A frequent question we are asked regarding motor trade insurance is “are modified vehicles covered?”. Well that can be a complicated issue and depends largely on the insurance company you decide to go with. Hopefully we can clear up some commonly held misconceptions in this blog.
Our first point would be: You are not automatically covered on these types of vehicle on your policy! Please, always ask your broker whether you are or not in fact covered before you purchase.
Some companies will refuse to cover modified vehicles full stop. If you have an accident whilst driving one you may in fact be breaching your cover and end up with an increased premium or a voided policy. Other companies will cover you but for an extra premium – this could depend on the amount of your business involved with “mods” for instance.
Some companies will cover some mods but not others! This can be tricky so if in doubt always ask. Certain modifications (eg alloys) are generally considered more benign than others (eg roll cages and performance increasing or structurally changing mods).Generally – what would scare your private motor car insurer may scare your motor trade insurer.
While certain insurers may cover your modified vehicles with normal policy cover others may only cover you for third party indemnity. This means that if you drove a customer’s modified vehicle, on your comprehensive policy, and crashed it then you would not be paid out for the damage (except to the third party of course). So be aware that you could end up with a bill that your insurer will not cover depending on policy terms!
There is much more to this subject than what we can cover here, so please remember to ask your broker about the conditions on their motor trade insurance policy when it comes to modified vehicles and you.
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