I'm having a bit of bother on this subject myself.
Before buying my Aero Leon Reference Sport TDI I phoned my current insurer (Admiral) to check that there would be no problems with the bodykit.
The nice lady on the phone told me that since the bodykit was factory fitted it would be no problem and no extra cost, so I went and bought the car.
When I phoned back to actually update the insurance from my current car I decided just to clarify the position on the body kit. Anyway to cut a very long
story short, Admiral state that because the body kit is an 'option' and not 'standard manufacturer's specification' that they would not insure it. They say that some 'options' they would insure, like Sat Nav or alloys, but not the body kit. Essentially if the car was written off or damaged they would only pay out the price without the body kit. i.e. if someone ran into the back of me they would only pay for a standard bumper not the bodykit bumper. Obviously I cancelled my Insurance with them and looked elsewhere.
Which brings me onto Swinton Insurance, I explained the Admiral fiasco to the salesperson who claimed that this would not be a problem with Swinton as they did like for like insurance and the bodykit would be fully covered. I took out insurance with them but decided to have a good read of the policy book when it turned up. After reading the policy I found a section that stated they would only pay upto £400 for items that were not the 'manufacturer's standard fitted equipment'. I'm currently waiting on a reply from them to what 'manufacturer's standard fitted equipment' means in their policy and to find out if my bodykit is actually covered.
So the big question is basically what does 'standard manufacturer's specification' mean ? Is it…
A. The basic car as listed in the brochure before you start adding options.
B. The car as it leaves the factory with all your options fitted.
Obviously a question that needs answering by my insurance company BEFORE I'm involved in an accident.
Before buying my Aero Leon Reference Sport TDI I phoned my current insurer (Admiral) to check that there would be no problems with the bodykit.
The nice lady on the phone told me that since the bodykit was factory fitted it would be no problem and no extra cost, so I went and bought the car.
When I phoned back to actually update the insurance from my current car I decided just to clarify the position on the body kit. Anyway to cut a very long
story short, Admiral state that because the body kit is an 'option' and not 'standard manufacturer's specification' that they would not insure it. They say that some 'options' they would insure, like Sat Nav or alloys, but not the body kit. Essentially if the car was written off or damaged they would only pay out the price without the body kit. i.e. if someone ran into the back of me they would only pay for a standard bumper not the bodykit bumper. Obviously I cancelled my Insurance with them and looked elsewhere.
Which brings me onto Swinton Insurance, I explained the Admiral fiasco to the salesperson who claimed that this would not be a problem with Swinton as they did like for like insurance and the bodykit would be fully covered. I took out insurance with them but decided to have a good read of the policy book when it turned up. After reading the policy I found a section that stated they would only pay upto £400 for items that were not the 'manufacturer's standard fitted equipment'. I'm currently waiting on a reply from them to what 'manufacturer's standard fitted equipment' means in their policy and to find out if my bodykit is actually covered.
So the big question is basically what does 'standard manufacturer's specification' mean ? Is it…
A. The basic car as listed in the brochure before you start adding options.
B. The car as it leaves the factory with all your options fitted.
Obviously a question that needs answering by my insurance company BEFORE I'm involved in an accident.
