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Souping up your car and setting it loose on the streets makes your ride more interesting, but does it make it more difficult to insure? If you've changed your car up with window tints and petrol turbo, it may feel like car insurers will shy away from covering your reworked vehicle. Fortunately, it's easier than you'd think to find good quality cover even for heavily modified vehicles.
Company | What do they cover? | |
---|---|---|
![]() | Budget Direct should cover you as long as you let them know about your modifications. They won't cover modifications like bonnet bulges, any kind of rocket, flared wings, dual controls, and a few more others. It's best to look at the PDS if you've got some intense mods going on. | Get quote |
![]() | Bingle will insure a modification if it doesn't impact your cars performance, like petrol turbo, nitro or hydrogen fuel, or racing harnesses. | Get quote |
![]() | Real state that they will cover 'accessories or modifications made to your car that you have told the insurer about and that they've agreed to cover', but unfortunately don't mention any more specifics than that. | Get quote |
![]() | Youi covers all fitted accessories and modifications listed on your policy schedule, but don't go into great detail about which mods are exactly covered. | Get quote |
![]() | Virgin say that you must tell them before you make any modification to the car, but don't highlight what mods they do or don't cover. | Get quote |
![]() | Need to tell Coles about any additional accessories or modifications to the vehicle in the quote process, where they will decide whether to cover them or not. | Get quote |
![]() | AAMI car policies automatically include cover for modifications and accessories up to the amount your vehicle's covered for. You don't need to list them on your policy - you just need to make sure your car is valued correctly. | More info |
![]() | State that they will cover "any modifications, options or accessories that are attached to your vehicle." | More info |
![]() | Won't cover performance enhancing modifications. Will cover modifications such as tinted windows, mag wheels, and security systems. | More info |
It varies depending on provider, but modifications covered by most insurers include:
Modifications typically not covered by mainstream insurers include:
In addition to your standard CTP greenslip insurance, you'll either need a comprehensive policy or a third-party fire and theft policy to actually protect your vehicle.
With certain modifications, such as those listed above, you may not be covered by a standard policy. Instead, you'll need to take out one of the following with a specialist insurer, designed for modified vehicles:
The following is a list of insurance companies who offer modified car insurance for exotic or historical vehicles in Australia:
Specialist car insurers appreciate that people take great care in investing time and money into their vehicles and are therefore more willing to insure vehicles with performance-enhancing modifications. Certain modifications, such as to the engine, chassis or suspension, may prevent you from securing cover from a mainstream insurer or make the premiums unreasonable.
Specialist insurers usually cover unique modifications by adding substantially to the excess you pay. They also tend to charge more for more powerful vehicles. power of a vehicle. Boosting your car's power by 20% will probably boost your premiums by at least 20% as well. You won't necessarily be able to mitigate the cost increases by installing modifications for safety, because the added value of the modifications still contribute to the overall cost of the vehicle.
Specialists are particularly good at taking care of modified classic cars. They are better able to negotiate a more accurate agreed value for the car rather than simply resorting to market value, while understanding the needs of the owner.
For example, they may offer flexible lay-up periods for classic cars which don't see much use. They are also likely to offer you the choice of your own mechanic and the option to retain valuable or rare parts salvaged from your car in the event of an accident. Mainstream insurers can rarely offer such flexibility for modified classic cars.
When looking for modified car insurance you'll have to decide with market or agreed value cover. In most cases, it will probably be best to go for an agreed value policy, as outlined below:
This depends. How cool is your car? Like any policy, there are plenty of ways to reduce your premiums when buying modified car insurance. These include:
Modifications which are typically permitted include:
Modifications which are typically not permitted include:
There are two main reasons that a car modification will boost your premiums:
Exactly how much a particular modification will affect your premiums really depends on the specifics of the modification. The only general rule is that an insurance company will be much more willing to give you a good deal if the modification has been installed by a licensed professional, rather than by you.
The cost of your car insurance usually differ depending on your circumstances. Your gender, the type and colour of the car you drive, the amount of cover you need, your driving experience, and other factors will have an impact on your quote. Always check the Product Disclosure Statement to make sure which product is best for you.
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