Modifying your car, modify your insurance

Our cars are not just a vehicle anymore; they’re expressions of our personalities. This has brought about prestige on certain badges and models, sometimes even down to details such as the colour of your car. This is obvious from the rise of enthusiast clubs for cars such as Subaru drivers, Mini owners and many, many more.

In order to keep up in the fashion show happening on our roads some drivers have expressed their individualism and made changes to their run of the mill vehicles. These changes can be subtle ones such as a new set of alloy wheels through to extreme changes such as redesigned body kits or enormous spoilers strapped to the back of their cars.

With films like the Fast and the Furious and video games like Need For Speed glamorising this subculture of modifying cars and whilst most people in the UK have limited their changes to strictly cosmetic elements, there are some people who illegally modify the ECU (Electronic Control System) of their engines to get a performance boost. Others add items such as induction kits and turbo superchargers all manner of parts and gadgets that get the petrol head’s blood flowing.

Whilst this would certainly make driving on the roads more interesting and varied it has a downside: Insurance. Unfortunately most modifications you make to your vehicle can affect your car insurance premiums.

The thing is that most elements that set your car apart from the factory standard will potentially increase your car insurance and this can be as small as a GPS device or leather upholstery. There are some items such as roof racks or permanently fitted child seats that are not likely to affect your car insurance quotes.

It’s probably best to check with your insurer before making any changes to your car so you don’t end up having to pay out extra on car insurance as well as however much the weird and wonderful modifications may cost too.