The Impact of Car Modifications on Insurance Prices

Adding modifications to your Mitsubishi will make it look sportier, and perhaps even
perform better. However, it also has a negative impact on car insurance prices because it increases that statistical likelihood of an accident occurring and a claim being made.

This is becoming an increasing area of concern for motorists with the AA reporting
that car insurance prices rose by 40% over the course of 2010. This has affected car
insurance buying habits, with reports of an increased number of motorists looking for
cheap car insurance on moneysupermarket.com.

This means that an motorists becoming less likely to make modifications to their
vehicles as they strive to keep car insurance prices as low as possible. However, this
doesn't have to be the case and there are a number of things which you can do to
reduce car insurance prices.

What counts as a modification?
Firstly it is worth examining what counts as a modification, because there have been
reports of a number of motorists making minor changes to their vehicles without even
realising that it could impact upon their car insurance policy.

Modifications are not just obvious aesthetic changes, such as the addition of body
kits, spoilers, tinted windows or alloy wheels to a vehicle. It could even be minor
alterations such as changing the gear knob or replacing a cassette player with a CD
player. Basically, a modification is anything which results in the vehicle deviating
from its original manufacturer specifications.

The impact that these changes have on car insurance prices will vary. For instance,
a young male motorist could have an extra £3000 added to their car insurance bill if
they outfit their car with spoilers and tinted windows.

Replacing the gear knob however will hardly impact on car insurance prices at all,
but could be used as a loop hole by the insurer to refusing paying out when a claim
is made if they have not been informed about the modification. You should therefore
inform the insurer about any changes made to your vehicle, regardless of how trivial
you feel it is.

Car insurance saving tips
Once a modification has been made, there are five things that you can do to lower
your annual car insurance bill and making having modifications a financially viable
prospect:

1. Improve yourself- You can't do much about your age or gender, but you can
improve your levels of experience. Completing advanced driving courses such
as pass plus, which are available through most driving instructors, is a great
way of reducing your premiums with savings of up to 40% with some insurers.
You could also add an older and more experienced driver to your policy as a
named driver, which will also result in a significant cost saving. This works
through the insurer believing that the main policy holder will be spending less
time behind the wheel.
2. Shop around- You stand a better chance of getting the best deal available

if you compare prices with as many different car insurance companies as
possible. The easiest and quickest way of doing this is by utilising price
comparison websites, which will compare prices available through hundreds
of different insurers in a matter of minutes.
3. Get on your bike- The more miles you travel, the more likely it is that
you will have an accident and make a claim. You should therefore keep the
mileage allocation set on your policy to a minimum in order to ensure that you
are not paying for miles which you are not going to be using.
4. Positive modifications- Not all modifications will end up costing you money.
The addition of alarms and/or immobilisers will actually end up reducing your
premiums through reducing the chances of your vehicle being stolen.
5. Park safely- Parking your vehicle in a secure location like a locked garage
will actually result in an insurance cost saving because your car will be less
likely to be either stolen or vandalised than one which is parked on a public
road.

The key message here is don't let insurance companies dominate the motoring
world. There are still things you can do to ensure that making modifications to your
Mitsubishi remains a financial viable prospect.