Insurance and colours

rocky burns said:
I have a spare set of panels for my White gsa, in the Green colour

Stupid question but would i void my insurance by fitting the green panels to my bike:nenau
Click to expand...

Strictly speaking you should notify DVLA of a change in the colour of the vehicle and they will issue a revised reg document and you should inform your insurer. So what if you don't? As far as insurance is concerned in the event of a claim and anyone actually noticing then it would come to a test as to whether you had failed to declare a material fact as is probably required under your policy....the only way to get a definitive answer is to read your policy document, if still in doubt, tell them anyway; what harm can it do?
 
rocky burns said:
I don't want to change the colour fullstop , but be nice to have a change of colour occasionally been as though i have them
Click to expand...
If you change your panels from white to green you have changed the colour fullstop . What trouble you will get in I have no idea but the fact remains you have changed the colour. Due to some odd quirk in the law the only way to change colour without actually changing colour is to vinyl wrap it. This is considered none permanent. Whether you could argue this defence because it is removable / replaceable panels again I have no idea. Drop into the local police station and ask their advice.

It's a really odd situation. If you remember back to the vw polo chameleons their colour in the log book was determined by the roof colour because all the other panels and colours were replaceable. Where does this leave a bike since all the coloured panels can be changed?
 
rocky burns said:
I have a spare set of panels for my White gsa, in the Green colour

Stupid question but would i void my insurance by fitting the green panels to my bike:nenau
Click to expand...

Definitely would not VOID your policy....although strictly speaking you are obliged to inform your insurance provider if you modify your vehicle in any way. If a claim is made and the insurance company discovers that a vehicle has been modified they will make a call as to whether or not to retrospectively apply conditions to the policy. They have to do this under the guidelines of the FCA (was FSA) so would need to prove that they were treating you fairly. For something as small as changing a few small coloured panels there would be no come back as it would make zero difference to performance etc. Add nitrous or a turbo and they might have a difference stance!!

Not declaring to the DVLA could be a bigger problem IMHO. With ANPR used some much these days a grumpy copper could give you a ticket if your bike re registered under a different colour. They could even do this with picture/video evidence from static camaras so wouldnt even need to pull you over. Just send you the invoice in the post. Just a thought...
 
I completely disagree with the above.

For something as small as changing a few small coloured panels there would be no come back as it would make zero difference to performance etc.


Its not about performance !

If you want to be assured that your claim will be met every detail on your policy has to be correct. You have to tell them about the colour!

Years ago, this was all a "grey area" and modifications were pretty much irrelevant. These days, ( don't you just love it ) Insurers will use any tiny loophole to avoid paying.
I know a guy, whose bike was stolen. The insurer was uninterested in paying out because they claimed a similar colour change made the bike more attractive to theft. Sounds ridiculous. Why would you ever leave anything to chance? Make sure every detail, every date is correct.

Be meticulous.
 
stuartw said:
Its not about performance !
Click to expand...
Indeed not. Insurance companies employ actuaries to determine the risk associated with every aspect of your policy. Colour, postcode, engine size, style, your profession, shoe size and dozens of other factors
They don't sit around wondering how a colour change might affect their risk. They just crunch the numbers and if red bikes cost them more in claims then they charge higher premiums for red bikes. They don't care about why.
 
stuartw said:
I completely disagree with the above.

For something as small as changing a few small coloured panels there would be no come back as it would make zero difference to performance etc.


Its not about performance !

If you want to be assured that your claim will be met every detail on your policy has to be correct. You have to tell them about the colour!

Years ago, this was all a "grey area" and modifications were pretty much irrelevant. These days, ( don't you just love it ) Insurers will use any tiny loophole to avoid paying.
I know a guy, whose bike was stolen. The insurer was uninterested in paying out because they claimed a similar colour change made the bike more attractive to theft. Sounds ridiculous. Why would you ever leave anything to chance? Make sure every detail, every date is correct.

Be meticulous.
Click to expand...

Paint it grey, your insurance will then be dead cheap as no one would want to steal it :) on the other hand if you have had a Hilltop re-map then you must tell them because your new wonder bike will be very nickable as it has had a massive performance upgrade. :D
 
Don't mis-quote me guys - It was performance ETC. I'm not going to list all of the variables that effect insurance premium...because there are 1000's . As somebody that worked in the insurance industry for over 10 years (and yes I was a licensed underwriter assessing risk) I'm well aware that it is not just about performance. Apologies if my point was badly worded

However...An insurance company is simply not allowed to use ANY old excuse to invalidate/void a policy.

Take you mates example of colour effecting desirability and therefore theft risk (which is correct). How this situation would be handled is first the claim amount would be agreed (how much they are paying out for the stolen bike), and they any additional premiums due because of the colour change would be deducted from the pay out. If the insurance company tried to take a firmer stance the policy holder should get the FCA involved. They would say that is not treating the customer fairly and enforce a ruling. The insurance company would have to agree that there was specific intent to defraud to have any chance of throwing the claim out.
 
stuartw said:
I completely disagree with the above.

For something as small as changing a few small coloured panels there would be no come back as it would make zero difference to performance etc.


Its not about performance !

If you want to be assured that your claim will be met every detail on your policy has to be correct. You have to tell them about the colour!

Years ago, this was all a "grey area" and modifications were pretty much irrelevant. These days, ( don't you just love it ) Insurers will use any tiny loophole to avoid paying.
I know a guy, whose bike was stolen. The insurer was uninterested in paying out because they claimed a similar colour change made the bike more attractive to theft. Sounds ridiculous. Why would you ever leave anything to chance? Make sure every detail, every date is correct.

Be meticulous.
Click to expand...

If this was in the last 15 years let me know and I will happily provide all of the info your mate needs to appeal through the FCA. Unless there are other mitigating factors there is not a change the insurance companies decision to throw out the entire claim would be upheld.

My rates are very reasonable :D
 
stuartw said:
I completely disagree with the above.

For something as small as changing a few small coloured panels there would be no come back as it would make zero difference to performance etc.


Its not about performance !

If you want to be assured that your claim will be met every detail on your policy has to be correct. You have to tell them about the colour!

Years ago, this was all a "grey area" and modifications were pretty much irrelevant. These days, ( don't you just love it ) Insurers will use any tiny loophole to avoid paying.
I know a guy, whose bike was stolen. The insurer was uninterested in paying out because they claimed a similar colour change made the bike more attractive to theft. Sounds ridiculous. Why would you ever leave anything to chance? Make sure every detail, every date is correct.

Be meticulous.
Click to expand...

If this was in the last 15 years let me know and I will happily provide all of the info your mate needs to appeal through the FCA. Unless there are other mitigating factors there is not a change the insurance companies decision to throw out the entire claim would be upheld.

My rates are very reasonable :D
 
Very odd....
DVLA know what colour my bike is.
BUT ive never had an insurer ever ask me what colour my bike is,or do they know the colour from the registration details. ?
 
madmartin said:
Very odd....
DVLA know what colour my bike is.
BUT ive never had an insurer ever ask me what colour my bike is,or do they know the colour from the registration details. ?
Click to expand...

Comes up on a reg search so they already know what the DVLA records say
 
If you are swapping one set of standard coloured body work for a set of body work in another standard colour it should make no difference to an Insurer , if , however you replace it with a set of custom painted items then they will no doubt kick off if there is a claim and use it as a get out if you haven't made them aware.

Never seen anyone prosecuted for failing to inform the DVLA of change of colour of their vehicle
 
atka said:
Comes up on a reg search so they already know what the DVLA records say
Click to expand...

Whenever I buy a new bike, I normally arrange the insurance before it's been registered at the DVLA, and the insurance company has never asked me what colour the bike is.
 
They ask for the reg first and then check the DVLA database. If they don't find the vehicle they take the minimum data (stuff like reg, make, model, spec etc) to allow them to process your quote and arrange cover. They will the pull the remaining data from the DVLA data when it becomes available. If your vehicle does not match with a DVLA record after approx 1 month (it usually takes days) then they will be in touch to try and figure out what's gone wrong.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
When I had my F650 Dakar I wasn't keen on the Blue & Silver so I bought the Gitanes Desert blue (with the chequered pattern) body panels from Motorworks.
Luckily the registration documentation said it was blue and white Aluminium so didn't need to tell anyone anything.

When I bought my R1200GSA it was Silver with the olive side panels and I wasn't keen. I got hold of a second hand beak and tank panel from ebay and had them sprayed desert blue, I sprayed the side panels satin black, looked much better .

Never mentioned it too either the local DVS or insurance but I always felt slightly uneasy about it, if I travelled to either France or England I changed the colour scheme back just in case I got stopped by the rozzers.

I have since put an Alpine white tank and beak on and I much prefer it that colour so I changed my registration document which was free of charge.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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