Weird winter tyre insurance condition?

[mullermn]

After a lot of indecision I decided to go with the VW insurance for the certainty that VW parts and labour will be used if its ever required - it also seemed to make a nice set with the VW service plan and warranty.

I'm planning to put winter tyres on spare wheels on the car and I asked the lady I spoke to if VW Insurance would be OK with that. She said yes, but when I pushed her and said that a lot of insurers do not like aftermarket wheels or consider them a modification she said she'd speak to the underwriter and confirm.

She called them and now I'm getting a written note confirming that their only condition is they want the rolling radius of the wheel to remain the same and they want the wheels (not tyres - wheels) installed by a garage (did not specify VW, just 'a garage'!) to confirm that the radius is the same.

I'm waiting for the written documentation to see exactly what they've noted, but I've not seen anyone mention anything like this in my insurance research online.. anyone heard of any thing like this before?

[Phil 117]

I've just bought some winter tyres, and I checked with my insurance company.

As they are different alloys, they are an aftermarket fit.

With that option added, strangely it brought my insurance down £20 for after market alloys? Bizarre. That was with Elephant

[GTI-7-Performance]

Not too weird.

I don't know about Germany, but in Switzerland it isa requirement that all wheels are 'certified'. That is to say pass an inspection and test for suitability and the supplier has to furnish buyers with a certificate stating this.

Failure to have this will lead to failure of the Swiss equivalent of the MOT and should be carried with the car's documents at all times. My winter wheels come with such a certificate supplied by my VW dealer. Insurance companies don't ask about this, as it it already a legal requirement and assumed all wheel will have been certified...

[mullermn]

OK, thanks - I've not encountered that before.

Is it safe to assume that wheels on sale in the UK will be up to standard or is there something special to look for when shopping for them?

Thanks for the help.

[johanr77]

Can't say I've encountered that before but I have heard some strange stuff a few years back when winter tyre popularity started to grow. Things like an additional premium for a mod when you stuck winters on to the existing wheel, even though in risk terms having a more suitable tyre for the conditions lowered the risk and potential payout.

I notified Direct Line when I put my winters on a couple of weeks back and other than they ask you to call and tell them it doesn't make any odds to the policy unless the tyres are outwith the car manufacturers recommended specifications. As my winters have an almost indentical circumference to the standard fitted wheel it doesn't affect anything as far as Direct Line are concerned, they only ask I notify them when I remove them again in spring.

[Andy_cs]

According to ABI, Allianz the VW insurer have no special requirements regarding Winter tyres. Have a look at https://www.abi.org.uk/Insurance-and-savings/Products/Motor-insurance/Winter-tyres

That said their requirement to keep the rolling radius the same is a very sensible requirement and something I would certainly ensure. As for professional fitting I'm less convinced but not an issue really. To ensure you a fully covered just make sure TUV certification is available for the wheels you use.

[mullermn]

Thanks. I saw the bit about Allianz being OK with winter tyres, the bit I wasn't sure about was the extra aftermarket alloys to keep them on. I pushed the woman on the phone several times very explicitly to make sure she understood what I was planning to do and she was equally clear that it was ok subject to this 'garage' condition.

I'm just waiting for the paperwork to show up so that I can see what the note actually says. Looks like I may need to find a garage that I can take a boot full of wheels to and have them do a 10 minute job to install them for me.

Cheers

[monkeyhanger]

I'm not sure whether these insurance reps realise that in almost all cases of cars over £20k, the OEM wheels are more expensive and attractive to thieves than most aftermarket alloys.

How putting on cheaper aftermarket alloys enhances risk of theft is beyond me.

[dubber36]

The problem with aftermarket alloys and insurers may be that there is no guarentee that they will be able to replace thiem in the event of a claim. They will have deals in place with car manufactures for the supply of parts, but dealing with third party parts retailers that may not stock certain items anymore would prove to be difficult.