Tyres effecting insurance

[Lee]

Ive just been chatting with a friend whos having a problem getting some tyres for his Ibiza Cupra. He needs 195/45/16 ZR.

I said thats a bit of overkill for such a slow car and he said he had to replace them with the same tyres as not fitting the OE tyres would invalidate his insurance according to his fiancé as she works in insurance.

Ive never heard this before and I know a lot of people use some really crap rubber. Ive always purchased better than came on the car so its never been an issue for me.

He reckons if you were to have an accident and lower quality tyres were blamed it would invalidate your insurance?

Is this true?

Thanks

Lee

 

[Alan]

You never know with insurance these days, so maybe?

 

[Gareth]

i would have thought that it would be the case, crap rubber can really effect the cars braking ability.

 

[kingJimBob]

nah cants be true, think about it, that means any non genuine parst you bought for your car could also affect your insurance, because your not keeping it to spec.



if it is the case i think the insurance company would have a hard problem in not paying up, take them to court they wouldnt have a leg to stand on. Even the judge would be wondering what the f**k could be up with his insurance.

 

[craigs.cup]

what tyres are better than Michelin Pilots???????????????

 

[McBunny]

yes exactly you are supposed to tell them every change to original spec even mats etc

 

[KDF]

Tyres effecting insurance

Tyres Affecting insurance



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[Moby]

^^^ LOL!

 

[Lee]

Sorry, I was in a rush to get to my lunch time game of Mashed.

I can only be perfect most of the time.

 

[Locky]

I had the same problem with my MR2.. its not the make or cost of the tyre itself... its the speed rating of the tyre... on my MR2 they were rated upto 150mph... which was stupid really but my insurance informed me that unless I replaced them with the same speed rated tyres they wouldnt cover me for a crash.

 

[172 Exclusive]

I checked Seat site and they are saying that the standard tyre size is 205/45 ZR16.. Not 195 width..

Anyway the "ZR" part of the insurance request is the key part.. It is the Speed rating of the tyre.. As with all car manufacturers they specify the Tyre size, Speed Rating and Load index figure for use with the car..

The insurance companies load all this info into their computer database and that becomes the standard factory spec..

So if you fit "V" rated tyres instead then you have an accident, the insurance assesor will turn up with the list of "standard" fit items..

He will look at the tyre size, the Speed rating, The condition of the tyre at the time of the accident, is it fitted correctly if it is directional, etc etc.. If it is not correct bang goes your insurance.. No payout because it is invalidated..

NOTE: the tyre manufacturer or tread pattern etc will not be a problem insurance wise as long as you fit a tyre of the same base specification.. Double checked with my wife who is an insurance broker..

On the MOT front, The car would pass the MOT as long as the tyres were


within the 1.6mm legal limit across the centre 3/4 of the tyre
Were the same size on each axle
Were fitted thecorrect way round
Were not damaged, ie bulges, cuts, etc
But importantly the MOT test does NOT look at the Speed rating or load index or whether the tyre is the correct size for the vehicle... They only have to meet the criteria noted above.

So in summary you could fit "N" rated tyres that have a Max speed rating of 81MPH!!! and it would pass the MOT..

http://www.tyresave.co.uk/tyrspeed.htmlhttp://www.tyresave.co.uk/tyrspeed.html for speed rating info

http://www.bridgestone.com.au/tyres/products/car/care/markings.asphttp://www.bridgestone.com.au/tyres/products/car/care/markings.asp For further detail..

 

[Ian_182]

I would imagine if you had a 182 with cup options and wore out the thicker walled tyres and then put some others on then the insurance would say sod off if you crashed,They would almost deffinately say it was the tyres fault and not pay out

ian

 

[Neil82]

Quote: Originally posted by _KDF on 03 August 2004

Tyres effecting insurance

Tyres Affecting insurance



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Wish youd hurry up and f?ck off to Florida.

http://erc.qmuc.ac.uk/rolleyes.gif

 

[kingJimBob]

this is f**king crazy, seriously lets look at an example.

a single mother of two, very little money, needs a car, so she can get to work and get the children to skool. she buys a 2nd hand car, which has standard wheels, but unknowling to her and anybody else the tyres have been changed to a different tyres, the tyres are fine for the car but not to the factor specfication. maybe a difference profile. she has the MOT it fails due to tyres... so she goes out buys new tyres, she doesnt know what shes needs just replaces the ones that are on there, they are within her budget.

few weeks later.............

so she has a crash, its her fault, but she is fully comp, will loose her NCB but because she decided to spend that lil extra she has gone fully comp so maybe she wont loose everything.

the assesor turns up... sorry love your tyres arent the to the exact factory specification im gonno be a c**t and not pay up.





f**king insurance companys


[Edited by kingJimBob on 03 August 2004 at 11:38pm]