Modified Car Insurance
Making your car your own
Modifying your car is one way to make it more personal and unique. Although this is all well and good, one major downside is that it could make your car insurance more expensive.
Why is insurance for customised cars sometimes more expensive?
Car insurance for modified cars can cost more because you could end up choosing a hard to source part, for example a really specific alloy wheel.
Let’s say the specific alloy wheels you chose were later discontinued, and they needed replacing after an accident. Your insurer would have a hard time sourcing an equivalent, and the extra time, effort, and expense undertaken by them is reflected in the price of your policy.
Are there any modifications that could reduce my insurance bill?
When buying modified car insurance, UK policies can vary in price, depending on the type of modification you get. If you had an alarm or immobilizer fitted the price of your premium could be reduced.
I’m thinking of customising my car, does my insurer need to know?
Yes, most definitely! The insurer will likely find out if you’ve had your car modified, when you come to make a claim.
If the modification can be accepted, you may find they’ll just update your policy and make you pay something extra if your insurance has increased.
But if the modification isn’t accepted by the insurer, they may think you’ve deliberately tried to mislead them and cancel your insurance, leaving you without cover and some potentially expensive repair bills.
Whenever you modify your car honesty is always the best policy when thinking about updating your insurance, especially when the modifications either change the performance or value of your car.
What is the best modified car insurance for my needs?
Our role isn’t to advise you on what level of cover we think you require, but what we can do is give you information about the differences between the insurance types.
The lowest level of cover you need to drive on public roads in the UK is Third Party Only. This level of insurance only covers the other driver, their car and property. Your car isn’t covered in anyway. Unfortunately we don’t sell customers this level of cover.
The next level up is Third Party Fire and Theft. This level of insurance also covers the other driver, their car and property, but only covers your car if it’s damaged by fire, attempted theft, or if it’s stolen.
If you want complete cover where your car is insured in an accident as well as the other driver’s then you might want to consider fully comprehensive insurance.
I have modified my car, what can esure insure me for?
When buying esure car insurance, modified cars are quoted for all sorts of prices, and this in part depends on the type of modification or customisation your car has. But no matter what you pay our standard car insurance policy includes:
- Unlimited legal liability if you cause death or injury to another person while you’re out driving
- Up to £20 million cover for any damage you do to a third party’s property with your car
- Windscreen cover
- Courtesy car while your car is being repaired by our recommended repairers
What other benefits are there being with esure ?
Quite a few – this is what else you can get for choosing us as your modified car insurance provider…
- Our comprehensive cover is of the highest quality and is rated 5 Stars by independent financial researcher Defaqto (excludes esure Flex)
- Access your important insurance documents with ease using our online customer portal
- All our customers can get in touch with legal experts, when they need legal motoring advice, this line is available 24-hours a day, 7 days a week!
I’ve modified my car but can I modify my car insurance?
When getting a modified car insurance quote with esure you can customize your cover as much as you’ve customized your car. We have a whole range of Optional Extras you can choose from that gives you that extra level of protection.
Motor Legal Protection - If you’re involved in an accident that was partly or completely the fault of the other driver we can pay up to £100,000 (including VAT) towards legal costs to help you recover your expenses. These can include lost wages if you've had to take time off work after the accident, or travel expenses while you were without your car. Motor Legal Protection could also cover your defence if you're facing prosecution for a motoring offence.
Breakdown Assistance - Our wide range of Breakdown Cover options are offered with our partner the RAC.
Car Hire Benefit - If your car is stolen and not recovered, or we agree it's a total loss, you'll get a similar sized hire car. You can use this while your claim is being processed, for up to a maximum of 21 days. With Car Hire Benefit we'll also pick you up from either your home or work and take you to collect your hire car, and when your claim is settled we'll collect the car within 48 hours.
Personal Injury Benefit - In the event of death or serious injury to you (or any named driver), we'll cover medical expenses and pay up to £100,000 if you're at fault, or up to £30,000 if not.
Key Cover - Have your keys been lost, stolen or damaged? You can call our partners, the RAC, who'll help you retrieve, repair or replace them.
Misfuelling Cover – if you misfuel your car you can call out our partner, the RAC, who’ll aim to get you back on the road in no time at all. Remember you won’t need this cover if your vehicle is fully electric.