Mods and Insurance Companies?

**Gibi848** · 27 Jan 08, 11:01 AM

Has anyoone had any dealings with telling insurance companies about a bike with a custom paint scheme. My new 848s at dream machine having a moto gp race colours done. I'm going to tell them about it because I dont want to give them any reason not to pay out if it goes pear shaped one day. So I'm jus wandering how much there likely to increase my premium by. Plus should I tell them about carbon bits and termis ?

thanks in advance
Dean

**geo7863** · 27 Jan 08, 11:05 AM

I would, they would undoubtedly screw you for more wonga, but definitely refuse a payout if she was nicked. The paint job wont matter for performance sake, but they would argue that the carbon and termis do and in the case of a crash, they probably wouldnt pay out either as the performance capabilities of the bike have been altered.

**NedLudd** · 27 Jan 08, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geo7863

I would, they would undoubtedly screw you for more wonga, but definitely refuse a payout if she was nicked. The paint job wont matter for performance sake, but they would argue that the carbon and termis do and in the case of a crash, they probably wouldnt pay out either as the performance capabilities of the bike have been altered.

Correct, in short.

Moreover, not all insurance cos. hike the premium: some simply make a note and say that they won't pay out for the replacement cost of Termis in the event of an accident, but don't actually raise the premium. I seem to remember some posting on here that Ducati Insurance took that approach. Ask / shop around - and do report back.

**Gibi848** · 28 Jan 08, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NedLudd

Correct, in short.

Moreover, not all insurance cos. hike the premium: some simply make a note and say that they won't pay out for the replacement cost of Termis in the event of an accident,

them not paying for the add ons wouldnt really be a problem. In the scheme of things the idea of loosing the price of the termis compared to loosing nealy 10k on the bike seems a small price to pay. I just dont want to give them any reason not to pay up if anything goes wrong. I'll give a few a call and see what they say and report back.
ps. is Ducati insurance worth a call ?

**NedLudd** · 28 Jan 08, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gibi848

ps. is Ducati insurance worth a call ?

A good few here have found them competitive, certainly. Scroll down this forum and you'll find no shortage of insurance threads.

**Rob998** · 28 Jan 08, 09:38 AM

I went through this a few years back with a ZXR that was blinged. I rang the ins up & asked the question & they said they could either: Just take a note that there were cosmetic changes to the bike, but in the event of an accident they would only replace with standard items/paint. Or they could adjust the premium to cover the cost of replacing bling with bling. It was only an extra £25 IIRC, so I did that.

They also said that in the event of an accident and them not having been informed of blinging (inc race exhaust etc) they would NOT REFUSE to pay out for the bike unless it could be proved that one of the add ons had been a contributing cause to the accident. They would only replace with standard items however. How deepy they would look into this depends on the circumstances I'd guess.

It's well worth giving them a call, cos often insuring the changes doesn't cost as much as you'd think. For instance, I know of a guy with a Turbo'd Hayabusa with Nitrous & all kinds of billet & carbon all over it & he pays something like £200 a year fully comp.

**Gibi848** · 28 Jan 08, 03:04 PM

Just got a couple of quotes. Unfortunatley the company I'm with at the moment for my zx10 wont insure the 848 without an alarm (something I dont want). Ducati isurance have said £350.00 with Norwich Union (no alarm). E.Bike said (wait for it) £3500.00. Dont quite understand that one. As far as the paintwork goes they all said they would only repair to standard spec in the event of a spill