Tow bars and insurance small print

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Suechoccy

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It has never occurred to me in nearly 20 years of towing horses and caravans with various Fourtraks that the tow bar counts as a "modification" because it wasn't fitted to the car at the time of manufacture (so wasn't a standard fitment). *That question on your insurance renewal "does your car have any modifications?" *Well I always thought that referred to boy racer stuff or lowering the suspension,etc.

Then I saw a thread somewhere else about a horsey tow car owner having her insurance cancelled because she hadn't informed them of having a tow bar fitted, professionally by a garage, of the correct sort, with all the paperwork. *It was deemed to be a modification that she hadn't informed the insurers of so her insurance was cancelled.

So I phoned my insurer and fessed up, asked if my non-factory but professionally fitted tow bar constituted a modification and if so, please could I add it and was there anything else to pay...

Yes it is a modification, yes I can add it, and that's £30 admin fee to cover new documents to include wording about the tow bar.

Consider it £30 well-spent, better save than sorry.
 
Everyday is a school day. I will need to tell my other half as the car is insured in his name. What if you bought the car 2nd hand with a tow bar?
 
Breagha said:
Everyday is a school day. I will need to tell my other half as the car is insured in his name. What if you bought the car 2nd hand with a tow bar?
Click to expand...

I wonder this as well - though my tow bar is factory fitted, I don't think the reversing sensors were (but I'm not certain!). We've fitted a reversing camera (cos the sensors are pants...).
 
I recently sold my old van and I told the new owner to declare the tow bar, reversing sensors and fixed dog cages to her insurance company. Most don’t charge any extra but if they don’t know about the modifications then they will declare the policy void and report you to the police for driving without insurance. On my new van the reverse sensors were standard on the model so not counted as modification
 
Very useful thread, thank you. Just phoned my insurance company (Aviva) and yes, adding a tow bar is a modification. They didn't charge me an admin fee though.
 
have always declared the towbar as a modification. Also found that a canopy on the back of a pickup is classed as a modification too!
on a similar note, i believe if you get a flat tyre and don't carry a spare wheel/repair kit that recovery breakdown companies may also charge more and something about insurance I can't remember!
 
If you think logically about it - they have to insure damage caused by what is attached to the towbar so of course they need to know (I was nearly caught out but my curiosity on one of my quotes got the better of me and I looked up the list of what was considered modifications - if in doubt tell them!)
 
I recently read about having to declare a towbar as a modification to your insurance company too. So as I was renewing my car insurance, just a few weeks ago, I told my insurers about it. Of course I was expecting to have another lump sum added but to my astonishment - my insurance actually went down, yes down by about £35, I couldn't believe it but the call handler confirmed it again. I can only guess they thought no self respecting thief would want to steal an aging Honda CRV with a towbar! ;)
 
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