A guy has just called up LBC radio and said that he was planning to fit winter tyres but on the advice of a friend, he first checked with his insurance company.
"That will be an increase of £230 p.a in your insurance premium as the tyres are non standard fitments" was the reply.
I have been aware of the same sort of response when someone changed wheels to another type made the the car maker and fitted as standard to a similar version of the same model.
I am a little ( just a little) surprised at the reason produced.
I was expecting something like " Enhanced performance capability in adverse conditions therefore increasing the risk of an accident" :-(
Has anyone, having fitted winter tyres spoken to their insurance company and if so what response did they get?
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Saw mention of something similar on another forum just a few mins ago. Autoexpress link follows:-
tinyurl.com/3xeg7zp
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As long as I kept to the original wheels, size and speed rating I'd never have thought of telling the insurer. After all folks don't tell insurers when the've fitted *double the wet braking distance* ding dong specials.
More important..... you try getting some winter tyres. Locally and also trying the big internet folks I'm being told no stock in the two sizes we need until next year.
Not that they have them anyway but some websites have increased listed prices by 10% in the last few days.
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You could try mytyres, which is German anyway - the 2 tyres I bought from them earlier this year were sent from Cologne.
The insurance thing is mind boggling. Still, I've come to expect common sense to be punished in UK 2010.
Last edited by: Manatee on Wed 1 Dec 10 at 07:46
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>> You could try mytyres, which is German anyway - ...
The tyres I bought from mytyres last week for £38.80 each are now £55.70 each. Supply and demand.
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Thanks Manatee. Funnily enough a poster in the comments on that link said Mytyres were the best bet too. I see their prices are a bit up on the likes of Camskill (but of course Camskill have no stock) and the choice of tyres is a bit less then I'd hoped.
However will give them a call soon and see what we can get.
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I would not expect to have to tell the insurer if I was fitting something the handbook told me was acceptable.
Am curious now and will have to check.
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I would think the insurance companies view would be that people with winter tyres are going to drive in bad road conditions and are a greater risk.
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As opposed to idiots driving in bad road conditions on summer tyres?
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No, more like 4X4 drivers who think they will go wnywhere.
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On that argument any safety measure might encourage people to use it.
I bet they don't apply that argument in reverse: I am going to fit poorer brakes, bald tyres, dimmer headlight bulbs, so obviously I shall be using the car much less. Lower premium? :)
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i think its is probably down to kids on the front desk of the insurance company not being able to use intelligence rather than the insurer saying no
put it another way if i fitted these type of tyres to the wifes car and i told her to go up the big city to see her broker im sure there would be no increase to her premium
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A colleague of mine has changed from parking his car on a quiet public road to a locked gated car park associated with the block of flats where he now lives - premium reduction £1.30! What a bargain!!!!
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I rang our insurer last year to check the acceptability of winter tyres of a lower speed rating than summer tyres, before renewal. As the H rating on the winters exceeded the top speed of the car by a large margin, they had no objection. Noted on our paperwork.
Last edited by: NortonES2 on Wed 1 Dec 10 at 09:14
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Addendum. Honda recommend winter tyres in the Jazz handbook "on snowy and icy roads".
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I'm with admiral who are one of the listed ones for this, but they don't appear to have racked up my premium for both sets of wheels for the BMW, the only condition is that the wheels in the shed are not covered on the car insurance (made sure they're on my house policy).
I think it's how you ask the EUI Ltd subsidiaries, none of them will cover factory fit options by default, which nearly gave me a heart attack, but after speaking to them they agreed to cover, and I'm pretty sure the premium didn't go up.
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>> i think its is probably down to kids on the front desk of the insurance company
So do I. Ask them again, and press the point.
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>> As opposed to idiots driving in bad road conditions on summer tyres?
Probably because the guys who think they have put winter tyres on, now think they are Finnish rally drivers and know it all.
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All the gear, no idea, springs to mind.
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Bit like that submarine captain then ?
:-)
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Just having a look at some winter Yokohamas on Mytyres and their attributes are described as follows...
***The single design of the plates makes it possible the blocks of gum to be based the ones on the others, thus preserving the rigidity of the paving stones on a broader surface of contact. In parallel, this technology makes it possible to increase the density of the plates on the surface of the tread, thus multiplying the effect of blade on the snow-covered or icy roads***
All the qualities I've been seeking!
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>> Just having a look at some winter Yokohamas on Mytyres ...
Have you bought them yet Fenlander?
Get that button clicked or the snow will all be melted before they arrive.
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Yes just phoned Mytyres to conform stock then completed the online order. Not the Yokos though and I'm not saying what they are until they're on the car. I really don't want folks wasting their time searching the net for negative reports until I have them :-)
As you say it will be snow and frost free by the time they arrive! Still Mrs F drives like a Finnish rally driver in all weathers so that's fine.
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...really don't want folks wasting their time searching the net for negative reports until I have them :-)...
Snipers on here?
Surely not.
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No I'm sure not.
However to assist search filtering I can say they are all-season rather than winter specific yet still have the official snowflake logo for use where winter tyres are required by law. Also the brand are a lesser known tyre in the UK yet I had a pair of their road tyres on the front of my Herald 35yrs ago.
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:-)
Sorry I forgot the smiley on my 9:48 post.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Wed 1 Dec 10 at 10:10
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"Probably because the guys who think they have put winter tyres on, now think they are Finnish rally drivers and know it all."
Or more likely just want to drive to work, go to the shops and take the kids to school without having to take blankets and packed lunch with them and become a national joke.
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Now now, you know what happens when you go to the supermarket. Best stay at home.
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After last years snow, in spring I set about finding some identical Monteal 2 alloys for my Bora 130TDI.
Bought a set of 5 so that I could have an alloy spare and got 4 Nokian winter tyres from Mytyres in August.
Wife had to go to work this morning to a place in the Yorkshire moors, so as we have had a lot of snow, I thought it would be an ideal test of these tyres. So keeping off the main road as it was at a standstill, I went via backroads, some of them quite steep uphill and it just cruised up with no bother.
A new Passat Coupe in front of me got stuck with spinning wheels so pulled out and gently overtook it and went up another very steep hill that had not been gritted. The trick is to be smooth and steady. Smug, me ? you bet.
As to paying more insurance for having appropriate tyres for the conditions, I would like to see an insurance company tell a court that the reason they would not pay a claim was that I fitted winter tyres and not told them.
Next they will be telling us that we have to pay more if we keep our cars nice and clean and polished, because that makes them more desirable to thieves.
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...As to paying more insurance for having appropriate tyres for the conditions, I would like to see an insurance company tell a court that the reason they would not pay a claim was that I fitted winter tyres and not told them...
I agree an insurance company would struggle to justify not paying a claim in those circumstances.
rest of post removed (along with the argument that followed) as not in keeping with the pleasant atmosphere we like here at C4P. Apologies if anything of worth was removed during the edit.
Last edited by: VxFan on Wed 1 Dec 10 at 19:13
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There is an article on attitudes to winter tyres in the Independent. You have to admire the typical attitude of Italian drivers though -
"and eight per cent fell under the heading “don't care/not worried”, a figure that rose to 20 per cent for Italian motorists".
Full article here -
www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/motoring-news/goodyear-survey-highlights-continental-divide-in-attitudes-to-winter-tyres-2148509.html
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I've run winter's for a few years now, called NFU to let them know more out of courtesy than concern as i'd bought a set of same size but grey import Hilux wheels for them.
'Thankyou for letting us know i'll make a note on your file'...no fuss no drama and no hint of anything else to pay.
Is it the usual suspect online companies that are trying to extract more from their customers.
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Same for me gb. Renewal due last week, told them I had my winter wheels & tyres on. "hang on a moment" said the LV= person. Are the wheels smaller than normal ? Yes (standard wheels on my car are 17", manufacturer recommends 15 or 16" for snow, I have 16" with manufacturer spec. tyres). No problem, we'll make a note on our records. I only suffered a 9.6% increase too some places are reporting an average 38% increase. My renewal quote was >15%. When I asked why I was immediately offered the reduced rate.
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Some insurers really need to engage their brains before opening their mouths!
What is one supposed to do if one is, say, driving to Germany where winter tyres are the law when conditions require? Not fitting winter tyres when driving their would surely invalidate your insurance? I have no intention of telling my insurer that I have complied with taken sensible positive steps to reduce my chance of having an accident, or getting caught out and stranded, by fitting winter tyres.
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...rest of post removed (along with the argument that followed) as not in keeping with the pleasant atmosphere we like here at C4P. Apologies if anything of worth was removed during the edit....
If it was up to me as one half of the argument, all the material would have been left untouched.
As would a series of posts in another thread about insurance fraud.
There are many examples of people not learning from history, and I hope the needless censorship of the other place is not going to be repeated here.
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Iffy, please give it a rest. Among other reasons, your comment was removed as you came across as harassing another forum member which then kicked off into an argument between the pair of you. It's got nothing to do with needless censorship, it's to do with house rules, of which you were guilty of breaking.
VxFan.
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>> "That will be an increase of £230 p.a in your insurance premium as the tyres
>> are non standard fitments" was the reply.
>> I am a little ( just a little) surprised at the reason produced.
Insurance companies will need to have one rule regarding the acceptability of modifications and non-standard fitments. You can't expect them to spend time and money trying to assess the likely increased risk of every individual case.
Last edited by: L'escargot on Thu 2 Dec 10 at 07:58
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At 6.50 from the start of
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00wcs46/Money_Box_04_12_2010/
the topic of insurance is discussed
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SMMT agreement with ABI, this should be worth passing on to anyone who's been stung by their insurers.
www.smmt.co.uk/articles/article.cfm?articleid=22819
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There is a good test on winter vs summer vs cold weather tyres on Autoexpress...
www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/total_tyre_guide/259477/tyre_test.html
Surprisingly the cold weathers arent far off the winters
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Very useful link GB.
Thanks
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Tue 7 Dec 10 at 22:46
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similar info in the D Telegraph
tinyurl.com/35sja28
However, the AA said it believed that call-centre staff at insurance firms might have misunderstood the situation when motorists called in to report that they had fitted winter tyres. “Staff may have misread this as a modification to the car and ticked the appropriate box on the computer screen, automatically raising the premium,” said the AA’s Ian Crowder. “I do not believe it would be any insurance firm’s deliberate policy.
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Winter tyres. An insurance warning. - VxFan
