I’ve just been chatting with a chap who had his claim for motor damage turned down by his Insurers as he failed to tell them he had a roof rack fitted.

His bike on the rack took damage, which then damaged the car, from a lower than anticipated obstruction.

Damage to bike and car both turned down based on non-disclosure.

I’m surprised a temporary modification/addition such as a roof rack requires declaring but I’m going to let mine know as they currently don’t!

Same rules for a tow ball, which I sort of assumed as it is a permanent modification.

Hmmm, bloody insurers… It’s not a permanent fitting.

Use a rack on mine regularly, and never told anyone.

I declare everything to my insurer. It’s almost got to the stage where I feel like phoning them up when I fill it up at the garage just in case a full tank gives them an excuse to wriggle out of paying.

I’ve told ours for years now about roof racks and towbar – and that we carry canoes. I also tell them about winter tyres. Increasingly I find them surprised by this – yet hear persistent rumours of them turning down claims for them being fitted.

Where does it stop? Furry dice are a modification? What about removing parcel shelf? National Trust member sticker? Mobile phone mount? Different brand tyres?

My car has roof rails, why should I declare any time I fit something different to them?
I wouldn’t declare different types of trailer if I’d already declared a tow bar.

This came up last year on here- as a result I contacted my insurance, esure, who said that they do consider roof bars a notifiable, although no-cost, modification. It’s on my policy now but what a load of horseshit.

Different brand tyres?

Direct Line told me once that fitting tyres different to those that came fitted as oem would be classed as a modification.

I’m with Tesco, they’ve just charged me £25 admin fee to add roof rack and cycle carrier.

It’s not even a premium increase, just an admin fee!

So what about a rear-mounted rack, that is strapped o the car? Or a towball mounted one on an OEM fit towbar?

Need to get onto my insurers I guess…

Balls

I’d tell them. You don’t want to be in a situation where a bike or whatever comes off a rack and lands on someone else and insurers then pull the plug leaving you, to all intents and purposes, uninsured.

Direct Line told me once that fitting tyres different to those that came fitted as oem would be classed as a modification.

How would they even know? Manufacturers change the brand of tyres they fit all the time.

p.s. just declared my roof rack – no cost, but it was on the list of modifications (website based insurer).

It’s not even a premium increase, just an admin fee!

One insurer once tried to charge me £50 for such a fee – I threatened them with reporting them to ombudsman & they dropped it to £25

Yup, bizarre my insurer has also just added it as a “modification”. Crazy that it’d be deemed one when you’re not actually modifying the car itself and nor is it permanent.

I’ve got roofrails too – so I’d consider my car as designed specifically for fitting a roofrack to. Therefore as the insurer know the make and model they can price that up accordingly – if they choose not to and then try to wriggle out of paying I’d take them to court.
The car has 5 seats and sometimes there is 1 filled and sometimes all 5 – this would certainly influence the payout in a crash situation but I don’t ring them up each time another passenger gets in.

I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it – insurance companies have become double dealing scumballs.

Mine is a touran, with roof rails. Still clearly a shock to them that I would attach something to them…..

This came up last year on here- as a result I contacted my insurance, esure, who said that they do consider roof bars a notifiable, although no-cost, modification. It’s on my policy now but what a load of horseshit.

Same here, I’m with Aviva and luckily I could do it on line so no £25 charge. They even have the mods listed in a drop down menu, which also included things like reversing sensors, which I had fitted and have now declared, looks lie they are using anything to get out of paying.

Even Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask

and insurers then pull the plug leaving you, to all intents and purposes, uninsured.

You’ll lose your comprehensive cover. The main thing that removes your 3rd party coverage (as required by law) is not paying them – very few things remove that obligation.

Interesting, will need to check with my insurance about roof bars & bike carriers.
I leave my roof bars with bike carriers fitted to the car pretty much all of the time.

Declaring roof bars seems silly, it’s never even occurred to me to be something you’d have to do.

However, not declaring them and then trying to claim as a direct result of them being fitted feels somewhat optimistic. Doubly so when the damage is due to driver error.

(Not judging, I’ve been this -> <- close to doing it myself before now.)