By modifying or customizing your car, you can make it unique and enhance its performance. But modifications and customizations can be quite an investment, and you may want to protect that investment with car insurance.
Most traditional car insurance policies won’t cover modified cars. Instead, you will need a coverage endorsement or specific insurance for a modified car.
Car insurance providers will often consider any vehicle enhancement that isn’t made by the manufacturer at the factory to be a modification or customization. That means that enhancements like strut bars, custom bumpers, custom paint, truck bed liners, and fuel system upgrades probably won’t be covered by your standard auto insurance policy.
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Modified car insurance is a specialized policy designed for your custom or modified car. Auto insurance for modified vehicles covers the modified parts that aren’t insured under a traditional policy. If you’re in an accident or your vehicle is vandalized or stolen, you may receive the vehicle’s full replacement value or repair costs when you have insurance for custom cars.
Car insurance for modified cars also helps protect standard insurance that you have on your vehicle. If you don’t disclose that your vehicle is modified and don’t buy appropriate modified car insurance, your insurance company could deny a claim due to misrepresentation.
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It will usually cost more to insure a modified car than it would to insure that same vehicle without modifications. When your car is modified or customized, you need to buy an additional modified car endorsement or a modified car insurance policy. Since the costs of these policies can quickly add up, it’s a good idea to get a car insurance quote for any additional modifications that you’re thinking of making.
In a few situations, modifying your car can help you qualify for car insurance discounts. For example, installing a car alarm or security system, or adding in parking sensors may lower your premiums. Just make sure that you contact your insurance company ahead of time and verify that the components you’re considering adding meet their requirements for an insurance discount.
You can shop around to save money on modified car insurance. You can get free modified car insurance quotes online today to start comparing policies and prices to find the insurance that’s best for you. Be sure to shop around about once a year to confirm that you’re still getting the best deal on modified car insurance.
Paige Cerulli Paige Cerulli is a freelance content writer and journalist who specializes in personal finance topics. She graduated from Westfield State University and brings more than a decade of professional writing experience to the ConsumerCoverage team. Paige’s work has appeared in outlets including USA Today, Business Insider, and more.
