I can’t find a straightforward answer anywhere after 2 hours of searching so…
if I have a car with mods like exhaust, air intake, rims, suspension, sway bars, brakes… is it illegal not to tell the insurance (as opposed to telling them it’s stock) if I’m applying for liability only? In the event of a collision at my fault, I assume I’ll be paying 100% for the other guy… but what happens if I’m not at fault? IDC if they don’t pay me back for my car in a collision, but is there a chance they will sue me for insurance fraud (having these mods)?
What do all you sr20 guys do? I was going to just not mention any mods to insurance, but after a collision, I realized that it’s dammmnnnn risky if it’s considered insurance fraud.
I know they can void and cancel your insurance because of the mods. And maybe if you are at fault they would sue you for the repair costs of the other vehicle? Not too sure really on that part. But some companies do ask for you to take your car to an authorized shop so that they can have pictures taken and the shop will deem it modified or not.
If insurance finds out about mods that weren’t disclaimed, they don’t count as part of the policy and will drop you completely and leave you on your own with any damages and costs and what not, they’ll give you nothing except a headache when looking for another insurance company to pick you up.
I was going to buy a car that week :. But the accident got me thinking… Maybe a stock, rust free, ka24 240sx with no body kit would be a better decision for me as opposed to the modded ones.
still trying to figure out this insurance business tho -.-
If you want your car to be properly covered (i.e. not just liability) make sure get a quote for full coverage and then get it appraised (so that they don’t screw your over in case someone crashes into your or steals your car). The appraisal value will be added to your policy.
However, this will raise your premium, but it shouldn’t really be that much. Also, a lot of insurance companies ask for pictures for any car that’s 10+ years old.
On the other hand, they can easily refuse to insure you because of the mods, age of the car, your driving history etc… In that case you look for another insurance company. If you don’t mention anything about mods, and you do get into an accident, they can cancel the policy. If your are lucky, they won’t find out about the mods. However, you won’t get any a penny for your mods. This is to their discretion. It’s a toss up and imo too risky.
As many people as I know, not a single one got their car appraised (they all have modded cars LOL), and then fully insured by their insurance company. This is how most people choose to run their cars, but that’s far from perfect (as far as insurance goes).
Basically, if you want the cheapest insurance, just get liability. If you care about your car and the money you put into it, get it appraised, and put full insurance on it so that way you have a peace of mind.
forget about if your car is covered blah blah, what about when the lady you got in a fender bender with decides her neck hurts and sues, could an insurance company drop insurance due to fraud or something and you get stuck with paying her hundreds of thousands instead of your insurance company?
as opposed to the modded ones.