Wheel Track And Insurance

[turbo_rolla]

Okay, so I'm getting my ke70 ready to go through Regency here in SA to get the 4age conversion ticked off. Rang them to see what the go was with wheels and they said they don't care how wide the rims are, and that its the track that they measure:

 

Front - 1346mm, Rear 1361mm

I measured mine up and have got about 1425mm on front and1405mm on rear, so obviously a bit over what's considered "legal".

 

Rang insurance company and spoke to a helpful guy who happens to owns a sprinter (chatted about mods for 10 mins), and basically said their stance on it is they want it the "legal" track, or engineered. Rang a couple of engineers and they said they wouldnt be able to justify going outside of the regency recommended track......

 

The reason I'm asking all of this is because i want it to be legal, and not get f$#ked up the ass by insurance if i have a prang cause the track is 20mm out. Has anyone had experience with insurance claims being rejected because of rims that were too wide? Just looking around the roads on the way home and most cars with aftermarket rims would be outside of the "26mm" allowed by regency - surely insurance companies arent that big a pr!ck to deny a claim on 1" too much track?

 

I'm looking to downgrade to 6.5" rims, which would still more than likely be outside of the track given above, but would all be within the guards.....should i do this, or should i just play it safe and buy some 6" rims. Probably looking into it a bit much, but don't wanna go through all this stuff getting it legal to all be wasted.

 

Thanks for listening :)

[adam-__-]

I honestly don't think the insurance company would even check how much your track is over the legal limit, but they would do anything to reject your claim. I've read a bit of your build thread and seeing that you're doing everything else right, do this one thing right as well. No point going to all the trouble having everything else legal then just having your wheels over the legal limit.

 

If it was just a standard *e7* with wheels over the limit, I wouldn't really care if I had the risk of not getting paid out. You're doing all the hard work already getting it legal, might as well do it all right.

 

 

My 2c. :)

[turbo_rolla]

I honestly don't think the insurance company would even check how much your track is over the legal limit, but they would do anything to reject your claim. I've read a bit of your build thread and seeing that you're doing everything else right, do this one thing right as well. No point going to all the trouble having everything else legal then just having your wheels over the legal limit.

 

If it was just a standard *e7* with wheels over the limit, I wouldn't really care if I had the risk of not getting paid out. You're doing all the hard work already getting it legal, might as well do it all right.

 

 

My 2c. :hmm:

Thanks for the comments! I actually decided to ring Shannons (my insurer) today to see what their stance is other than "we want it legal". Was straight up with the guy and asked "if my wheels are wider than stock track, and i make a claim, would you reject it", and he said that they wouldnt, unless it was the "illegal" modification that caused the accident (ie wheel snaps, snaps the strut cause of "extra" loading on it etc). SO going from that piece of information i think I'm going to stick with what i've got cause it seems like they're actually pretty reasonable - they are "motoring enthusiasts" afterall :) If anyone has had other experiences though i'd still love to know about it - just in case :(

[Jono]

If it was just a standard *e7* with wheels over the limit, I wouldn't really care if I had the risk of not getting paid out.

 

...and potentially pay off the porsche you bumped into over the rest of your life.

[adam-__-]

Thanks for the comments! I actually decided to ring Shannons (my insurer) today to see what their stance is other than "we want it legal". Was straight up with the guy and asked "if my wheels are wider than stock track, and i make a claim, would you reject it", and he said that they wouldnt, unless it was the "illegal" modification that caused the accident (ie wheel snaps, snaps the strut cause of "extra" loading on it etc). SO going from that piece of information i think I'm going to stick with what i've got cause it seems like they're actually pretty reasonable - they are "motoring enthusiasts" afterall :dance: If anyone has had other experiences though i'd still love to know about it - just in case :yes:

 

Ah that isn't too bad then. Hmm if the modification didn't cause the accident... :hmm: I wonder what you could get away with.

 

 

...and potentially pay off the porsche you bumped into over the rest of your life.

 

:lol: didn't mean it to come out like that. I just thought that because you're getting the entire car legal, why not go make the wheels legal as well.

 

Lets just say you've got wheels over the limit, you crash, you get rejected. Then there's another guy who engineered his whole car, but had illegal wheels, he spent heaps of money trying get everything legal, he crashes, he gets rejected. It's the same outcome in the end, why bother engineering your car and wasting that money when you'll end up in the same position as if you didn't get it engineered?

 

I hope that made some sense. I just think that seeing that you're getting everything else legal, why not your wheels too.

 

 

Edit: Not trying to start shit by the way. Just trying to clear up what I meant by that sentence in my first post.

Edited July 17, 2008 by adam-__-

[turbo_rolla]

Ah that isn't too bad then. Hmm if the modification didn't cause the accident... :yes: I wonder what you could get away with.

 

:hmm: didn't mean it to come out like that. I just thought that because you're getting the entire car legal, why not go make the wheels legal as well.

 

Lets just say you've got wheels over the limit, you crash, you get rejected. Then there's another guy who engineered his whole car, but had illegal wheels, he spent heaps of money trying get everything legal, he crashes, he gets rejected. It's the same outcome in the end, why bother engineering your car and wasting that money when you'll end up in the same position as if you didn't get it engineered?

 

I hope that made some sense. I just think that seeing that you're getting everything else legal, why not your wheels too.

 

 

Edit: Not trying to start shit by the way. Just trying to clear up what I meant by that sentence in my first post.

Ah, no problems - actually had the same thoughts to tell you the truth :dance: i might give them a few more calls over the next few days and see if i get a consistent answer - i mean at the end of the day they're insurance companies and don't wanna pay out, so could find something to reject if they wanted. I think though, that if you had wheels that are an inch outside the recommended track that they're not going to have any dramas? WHo knows though - that's why it'd be good to hear from anyone who's had experiences with similar (ie got rims or something else that is deemed "illegal" by local authorities but have got through an insurance claim without a problem).

[Raven]

Speak to Rory Thompson about it and ask him if he will engineer the car with wider than stock wheels (since he builds V6 Commonwhore-powered clubmans then).

[turbo_rolla]

Speak to Rory Thompson about it and ask him if he will engineer the car with wider than stock wheels (since he builds V6 Commonwhore-powered clubmans then).

Think he was one of the guys i spoke to when i rang some engineers and he said they wouldnt be able to find a reason to justify running a car with wider track...not sure if they completely understood where i was coming from though :dance:

[turbo_rolla]

Thought i'd look at Shannons "Product disclosure statement", and found the following:

 

“Modified” means that your vehicle has alterations to the manufacturer’s specifications which may affect its value, safety, performance and/or alter its theft risk. We reserve the right to determine whether an alteration constitutes a modification.

We will not cover any modification that is:

not legal;

not approved by the transport department in your state.

 

I can't see anywhere else in the PDS where they wont allow a claim because of an illegal modification - what i read from the above is that if you have an illegal modification on your car, they wont cover that modification :dance:

[adam-__-]

Thought i'd look at Shannons "Product disclosure statement", and found the following:

 

“Modified” means that your vehicle has alterations to the manufacturer’s specifications which may affect its value, safety, performance and/or alter its theft risk. We reserve the right to determine whether an alteration constitutes a modification.

We will not cover any modification that is:

not legal;

not approved by the transport department in your state.

 

I can't see anywhere else in the PDS where they wont allow a claim because of an illegal modification - what i read from the above is that if you have an illegal modification on your car, they wont cover that modification :dance:

 

Yep, that's what I've heard from a few people too. Not notifying the insurance company about the modification you did, whether it's legal or not, they just won't pay out for that modification.

 

Buy wheels, put them on, but don't tell insurance company and when it comes time to make a claim, they'll pay out what you told them you had.

 

Edit: Let is know how it goes. I know I'm not from the same state, but insurance companies wouldn't be much different if at all.

Edited July 17, 2008 by adam-__-

[smitty1]

Yep, that's what I've heard from a few people too. Not notifying the insurance company about the modification you did, whether it's legal or not, they just won't pay out for that modification.

 

Buy wheels, put them on, but don't tell insurance company and when it comes time to make a claim, they'll pay out what you told them you had.

 

Edit: Let is know how it goes. I know I'm not from the same state, but insurance companies wouldn't be much different if at all.

I think you would be taking a risk,, that at the discretion of the insurance company that rather than not paying you for the wheels that you didn't tell them about, that if they worked out that it was over track and therefore not roadworthy that they would knock back the whole claim and not just $1000 worth of wheels.

 

Cheers, Ian

[turbo_rolla]

It'll either be a case of getting smaller wheels or letting the insurance company know what i've got on it. Will make those few extra calls today and see what kind of answers i get. From what i can see from the PDS it looks like they just wont cover that modification in the event of a claim :dance:

[LittleRedSpirit]

They are all stupid and ignorant at insurance companies. For some reason because I'm over 25, AAMI, a very by the book and inexpensive insurer, is covering my Red Spirit and all its mods with a 3rdparty, fire and theft policy. The only thing that sucks is, they only pay out 5 grand but you get the option to buy the car back. So either way, as long as its not totally burned out I'm fine. Ive told them about and even showed them the motor, ecu, recaro seat, electronics, coilovers, the lot. They will even cover my big brakes once they go on. They didnt ask me for any mod plates or anything at all. I even spoke about them in their presence to see if they just needed reminding to ask, which they didnt. I'm happy as long as losing the car isnt a total failure and anything I damage is covered.

 

You would be amazed what insurers will cover sometimes. I remember being in the assessors shed one time, and looking at a WRX STI that was so incredibly banged up. Smashed wheels, completely gone front end, mega twisted chassis, all the glass popped etc. I asked the assessor what the story was. He said streetracing on the Storey Bridge. I laughed and said so hes not getting paid out then eh. He says, yeah were paying the claim. So even though the idiot had had a head on with an innocent motorist at high speed in a 60zone while racing in the oncoming lane, they were gonna pay the claim. Some insurers have a wider scope of acceptance than others. He did hint that AAMI were only the underwiters of the policy but the actual company which sold him the insurance was Just Car Insurance, who has a wide scope for payable claims.

 

On another note, if you don't mind me asking, how much is the Shannons insurance? Is it full comprehensive? I bet its about 1200 a year if it is. Shannons always struck me as the most exxy insurer.

[turbo_rolla]

Yeah, from the sounds of it, the main thing is to tell them that you've got all the gear on the car so there's no surprises if it comes time to make a claim.

 

I've got full comp through them - the guy i was speaking to the other day (with the ae86) said "so you'll wanna insure it for say $5k" (which i was going to), and that worked out to about $460 for a year ($38/mth) with all the mods - cheap like a budgie :dance: I've currently got in insured for $3k without the listed mods (not really driving it until its done), and thats about $360. Oh, and I'm not an old fart - am 25 :yes: i've had my car insurance with them for about 4 years or so now when i used to have a AE112R turbo sportivo, and they've actually been the cheapest (or one of) that i've found - even got our house insured with them as they were cheap for that too (AND cover the garage in the policy with $10k replacement...).

[turbo_rolla]

One more call made to Shannons just now. The kind lad confirmed what i was told yesterday:

 

So long as the width of the wheels arent the reason for the claim, then the claim wont be rejected. They would repair the rest of the vehicle, with the exception of the "illegal" wheels (ie he said - if you were turning a corner but the wheels were too wide within the guards to allow you to turn properly and you had an accident, you wouldnt be covered).

 

So i think I'm happy to put this to rest, having got what i beleive to be a satisfactory answer from the horse's mouth. Guess the only thing we have to worry about are cops having a bad day! :dance: