Towbars - Insurance declarable Mod?

[Father Ted]

There is a debate going over on Caravan Talk Forum about towbars being an insurance declarable mod.

 

Now I have NEVER declared one, nor so far have I had a claim thrown out because I had one on my car - and this is the point where you all suck air in through your teeth and go "but Ted, of course you have to declare one..."

 

So chaps (and Louise) whats the verdict?

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I can just imagine a war breaking out on a caravan forum over that one, then it becoming a taboo subject, along the lines of ‘Are chopped springs dangerous?’

 

I certainly wouldn’t declare a towbar, fook that shi7 with a gorilla c0ck man. I guess you could equally argue that a magic tree, some pound shop wheel trims or an aluminium tax disc holder is a declarable mod, but only a person with no grasp of reality would ring their insurers and ask to pay some more money to ‘insure’ those things.

[Rocket88]

As you can usually specify it as an option when the car is brand new, it's hardly a modification, is it?

[Ross_K]

I'd be more worried about the pikeys and general mongs pulling trailers and caravans with no entitlement on their licence...

 

When was the last time you heard someone with a car licence doing a trailer test?

[M'coli]

There are a lot of underwriters who won't insure you to tow, so it could well be a declarable feature.

[Bren]

You DO have to declare a towbar as a mod - bear in mind the extra damage your vehicle could suffer even from a lightish rear end impact from having the towbar fitted to the chassis.

[Guest]

Errr mine was fitted by the dealer from new as an accesory - on that basis an air freshener is more of a mod.

So I assume they ask you if you have a tow bar because certainly in my case it has not been altered from manufacturers specification.

[meggersdog]

 

When was the last time you heard someone with a car licence doing a trailer test?

 

Funny you should mention that, last Friday I saw a tow-a-van being towed by a Disco 3 with L plates on the back and "trailer training" down the sides.First one I've ever seen.

[Father Ted]

I certainly wouldn’t declare a towbar, fook that shi7 with a gorilla c0ck man.

Heres mine. I tow a Bailey Pageant 23 footer with it.

[dollywobbler]

Direct Line, who currently insure the Mavranno, told me I must tell them if I modify the wheels, suspension, tint the windows, change the air freshener (well, probably not) and some other things I've forgotten as I don't modify cars anyway. They didn't ask me whether it has a tow bar fitted. It does.

[Cavcraft]

That's probably because Direct Line are a bunch of lobotomised chimps.

[dollywobbler]

That's probably because Direct Line are a bunch of lobotomised chimps.

 

This is true! Looking forward to renewal time I must admit...

[fiatdaft]

They also don't do emails and charge a tenner to send a fax !

[Autoplas]

You don't have to declare a towbar as a modification. You do have to inform the underwriters if you will be using the vehicle for towing, which is asked at inception (if it isn't,, tell them). If you fit a towbar mid term I would suggest ringing your broker or direct insurer and informing them you will be using the car for towing.

 

(20+ years in the insurance industry)

[Mr_Bo11ox]

in 20 years of driving i've never had any insurer mention towing trailers in any capacity whatsoever.

[Autoplas]

Any trailer or caravan you tow will be covered TPO only if covered by the policy.

 

You may not have been asked it Mr Bollox but it is a question that should be asked by a broker, as an underwriter MAY not offer towing cover dependent on the risk. The overwhelming majority of policies (99.99%) will cover it as standard, but it is worth checking your policy docs or a quick call to the broker.

[RoadworkUK]

I still think there's a grey area between "modification" and "replacement part".

 

If your Ford ESRT-32PS Radio Cassette player broke, you wouldn't go out and find a replacement ESRT-32PS, would you? You'd choose a new stereo. This would classify as an upgraded sound system and therefore probably be insurance declarable.

 

My previous rover had 14" steels 'n trims, with baloon-profile rubber that meant cornering with more sidewall than tread in contact with the blacktop. Furthermore, the tyres were a bizzaro shape, 195/80 R 14 which were tricky to find and stupidly expensive to buy. When the rubber expired I ditched them for a set of 16" seven spoke Vitesse jobs, which made life so much easier. Technically, that car was never available with those wheels, so it's a modification. I would have argued that my original wheels and tyres had broken and needed to be replaced, and these were the only replacement Rover 800 wheels in the scrapyard at the time.

 

A chap I once knew had an Escort with Peugeot 205 GTi Wheels on it. He bought it like that. The centre caps had Ford stickers on them. As far as he knew (he wasn't especially switched on in a motoring capacity, or in any other capacity to tell you the truth) those wheels could have been on his car since it rolled out of the factory. I wonder how many people are driving "modified" cars without even realising.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

^^ WHS ^^. Good luck to the insurer who tries to prove in court that their policyholder should've declared a small mod that had been done by the guy who owned the car back in 2003 and has since moved to Singapore and/or died.

[autofive]

the next taboo subject will be road tax for caravans

 

oh, and i would NEVER declare a towbar to an insurer, as it would be on when i bought the car, and they didnt ask about it when i started the policy

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Any trailer or caravan you tow will be covered TPO only if covered by the policy.

.

 

As any reasonable person would expect. No insurer could be expected to cough up a few grand for a caravan they'd never even heard of until a claim went in for it. I dont know much about caravans but I presume if you have one worth more thnt £100 or whatever you would get separate caravan insurance for it.

[Father Ted]

the next taboo subject will be road tax for caravans

http://www.caravantalk.co.uk/community/ ... road%20tax

 

You are Den123 and I claim my £5....

 

If it happens it happens.

If Top Gear destroy another caravan I promise not to start a thread about how terrible it is

http://www.caravantalk.co.uk/community/ ... van-again/