03-31-2014, 09:16 AM
With only 17M cars and bikes registered australia we are a small market however vehicle modifications are very popular here in AU. There are at least three specialised insurance companies that I know of catering for the insurance needs of motoring enthusiasts. I think those companies are on a good thing as most motoring enthusuasts actually look after their vehicles, their modifications are an investment in their machine and most of the time these vehicles are not used as every day transport - the risk to the insurance company is reduced. Obviously an 18 year old with a highly modified vehicle presents a worse risk than a 58 year old veteran of highly modified vehicles so one would expect a difference in premiums but the good news is that you can get insurance cover to protect your investment. My own experience with my calssic car and my CB is that the insurance company and I discuss all the modifications/invetsments and agree the value. As a modified vehicle the value actually increases each year by a small amount and so does the premium. Given there are three companies, probably more, we can shop around when it's time to renew the policy. One thing I learned was to ask the very reputable repair and restiration shops as to which insurance companies they believed were the best. They are the guys who get crunched for a dollar on the repair jobs by the insurer so it's good to know which company has the best reputation for allowing a quality repair. Sorry mate that was a long winded response.