Are Alloy Wheels Classed as Modifications?

In reference to cars, for insurance purposes, the term modification essentially means something has been changed or altered from the original factory specification.

This therefore covers all aspects, from bodywork, engine, sound systems, finishes and even interiors. Some of these may at first appear obvious: If you enhance your car’s performance with a few tweaks; a tune up, a nitrous kit, supercharger or turbo, then of course you might expect the insurance to go up, as your potential for speed increases.

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When working out an insurance quote for any given inquiry, insurance companies work from their own complex sets of algorithms. These are created using a pretty comprehensive input of information, not only concerning the person making the inquiry- their sex, age, driving experience and any convictions against their name, or the postcode, the car make and model, whether it’s parked on the street at night, etc.

For instance, who would have thought that a pop video of Beasties wearing VW emblems as necklaces would spawn an epidemic of badge thefts, sweeping the Western automotive world?

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Or that specifically German cars would all have their wing mirrors targeted by disgruntled England fans, when their team was knocked out of an international football competition, several years back, causing millions in damages?

That ordinary transit type vans would have their exhausts sawn in half in the thousands, their catalytic converters stolen, for the expensive metals used inside?

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On top of all of this, it’s been discovered that any car modification, even the most trivial, like decals for instance, can have an impact on the likelihood of the owner making a claim in the future. Custom paint jobs can get scratched or damaged and cost a lot to repair.

Something as seemingly insignificant as upgrading a stereo system may mean the vehicle is a target not so much of being stolen, as from being stolen from, resulting in a broken side window and the cost of a boss stereo being claimed from the insurers. Ditto, car satellite systems. Over an entire country, these seemingly minor crimes can all add up.

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So it’s not as straightforward as whether your car is being transformed into a street drifter, to be slammed sideways into lampposts, ditches, pub walls and innocent parked cars. It’s also about whether you car stands a greater likelihood of being stripped of its assets, inside or out, vandalised, or stolen outright.

You’d think therefore that modifying or replacing the wheels of your ride might have an immediate, negative impact on your car insurance costs, spiralling them through the roof, as the insurers picture your pride and joy rimless, up on bricks, in some God-forsaken dead-end backstreet, two minutes away from being torched as a result of you sticking some Gold BK299’s on it.

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The good news is that although replacing your standard wheels for some alloys is technically regarded as a car modification and should therefore be recorded with your insurers to ensure you aren’t in breach of your terms of disclosure of information, upgrading your wheels is infact not penalised by the vast majority of car insurance companies. Many regard this as a sign that you care for your vehicle. It can also add to the resale value of the car.

If there is an increase in premium, it shouldn’t be any more than 1% of the insurance costs, so check with your policy and see- hopefully you should be pleasantly surprised, if not, shop around for a better deal.