Urban myth mate, insurance companies couldn't give a toss if your tanks bolted in or not, the modification question is only there to check if you have done anything to the vehicle that might make it unsafe for road use.
Its a nice easy way to squeeze a few quid extra from customers but wouldn't leave you uninsured if not declared and not
the cause of the accident/ claim.
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I've seen insurance companies refuse to pay out because of a non-declared rear spoiler, alloy wheels or in one really mad case a non-standard sound system. The terms & conditions are just that - terms & conditions. Some insurance companies will weasel out of their responsibilities but we are not afforded the same option. My last quote wouldn't cover me to drive across my field to fill up with water as " No Off Road Cover " meant " No Off Road Cover " - reasonableness or sanity wouldn't prevail. I was told in no uncertain terms that If I did this my entire policy would be void - how they thought they were going to prove it I have no idea.
Insurance Companies are at best inflexible and at worst crooked. I wouldn't take out any cover and risk anything. I will ask them specifically what they do and don't cover and buy only on that basis.
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Firstly you can put what ever terms and conditions you want in a contract and I can agree to them but they wont override
my rights under the law.
If I'm legally allowed to drive the insured vehicle, the insured vehicle hasn't been modified to make it unsafe illegal for road
use then terms or not my insurance cant refuse to pay out, fair enough they may not cover the expense of replacing alloy wheels
or a fancy spoiler in the repair bill but that's not what we are talking about.
That said I don't for one minute think there aren't fly by night insurance companies out there that wouldn't try and get out of
paying but I think these companies should be avoided full stop.
The better more well known companies wont even check for a tank never mind try to get out of paying over one and that's from
experience.
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I get where you coming from.
In the past 10 years I've had stand up arguments with quite a few insurance companies over a tank in the pickup. many of them have just been completely unreasonable, probably because it was a relatively new concept. I've had some insurer's refuse to quote simply because of the presence of a tank - irrespective of size or how / if it's secured. I've had others want a massive premium loading and just a few who were ok with the idea. It made renewal extremely time consuming and annoying. Only in the last two years or so has common sense begun to prevail and a little bit more reasonableness has come into the equation.
In terms of theft I declared my alloys and it wasn't an issue. As long as the wheels were something that the vehicle could of left the factory with the issue was small. However if you spent 2 grand on some daft 22" wheels and as result the truck was stolen for the wheels and then burnt out the insurance company would not pay out. Their premium would be calculated via location, age and likely probability of theft on the assumption that the risks were equal and any alterations disclosed. The effect of undisclosed expensive alloys would contravene their premium calculation and likely be used to avoid a payout as the customer has been dishonest in their disclosure of modifications.