Car insurance is no-one’s favourite topic, particularly when it comes to situations that might require you to fork out more money. Yet if you’re considering adding alloy wheels to your car, or buying a new car that already has alloy wheels attached, then there are several insurance-related issues you need to consider.
Whichever way you look at it, the sad reality is that alloy wheels will probably increase your premiums. This is because they’re considered a premium product and they’re more easily defaced by kerbing, minor scrapes and general environmental factors. Not only does this mean they may need repair or replacement more often, but scuffed alloy wheels can even lower the resale value of a car.
The good news, however, is that most everyday types of alloy wheels shouldn’t actually raise your premiums by that much. The consumer advice website MoneySupermarket, for example, estimates that alloys should only raise premiums by around 8%, whereas modifications like spoilers will bump you up 23%, specialised paintwork 36% and turbocharging a whopping 132%! Even having a car phone will raise your premiums higher, as it apparently increases the chance of your car being broken into.
So what should you do if you think you might need insurance for your new alloys? Every circumstance is different, but in general it’s a good idea to:
– Be honest with insurers. Some companies don’t raise premiums for minor modifications on your car, and being honest about what you have means that they have no excuse not to pay out if anything does go wrong. Remember that not declaring a modification could also invalidate your policy.
– Shop around. The growth of comparison sites has created a very competitive market and it can be possible to find a much cheaper quote by looking around a little.
– Look out for the small print. Some companies stipulate that they’ll only insure certain types of alloys, and have different ideas about what a reasonable excess should be.
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