Modified Vehicle and insurance
 

For everyone with a vehicle with modified suspension bolt ons ect did you inform you insurance company ICBC, CDI, Family ect that this was done to your for them to offer you coverage. Also did they request pictures, receipts and a vehicle inspection to offer you coverage after these mods.

With CDI I have to show pictures, receipts and maybe a vehicle inspection for them to continue coverage on my new 2016 car now that these are done. Does icbc ask for the same stuff or in the event of a total loss they will only pay you for what the stock car is worth and not take into account say 5000 worth of parts?

icbc has never asked me about mods, and they will pay you the value of the stock car, doesnt mean you cant take out the aftermarket parts if you need too

I think the best way to find out is to call ICBC.

What if you have a $20,000 jewelry in your car, and someone breaks the window and steal it. Will ICBC cover it?

If you leave $20k worth of jewelry in your car, you're a dumbass and no one should pay you.

However, one can make a claim through their home insurance..

Not permanently attached equipment is not included under ICBC. You will have to claim through home insurance.

icbc never asked about mods. They did ask however, when it came to my total loss handler to value my car after i told them I just spent $1500 on coilovers/tires a month earlier.

I probably guess I got $2400 above the book value of the car after I faxed them 18 pages of invoices. Aftermarket parts are not an expense. In accounting terms, it's called a betterment; which means they add value (asset) to the vehicle.

You need to make sure you have all the invoices ready (i even faxed them the service/shop invoice to proof i installed the parts also).


oh, yea.. the accident...was not my fault. :chairdance:

Yup. After my MX6 was written off, I sent in a giant stack of receipts showing proof of things I had done. Certain things like brake pads, oil changes, new belts (basically consumables) typically aren't covered, even if it was just done that morning. However, because I had proof that I had literally one day old tires on the car, a ton of work recently sunk into the engine and transmission, etc., etc., they definitely took all that into account. I can't recall the final payout number I signed for, but it was definitely higher than fair market value for the car. I do remember they gave me full price for the tires and a slightly depreciated value for the major mechanical work that had recently been done. I'm sure I could have held out for more money but I was happy with the number they offered (and on the first go-around, to boot!) and needed another vehicle at the time. Didn't feel like wasting my time and theirs.

For my car, though, all the work was done in the driveway, so no proof of installation. That's probably where the slightly depreciated value came into effect.

Keep in mind if you tell ICBC that your car is modified, there is a possibility they'll make you go through an inspection before they're willing to insure it. This is because many modifications technically aren't legal and, as such, become an onus that an insurer may not want to deal with. Once it's been approved, you have the option of having it appraised by a third party and then potentially being given a higher value for the car. However, that new appraised value includes all the parts in the car and, if written off, you can no longer take the parts off it prior to being handed the cheque.

At least that's how it used to be. The process may have changed in recent times.

If you want to be officially covered, you do need receipts for anything related to drivetrain, suspension, and any other mods. At that point you would need a passed inspection in order to be eligible for modified status with a declared value (which you need to apply for through vehicle registration).

ICBC does not have a rate class for all the different variables that modify a car. Instead, as a customer, you would pay the insurance on the declared value.

If you just have coilovers and exhaust installed, there is no point to modified insurance. In that situation, you might as well keep your receipts and hope they'll pay you. If not, then sign the owner retention agreement and tow your car to your house to part it out.

ICBC also sells a standalone policy called 'APV300: Excess Special Equipment Endorsement' to cover permanently attached modifications and equipment not supplied by the manufacturer.

Why would icbc cover personal contents?