it and the chap agreed that he understood but still kept saying that the wheels "maybe" more "style ish" therefore is more risk and as they will improve handling they are a modification!!! I advised that the rims are OEM 16 inch, and this is a safety improvement not a style improvement. Plus, the rims are less risk due to their size and style, but got the generic reply of, I understand but its a mod, as the car did not come out of the factory with them wheels!! Having read other forums online, its seems that this is becoming very common with insurance companies "cashing in" on motorist who want to be safer at winter. If you are invloved in an accident and are found to of changed any equipment which they class as a mod and you have not informed them, your policy cover could be void. ..................................... I think that is an utter conn I informed my insurance company when I changed my wheels/tyres for the winter last year. They wrote me a letter saying that my details had been updated and that the change did not affect my annual insurance premium. They sent me a new Certificate of Insurance and asked me to destroy the old one. That was it. It could be interesting to look at what the owners manual for your vehicle says about winter driving. In my case, the manual says, in the section on Pre-winter preparations "have the vehicle fitted with four snow tyres". You might also look at the information given by the manufacturer of your OEM tyres. Michelin describe the Pilot Primacies fitted to my car as "suitable for summer use at temperatures above 7 degrees C". I am afraid that some insurance companies will play "gotcha" no matter what you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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