XSeries-forum

Are aftermarket alloys with winter tyres going to be considered a modification by an insurance company?

Have ordered a new set of 18" wheels with winter tyres on and wondering what the insurance company is going to think?

In my opinion the car already has alloys so cant see the problem there.........also winter tyres in my opinion = safer so how can they be classified as a mod.

Anyone any experience?

Well, the following is my opinion of course and not based on facts.

- If you were to change you wheels from alloys to steelies for winter, do you increase your risk? No.
- If you change your summer alloys costing 2k to a set of aftermarket 1k wheels, are they more likely to be stolen? Doubt it.

If the insurance companies were serious, they would need to specify things more clearly. I.e. "are the aftermarket wheels more expensive or cheaper then the oem ones", ie. is the insured risk higher.

What I don't understand is, that if your wheels are stolen, how would they know they were aftermarket as they have gone? I expect them to pay for the wheels that are normally on the car then.

I am sure that if this ever came to a court case (never heard of one, so just internet talk ???), it would go the way of an unfair contract clause. I would happily take them on as well.

Whether it is a 'mod' will be down to the particular underwriters definition. It may have no impact on the cost of your policy, but may need referring to them. Different insurers will treat it in different ways. It's a minefield, and insurers are there to make money, not pay out money.

From what Aviva told me at the end of last year, they consider a 'mod' to be anything fitted to the car that is not offered by the original manufacturer as an option on the vehicle. So for them and at that time, anything non-OEM has to be referred to the underwriters for their approval, even if it has no material impact. Your insurer may not be bothered at all and it will depend upon the small print.

I think the basic tenet is, that if it's a modification and you did not declare it to them, even if it would only have been for them to say it was absolutely fine and you would still be covered, then technically they are legally within their rights to cancel your cover or reject a claim. If it were tyres only then in my view they would be pushing their luck, but if you add after market wheels (non-OEM) plus winter tyres then that could be reasonably said to be a 'mod'. IMHO of course.

I'm with pvr on this one - although X5sport is right as well, in my opinion as to the interpretation and the dealings of the insurance scumbags - Strictly speaking, aftermarket alloys DO constitute a "mod" as they were never an option offered by BMW as OEM optional equipment. "Mods" don't have to increase a cars value to constitute a "mod" - they just have to depart from its original OEM configuration or manufacturers options. However, if the wheels are nicked, how is the insurer going to check if they were OEM or not? If they were winter wheels then just say you had "x-size" wheels with "y tyres" and if it was the summer wheels, likewise. I'm not suggesting you lie or mislead anyone for a moment, just be vague - the wheels were stolen, you have no particular idea what the pattern name or number was, they can check it out in a brochure somewhere for your model of car and replace them. Insurance will always try to weasel out of paying anything - that's their aim - so stay a step ahead. I still think they are on dodgy ground of course, with the whole "it'll cost you to change to winter wheels sir / madam as you're modifying the car" approach and there really needs to be a test case.

Read my link. Even the AA suggest speaking to your insurance. It should never increase your premium but they could try and wriggle out of any claim if not notified

I agree. Best to thrash it out with them now rather than risk their being able to declare your policy void when you try to make a claim, no matter how absurd their case may seem. I spoke to my insurer on the same issue today (although mine are the official BMW product), and initially I was told that winter tyres would be fine as a lot of owners were now using them. However when I clarified that I was replacing entire wheels they told me this was a modifcation and that this would result in an additional premium being payable. Even though i was quoted just £21, on principal I gave them a courteous earful i.e. replacing wheels is safer than just tyres for runflats (which are weakened if changed too much I was told by one dealership), higher profile narrower wheels as recommended by the manufacturer, lower cost wheels than summer ones. When she started to dig her heels in I calmly told her I would be getting in touch with the insurance ombudsman (guessing there is such a thing) to complain that I was being financially incentivised by my insurer to go against the manufacturer's safety advice. She backed off straight away, checked internally, then confirmed no charge.

Yup, should never put your premium up as you are making the car safer regardless. If they try to do that ask for a manager

The logic for the winter tyres is as follows:

- Shorter stopping distances.
- Less chance of skidding (i.e. better road holding).

Now relate this to if you wanted to fit better brakes on a car, as the result is the same as above - however, their philosophy is that with better brakes you will drive faster so increase the risk of accidents, and they raise the premium

They could apply the same logic to winter tyres - i.e. you will drive faster as you have more grip so therefore you are a bigger risk (their would be nonsense logic, not mine of course).

I work on a very simple premiss when it comes to insurers. Tell them everything, even down to fitting regular tyres and not runflats. That way you are covered.

You can actually get the printed spec of your BMW from the dealer. Add anything else like Parrot Kit and TomTom and you're good to go.

If you don't the buggers will squirm when it comes to payout so don't give them squirm room.

checked with Admiral and they said no change

[quote=""bonerp""]checked with Admiral and they said no change[/quote]

Glad to hear that.....am with Admiral too and was going to ring them today.........hoping the new wheels actually arrive today even though I now expect this winter to probably have daily temps of 17c