I am curious to get your guy's opinion on the topic of Insurance and Car Modifications.

The modifications I have on my car so far are:
Injen CAI (CARB LEGAL)
Clear corners with amber LED's

I have not declared any of the following modifications to my insurance company. I dont want my insurance to go up, plain and simple.

My current insurance plan does not have comprehensive or collision for my car. The only coverage I have is liability and uninsured motorist coverage.

Future Planned Mods:
Koni/GC
Tints
Exhaust

I have only owned this car for 1yr and 1 month.

I would like to know how you guys handle this. Do you guys declare all your modifications? If so how much did your insurance go up?

What are the consequences of not declaring you mods. Please give multiple examples like if I was in an At-Fault accident or was not at-fault in the accident.

Any input is much appreciated.

 

You should talk to your agent and run some numbers, that's the only way you'll know.

Back in my time when my hatch was at it's peak, I listed EVERYTHING that was not from a factory 2000 Honda Civic CX Hatchback, but they only covered up to $5000.00 in "custom" parts. My personal agent actually took photos of everything I listed and kept it in file.

I never an into any troubles, and I believe it was an extra $9.00/month for the custom parts.

My rate was: $269.00/6mos. Full coverage, $500 Deductibles

But that was years ago. 8)

 

Do you mean "covering" the parts, as in if they are damaged in an accident they are covered?

I dont need to have my parts covered because if I was in a real accident (more than just a fender bender) my car would technically be totalled. I bought my 96' Integra LS for 3300. So the car's value is very low already, if it got into an accident severe enough, it would pretty much be totaled and I would part it out.

 

Be it accident or theft, if any of those parts are affected (up to $5000.00), i'd be compensated for them.

So, the street value of my civic + up to $5000.00 if totaled. They are stringent when it comes to replacing custom/aftermarket parts. YOU DO NEED some form of receipt or proof that you purchased them.

Again, speak with your agent for the full details. This info is what I've been informed through my agent. It may be outdated.

My honest opinion is, if you don't want the rate to rise, just keep the mods to basics. If you're aiming great lengths, i'd fully insure.

 

I've had insurance agents say "Anything not part of the car as it was delivered from the factory is not covered. Period." I've also had agents at other companies say "Anything with receipts, up to $500 in value, and mounted to the vehicle, is already covered.".

Speak with your company, it's the only way to find the answer.

And FYI, the clear corners aren't legal (lacking the mandated reflectors) and probably shouldn't be mentioned to insurance.

 

However, I understand that you actually insured your parts from damage or theft. In my case I do not want to insure the parts from damage like you did. I just dont want to be caught in a bad situation if I am involved in an accident (not at fault). Then what? Do they find the mods on my car and say some BS like you're car is lowered and you have an intake so sorry we wont cover you. Something along those lines. Im not looking into insuring my parts, just my ***.

Do you have to still pay extra to insurance even if you don't want to insure those parts?

 

Interesting, I thought it just had to emit an amber color light, not white etc. I researched about it and thats what I came up with.

http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d12/vc24953.htm

http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d12/vc24952.htm

 

Talk to your agent, it's the best way to find out. Having aftermarket products should not be a factor in insurance denying you after an accident. Unless you drive like an ***-hole, i guess. 8)

 

Never
Just a DD commute with seldom spirited driving.

 

Actually, I was just asking them if the aftermarket radio equipment would be covered. I wasn't going to pay extra for coverage, but if they would do so without charging me extra, I wanted them to know the parts were on the car.

If you don't want it covered, them simply don't mention it. Some of it might be covered anyway, but odds are it won't, but they won't care if you don't report it and don't expect coverage.

Those are both for the turn signals, which do have to need to be amber if they show to the side, and can be anything from white to amber if only showing to the front.

However, there is a separate requirement for front and side amber reflectors, which on an every Honda I can think of are part of the turn signals. If you have separate reflectors, then you can legally have clear turn signals (some cars do, mine doesn't).

edit: Forgot I wasn't in the Integra forum there. But, to my knowledge, nearly every Honda I've ever seen used the turn signals as the reflectors as well.

 

My car is a 93 del sol and sense it is older than 10 years I was able to insure it as a "classic" car. Haha sounds funny to me being a honda but anyways they will literally insure it for a price i set so long as i send them documentation on everything installed on the car. My car is currently insured for $23,000. My insurance is $290 every 6 months but keep in mind we have all of my family's car's on the same plan so we have...5 car's & 2 boats on the same insurance.

My brother is insuring his del sol for $10k as well. His is actually completely stock besides a molded lip and shaved door handles etc with fresh paint.

Full coverage on my del sol and my daily driver "g35 coupe" is about $680 every 6 months. But this to me is extremely well considering thats over $50,000 in insurance coverage for both vehicles.

 

My insurance bill for 2 cars a year prob costs as much as yours with 5 cars and 2 boats. F***en Jersey.

 

Yes I dont expect coverage from damage if it occurs (i totally understand this). However I hear they can void my insurance and claim I am at fault if they find i have for example a performance enhancing intake system and therefore I am at fault (even if I wasnt). Even to the point of putting my car into a crusher?

Can this happen?

You say "If you dont want it to be covered, then simply dont mention it".
But what are the consequences of not mentioning it, can they "pull a fast one" if they find out I have it later?

 

That should never be the case with a crusher. Unless you have a stolen engine or similar...

Void the insurance? Never.

Deny coverage because a modification cause the issue the claim is over, possibly.

For example, you have a CAI, and that allows the engine to suck up water and damages it. Insurance (full coverage anyway) would normally cover water damage, but they might deny coverage due to the modification.

Now, AAA insurance covered my engine damage from that exact scenario (even with the mechanic stating that the aftermarket parts were the cause of the damage), but not all insurers might be as nice.

Crash the car and be denied coverage over a modification? Only if it was blatantly illegal and could be argued in court to have been the cause (or a large contribution) of the accident. Missing lights or signals, potentially (because they could argue the other driver would have seen you if you had not removed the mandated lights). Engine and/or suspension mods, certainly not.

Should be no consequences.

I've had theft coverage denied on aftermarket parts, but the car itself (and all parts it came from the factory with) was still covered. At that time, insurance didn't know I had modified/changed anything, and only found out when I asked to be compensated for those parts.

 

Wow good stuff!