Just had the HLM 304 remapped ECU put back in my p1 V70 T5, and I wondered about declaring it to my insurers. As Mr Too Honest for his own good, my conscience tells me to let them know. What do you say please peeps? How much does it add to the premium and what's the worst if I don't declare it( I presume void cover)?
Its not too bad to declare, I declared my last re-map and the premium increases by something measly like 10 quid. Officially yes insurance is void without declaration, however its one of those modifications that unless they are looking for it is almost impossible to notice. For instance after an accident do you think they will strip your ECU to check the software or even repair the car and place it on a dyno... I dont think so!
Hi there, if you have already declared the wheels exhaust airfilter tinted windows lowered suspension, then the remap wont make any difference, but if you have not declared the above, i wouldnt bother !!!!! I declared all my mods and it only went up by £12 per annum
[quote=Nealevo;463661]Hi there, if you have already declared the wheels exhaust airfilter tinted windows lowered suspension, then the remap wont make any difference, but if you have not declared the above, i wouldnt bother !!!!! I declared all my mods and it only went up by £12 per annum[/quote] Thanks for that. Nothing else has been declared to the insurers, and to be honest, the car cost me £750 and I had a £500 excess forced on me. Therefore, I can't see any point in declaring it, but I'm going to take it easy whilst I get used to the improved performance, which will be approx. 5 mins.
[quote=The Flying Moose;463659]For instance after an accident do you think they will strip your ECU to check the software... I dont think so![/quote] Depends how many people you kill maybe? In the past, there have been REAL incidents where ECUs were sent away to vehicle manufacturers to check the originanlity of the software. Sometimes upgrades have been detected and sometimes not, apparently... want to take the chance? Seriously - if the damages include human lives then I bet they will crawl over your car with a fine-toothed comb, especially if they know you hang out on an enthusiasts forum! Better safe than sorry.
[quote=foammanmark;463662]Thanks for that. Nothing else has been declared to the insurers, and to be honest, the car cost me £750 and I had a £500 excess forced on me. [COLOR="Red"]Therefore, I can't see any point in declaring it,[/COLOR] but I'm going to take it easy whilst I get used to the improved performance, which will be approx. 5 mins.[/quote] Good call Mark :smile:
[quote=rikcougar;463664]Good call Mark :smile:[/quote] Dumb call, Mark. Just to be consistent :) The cost of insuring it is part of the cost of tuning it.
Thanks for all the advice. Looking at all my policies(3), one car has business cover which should really only be commuting. That change will reduce the premium by around £15/month. I will make an enquiry about the remap in terms of increase to the premium, and then take a view on declaring it. I suppose it's a case of each to their own on this, but if anyone is to get caught out by not declaring the remap, then it would be me.
Betsy is insured with all mods declared with Chris Knott - cost me about 500 quid a year - FC with 8 years NCB - & 6 points.
My 850 with all mods declared is cheaper than my standard v70r, worth declaring mate.
[quote=Al115;463666]Dumb call, Mark. Just to be consistent :) The cost of insuring it is part of the cost of tuning it.[/quote] I'm about to call the insurers and find out what the score is. I'll let you all know later.
Even when I make minor changes (extra shiny bits) - I still call them to check. 99% of the time they just say - no charge - we'll just make a note of that.
[quote=foammanmark;463687]I'm about to call the insurers and find out what the scorean is. I'll let you all know later.[/quote] Right, after around 20 minutes on the phone to Aviva, and holding whilst the sales woman spoke to the underwriters 3 times, my premium has gone up by £9/month. I can rest now though knowing that I've declared it.
Good news - fancy trying it out at Oulton Park?
Good result, knowing you can sleep easy now!
[quote=Wobbly Dave;463705]Good news - fancy trying it out at Oulton Park?[/quote] They asked if I was going to race it, to which I said 'no', but I suppose I can do track etc.
No road insurance is ever valid for track days anyway. Track insurance is expensive & the cover is limited.
[quote=Al115;463708]Good result, knowing you can sleep easy now![/quote] Yes, I'm happier now I've done it, but they really knew very little about remapping. It made me feel like I was the first one to remap a Volvo with Aviva as my insurer, and I'm sure that isn't the case.
[quote=Wobbly Dave;463712]No road insurance is ever valid for track days anyway. Track insurance is expensive & the cover is limited.[/quote] So what's best then for track days, just to take the risk?
Do they know about the wheels? A lot of people would be surprised by how much difference aftermarket wheels can make. I know your nebs are standard volvo wheels, but i don't think they came on the S/V70s. ;)
The risk is suprisingly low. All the cars are going in the same direction, speeds are a little higher - but take Oulton Park for example - you might be able to reach 120 mph on the long straight? If you apply 8 tenths driving to the situation (bearing in mind no timing & no racing & overtaking is done by co-operation) - I would say that there is no more risk involved that driving on the roads.
[quote=foammanmark;463720]So what's best then for track days, just to take the risk?[/quote] Yeah. That's one reason to a) only go to track days that are run by companies you trust to police them properly, and b) keep a cool head :) I saw a guy take his Z3M into a gravel trap at Brands last year and it wasn't pretty!
[quote=LiamT4;463721]Do they know about the wheels? A lot of people would be surprised by how much difference aftermarket wheels can make. I know your nebs are standard volvo wheels, but i don't think they came on the S/V70s. ;)[/quote] They don't know about the wheels or any other mod, just the remap. The wheels on the T5 are only 17" Ortreras( from what I've been told) refurbed in graphite.
[quote=Al115;463726]Yeah. That's one reason to a) only go to track days that are run by companies you trust to police them properly, and b) keep a cool head :) I saw a guy take his Z3M into a gravel trap at Brands last year and it wasn't pretty![/quote] another example of why RWD is not as good ;)
Dunno why you told them at all mate not half way through a policy, after all an ecu can be whipped out in 2 seconds and another one put in
[quote=t5frankie;463782]Dunno why you told them at all mate not half way through a policy, after all an ecu can be whipped out in 2 seconds and another one put in[/quote] I thought about it and was swinging one way and then the other in terms of whether to tell them or not. Anyway, I could have done without the extra £9/month on the premium, but I will save more than that on one of the other cars which has full business cover which only needs to be commuting. It was just amazing how long it took to sort and I rang them on a mobile, so that call will have cost a fortune as well.
im the lucky one i dont have to declare nothing with mine, everything is insured lol good old trade policies :D
[quote=t5frankie;463782]Dunno why you told them at all mate not half way through a policy, after all an ecu can be whipped out in 2 seconds and another one put in[/quote] Do you carry a spare one about with you in the car just in case??!? I think he did the right thing (but then I just don't trust insurers not to try to screw me at every turn... they are smarter than me and they have more money!)
Well I happen to know a lot of people who haven't declared any mods, just better to do it at renewal time so don't get shafted
[quote=daza-b;463808]im the lucky one i dont have to declare nothing with mine, everything is insured lol good old trade policies :D[/quote] So you've seen the thread on the remaped ECU then mate. Quick burst on the M65 on the way back from Readview, and it felt pretty awesome! Shell V Power from now on.
[quote=t5frankie;463815]Well I happen to know a lot of people who haven't declared any mods, just better to do it at renewal time so don't get shafted[/quote] You've got a point as there was no doubt an admin cost on top of the on-cost for the mod. The policy is only 2.5 months through, and the additional charge was £83 for the rest of the year.
[quote=t5frankie;463815]Well I happen to know a lot of people who haven't declared any mods, just better to do it at renewal time so don't get shafted[/quote] Yep, agree with you about the timing!