Why Car Modifications Could Affect Your Insurance Policy?

Most people in the present scenario love to modify their vehicles, either look-wise or performance-wise to make their vehicle more appealing and performance-effective. The deep growl in their vehicle adds a character to them and provides their car with a unique touch.

Now, always a smart person would think, how will your modifications affect your car insurance? Well, there are many ways a car modification can affect your insurance policy and premiums. Many insurance companies like ACKO offer personalization options for insurance coverage for car modifications. To know more about it, you can visit acko.com.

Well, here in this guide, we will learn about car modifications and how modifications affect your insurance policy.

What Is a Car Modification?

The vehicle that you just received from the showroom is called the factory model. Now, any changes you make to your car, whether small or big, come under car modification.

People make these changes for various reasons, like enhancing its look with exterior mods or improving its efficiency or performance with interior mods.

The effect of your mods on your car insurance premiums depends on their effect on the risk factor.

Suppose you installed a turbocharger in your car, which will enhance the performance of your vehicle and increase its speed. This increases the risk factor and thus simultaneously increases your insurance premiums too.

However, if you install a safety mechanism like a proximity sensor, it decreases the risk of accidents and thus can reduce your insurance premium.

Types Of Car Modifications

There are various types of modification options available for cars. Each mod can affect your car differently, resulting in a change in premiums. Here is a list of the various types of modifications in cars.

1. Internal Modifications

Any modification in the interior seating area of the car, such as changing the music system, adding dashboard accessories, making changes in seat covers, or enhancing the air conditioner. All this comes under internal modifications.

2. External Modifications

Any modification that changes the external look of your car comes under external modifications. It has got a lot of options in the modification market. Some of them include adding graphic stickers on their car’s body, or changing headlights. Simple changes in the car’s body to make it look good also come under external mods.

3. Performance Enhancing Modifications

There are some modifications that people make to the engine section of their car to enhance the performance of their vehicle. These mods have a direct impact on the speed of a car and engine health. Some of them include changing the exhaust system or altering the air filter. These mods highly affect your insurance policy.

Which Modifications Can Increase Your Insurance?

Car modification has a direct effect on the risk undertaken by your insurer for your car. A highly attractive car is generally prone to theft, while a high-performance vehicle is at times considered to be accident-prone. Hence, this change in risk has a direct effect on your insurance premiums. Here is detailed information.

1. Interior Modifications

Changes in your car’s interior can increase your comfort level, or highly attractive interiors can distract your attention from the road. These modifications can lead to severe accidents on the road and result in total damage. Here is an approximate effect on your insurance premium for various interior mods.

• Increase due to change in the roll-cage - 41%
• Change in Seats can increase up to - 27%
• Dashboard modification can increase premiums up to - 16%

2. Exterior Modifications

External modifications, such as attractive body bumps, graphic designs, changing lights, and other upgrades, make your car look more attractive. Nonetheless, this also increases the risk of theft of the modified parts or the car itself. Such an increase in the risk of damage or theft simultaneously increases the premiums. For instance:

• Tinted windows - 16%
• Spoilers - 23%
• Flared Wings or Body Bumps - 66%

3. Performance Modifications

Performance modifications increase your insurance premiums the most of all. Increasing your car's performance with instruments such as a turbocharger, air filters, and modified exhausts greatly increases the risk. It also showcases the owner's personal driving behaviour, as people generally do these mods for driving over the speed limit. Here are some approximate surges in rates you might have to face:

• Exhaust mod or air filters - 25%
• Adding a Turbocharger - 132%
• Nitrous Oxide Cylinders - 63%