Shannon’s Car Insurance

[stazza]

Hey guys I’m currently insured with Shannon’s and have been for the past few years. Just got a couple questions some of you may be able to answer. I’ve recently had more work done to my car and I know Shannon’s encourage you to share what mods you have done so they can cover them, but I’m not sure if some of the mods would put me in a bad position should I need to make a claim. For example:

Wheels - My wheels are staggered, and mostly likely the width difference from the front to the back is marginally more than “legal”. Say for example the rims were damaged, would they refuse to cover anything that is not “legal”?

- Is there really even any point me sending them a detailed run down of my modifications, including down to what pistons and rods are in the motor (it’s a built motor worth over $30k)?

Say hypothetically someone pulled out in front of me, I couldn’t stop and I t-boned them, destroyed my motor etc... would they cover things like the surge tank, built motor, bigger blower, intercooler etc?

Because I’m sure listing ALL the mods on my car is going to drive my premiums through the roof, which I don’t mind paying as long as I know I would be covered in case of a collision or engine fire or whatever.

I could ask them these questions over the phone, however I don’t want them thinking my car is illegally modified.

Does anyone have any experience with making claims on modified vehicles through Shannon’s?

Cheers.

[Gothefalcon]

My Wagon is pretty much 100% modified. It's 100% legal too though... as I had to have most of the mods certified.
Shannons know of all the mods, and that I had it certified road legal, so they had no problem insuring it. I have had to make a couple of claims over the past 8yrs and had no problems at all !

You could ask the Road Traffic dept. some "general questions" about a "car you're thinking of modifying" etc... to see which ones are legal or not.
you might be pleasantly surprised with what answers you get back !??

D

[stazza]

Originally Posted by Gothefalcon

My Wagon is pretty much 100% modified. It's 100% legal too though... as I had to have most of the mods certified.
Shannons know of all the mods, and that I had it certified road legal, so they had no problem insuring it. I have had to make a couple of claims over the past 8yrs and had no problems at all !

You could ask the Road Traffic dept. some "general questions" about a "car you're thinking of modifying" etc... to see which ones are legal or not.
you might be pleasantly surprised with what answers you get back !??

D

Thanks for your reply mate.

I know for a fact some of my mods would never pass the pits if I got a yellow sticker. I have also not had anything certified.

[Fairlane 500]

I have a quite hot SS Commodore, (not a daily, it's just a toy)
the modifications list is massive & includes a very strong motor with a Harrop HTV2300 blower sitting on top.
It also has full exhaust, built trans & Harrop Eaton locker diff & much more...

The guys at Shannons did not hesitate in covering the car for quite a reasonable cover.

I also have my C3 Corvette convertible with them, they are very understanding & great to deal with.

[ford71V8]

Yep, as things are done to my main car I call Shannons to update details.
Our dailies are also with Shannons but we do not bother to do the same.

I may have posted this elsewhere but recently I called them about an addition and then spoke about the value of similar cars online...they revalued the car +$20k with no photos or inspection asked of me. They've been nothing but awesome to deal with.

[FG50T]

I've always been honest with them although not as detailed as going into engine block internals but they were fine with me telling them about roll cage, specifically what turbo, plenum, seats, wheels, fuel system etc. They covered it all as it contributes to the cars value. In the event of the theft it's what changes it's value from being a 40k car to a 80k car so important mods have to be covered.

That said they're sneaky and drop my agreed value every year whilst jacking up my premium. They've swiped my agreed value off by $11k now in two years and premium has gone up $420. Was on the phone to them just yesterday about my renewal.

[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

I wouldn't think any insurance company is going to cover you for modifications that aren't street legal if you're intending to use the vehicle on the roads?

Especially if you are already aware that your car is not legal. Of course, you could always take the risk that whatever non-compliant mods you have (and aren't specified in the policy) are never detected and/or are assessed as being a contributing factor to the subject of the claim.

But I really don't have much knowledge of the industry, so it's just surmising.

[lra]

Originally Posted by FG50T

That said they're sneaky and drop my agreed value every year whilst jacking up my premium. They've swiped my agreed value off by $11k now in two years and premium has gone up $420. Was on the phone to them just yesterday about my renewal.

That is because of the 'computer' issued renewal. A quick phone call will fix that. Works for me every year.

[Polyal]

Agreed, I would be getting your head around what happens in an accident.

Its one thing to be insured for loss via fire or theft, its another thing to be covered in event of a crash whether its your fault or not.

Bit of a money spinner for an insurance company really, all the service and no obligation. I have never checked the fine print but in a court saying "I had cover" means little I would suspect if your mods are past the point of the regulation and not certified.

Always LOL at people when selling and state "Shannon's insure my car for $100k so its worth $100k"..

[MercuryT]

If you modify beyond legal then you either run the gauntlet or you don't and hope for the best.

Ultimately it's irrelevant if the car isn't roadworthy but modifications are "covered", they can easily refuse cover if the car isn't legally roadworthy.

There is no doubt my Maloo wouldn't have passed a roadworthy - luckily after the crash the assessor didn't care on the mods, and passed it all no worries.

I was lucky. Others may not be.

Personally I will never go down that track again as it almost made me scared to drive the car for fear of what would happen in the event of an accident, modifications "covered" or otherwise.

Good luck.