What are the issues with insurance when adding another battery etc? Over here in the UK the insurances companies want to know about any minor modification eg non standard wheels. There are 2 reasons:- 1) It will cost more to repair a non standard vehicle 2) It makes the vehicle more susceptible to theft With an extra battery etc I guess they will worry about possibility of fire too. How much is the extra insurance
- With this types of concerns, besides of helping the "ecology" and being one of the proud few supporting a cause, I have a solution for you: "Do NOT go for a PHEV Conversion"
Over here in the UK the insurance companies have a habit of saying youre not insured if you have modifications you havent told them about. This means that as well as not being covered for the modifications you're not covered for third party, fire, theft or anything. Also if you get stopped by the police for a minor traffic offence, if they notice that you have eg nice expensive non OEM wheels/rims they will check youre insurance certificate to see if its mentioned. If it isnt you'll get a ticket for no insurance due to above. This can involve the car being sent for crushing and a driving ban. See how easy it is for you over there We had a recent case where the insurance company was refusing to pay out because a car owner had fitted a roofrack and not informed them of the 'modification'. It went to something we call an ombudsman who oversees complaints and who decided that the insurance company had gone one step too far.
You might try sending a message to this member, I know she is in the UK and has a conversion: PriusChat Forums - View Profile: aminorjourney Rob
Here in the U.S. there are insurance companies that advertise that they will "save you money" by charging less for insurance. If you belong to AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) you will be deluged with junk mail offering you cheaper insurance rates. (Also mountains of junk mail for credit cards!) What the advertisements don't mention is that some insurance companies will do everything in their power to wheedle out of paying any claim they possibly can. Thus they only "save" you money if you never have a claim. The better companies might charge higher rates, but they pay all legitimate claims without a fuss. We don't have to declare modifications here, though if you've done something to make your car more valuable, you won't be completely covered if the company doesn't know the value of your car. I'd say the original question is legit, though: a really substantial modification such as PHEV could affect insurance rates, and if the modification itself caused a loss (e.g. a fire due to an improperly-designed or installed mod) the company probably would not pay.
Has anyone found any insurance companies which are modification friendly? It's the increasing the value of the car, the increased risk of it being stolen,or the possibel increase in cost of repairs which causes insurance companies over here to say 'you're not covered' whether or not that has any relationship to the claim being made. They want standard boxes on wheels which have a standard insurance fee/premium. Saving on mpg isnt the only cost while trying to save the planet
I called my insurance company (Mercury) and told them I had modified my Prius to be a PHEV. They modified my policy to cover the added equipment and charged me an additional $24.00 per year. It was a simple and straight forward process. The whole thing took 10 minutes.
