To tell or not to tell

[Unique]

My b4 insurance policy renewal is due very soon. At present, am polishing and fitting GSX R750 front end to B4 and fitting a larger rear wheel, swingarm, etc, do I tell them !.

I was wondering,   What other Bandit Alley Members think about or have or have-not decided to tell they’re insurance company about the changes done to their bikes.
And if you’ll have, what if any trouble or cost you have encountered from your insurers for doing so
And anyone who has done improvement and told, Could recommended a good insurance Company.

 
 Dek

[wizzobeer]

I would keep it to myself here in Canada as it may require an inspection.

[gbw]

Well, I've never done mods like that before.  I'm not even sure I would have considered the insurance implications in that situation.  I also have not read my insurance policy in detail.  Have you?  I wonder if it says anything about those kind of modifications.

I mean even though you changed out the forks and the wheel, it is still a B4.  I can't imagine why they would even care.  If I decided to put chrome wheels and stiffer shocks on my car I would not expect it to change my car insurance premium.

I don't really have any advice other than to read the policy and see if something in the language requires you to report modifications.  If no, then don't.  If yes, then you have a choice to make.

Insurance is funny.  I use e-surance and called them not too long ago to ask if I was covered if someone test rode my V-Strom because its for sale.  They asked me a lot of questions about if it was advertised somewhere.  Once they figured out it really was for sale and advertised they said that violated the policy and threatened to cancel. 

At the moment, my policy will be under review when it expires.  Of course I sold the Vee, so I don't really care, but I was very surprised.  I should have just told them I wanted to let a buddy ride my bike and asked if he would be covered.  The simple answer would have been yes.

Good luck!

[Vidrazor]

I believe that an insurance company will look at information like that as carte blanc to negate coverage in case of an accident. Keep that to yourself.

[BanditNM]

I used to own a B4 about 5 years ago and it was fitted with a GSXR rear shock. (and it was awesome) I did not inform my insurance carrier. Unless I have a extremely pressing reason, I tell insurance carriers the least they need to know to provide coverage. They ask questions and I answer them honestly but do not volunteer information. If it had a different shock was not something they asked, therefore I did not tell them.

I generally consider insurance companies to be evil entities that I'm forced to do business with.

BanditNM

[stormi]

typically, my understanding is that if it will change the value of the bike, it -may- be in your best interest to report the changes.

If it will affect the rating of the bike (i.e. changing bore or stroke), it must be reported.

I think most other changes are up to your discretion.  If you choose to report it, be careful how you do it, it may get your bike classified as "Custom" and that has payment and insurability ramifications.

[Unique]

Thanks to everyone, Apology I’ve not re-posted till now, although I have been checking Daily & reading all your posts. advice been great Which has aspire me to find

            Corole Nash 2010 calendar feature 12 finalist custom & modified bikes.
                                                 
advertising campaign! or tolerated and understanding towards those who done modifies.      quite few of us are doing mods.                                       

  Most insurance policy state
                                              “Any errors or omissions may result in you having no insurance”.

Yes, best to Disclose mods to insures, But most, if not all insurer will reply,  Sorry mate, but No.  Or  you'll probably Just fall off your seat.

Answer,  Good insurer who will  included or accept and listen to your needs and provide cover @  agreeable price.  Recognise we haven’t all spent thousand of £/$,etc, only Hours  on our bikes

Well I think !  I just found one and it is Corole Nash  They listen, grasp & accept the modified I’ve done, and seam ok with them, although they did have same concern about the paint work at first.
But In the end, I didn’t fall of my seat when there give me the price.

Paper work in post and modified should be down as well. More then my previous Insurer did, As I had Disclose the paint work to them. I let you know if am still please when the paper work arrives.
Which at the moment am very please and can enjoy more freely ride when I have it back on the rd. 
Corole Nash - insurance company (in the UK & Ireland, only as far as I know!.)  Specialising in bikes insurance. Close association with motorcycle bike clubs/bike shows, like NEC bike show, etc. &  MCN (Motorcycle New) association 2010 calendar. 

http://www.sourcewire.com/releases/rel_display.php?relid=52108

[H2RICK]

For North America generally, I vote with Bandit NM on how to deal with insurance companies. "Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies" are words to live by when dealing with insurance companies. Let's face reality here, folks: Insurance companies are in the business of collecting premiums AND covering their butts with all kinds of "escape" clauses......but NOT paying out on claims. Period !!!

Having said all that, Carole Nash SEEMS to be head and shoulders above ALL other insurers when it comes to bikes. It sure would be nice if she set up operations in Canada and showed the other insurers how to do business.

[Unique]

I've had policy documentation for B4 for awhile now from Carole Nash,  I've just not got around to posting due to working to hard and no play, the documentation had several errors, no mention about any mods,  corrected the mistakes over the phone and asked them to replete the mods changes i provided at the start of this new policy. The reply back was music to my ears    as it was positive and not negative as you hear from most. And its cost me less and got lot more then my old policy, as it includes  50,000 legal costs and up to 4 UK & European accident & breakdown calls out for home & roadside assistance plus European and few non-eu countrys insurance cover .

For North America generally, I vote with Bandit NM on how to deal with insurance companies. "Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies" are words to live by when dealing with insurance companies. Let's face reality here, folks: Insurance companies are in the business of collecting premiums AND covering their butts with all kinds of "escape" clauses......but NOT paying out on claims. Period !!!

Having said all that, Carole Nash SEEMS to be head and shoulders above ALL other insurers when it comes to bikes. It sure would be nice if she set up operations in Canada and showed the other insurers how to do business.

i agree..........
Although most insurer will try to find a way out if a claim coming their way i feel am on a win start.

and i believe Carole Nash sold the company in 2006, what a nice pay day that must have been.

[Chris H]

Hi mate,
They are usually interested in stuff that will cost them in a payout, so if you got a £700 candy flipflop paint job, galfer discs and harris rearsets, dont think they will pay you out if you dont tell them. The gsxr forks will not cause a problem as long as you dont ask for cover on them regarding the bikes overall value. If they charge extra for the mods make sure you got plenty of pictures to back up a clame as they will just pay you a book price if the bike gets wrecked.

[Unique]

Hi Mate...Good point Chris,

i know insurer won’t payout on what i've spent unless i pay higher premium and am not interested in paying lots extra money for mods however on the other hand, IF i get stop by the police i want to know am ok  , And not told by them that because I've failure to tell my insurer of the mods, that therefore I've have no insurance cover, which = seize of the bike, with the extra  powers police are getting these days.

I’ve found Carole Nash the first I've spoken to when dealing with insurance for the bike that afterward I've not to felt like 

[Slider]

I have witnessed several cases about this topic with car insurance. The insurance companies do not cover any undocumented add on for cost, Unles$ you tell them. If they have a case of a mod making the vehicle into a "hot rod" or unstable vehicle they may use it. I'm not so sure about forks, though. If you stuffed a Hayabus engine into the frame, I'm fairly sure that they would deny coverage if you didn't have it and repdiate it if you did, claiming fraudlent representation. If you add a lot of pretty mod$, they will only cover the book price of the car/bike or whatever.