Issue date: 07-03-06 Whilst the TV programme "Pimp My Ride" may have brought alloy wheels and 18" rims to the attention of even the most mechanically challenged, the practice of heavily modifying vehicles has been growing in popularity for the last few years. But before you jump on the newly "pimped" bandwagon complete with sport exhaust and ICE (that's In Car Entertainment to you and me), elephant.co.uk has a warning; make sure you let your insurer know of ANY modifications you make to your car or else you could make your policy invalid. While most insurers will insure modified vehicles, they tend to have set criteria regarding the type and extent of the modifications they will cover.

Lack of driver education
Direct Line’s findings indicate a lack of driver education as one of the main causes of accidents with lorries. “More than a quarter (28 per cent) of UK motorists don’t like driving on the motorway - and encountering large vehicles at high speed simply reinforces this anxiety. One in five (18 per cent) motorists rush to overtake lorries because they feel intimidated and don’t know how to adapt their driving around bigger vehicles. car insurance companies in uk Read more...

Insurance Premiums Falling
car insurance companies in uk “Competition in the car insurance marketplace is strong so it pays to shop around for cover.  However, despite this, we estimate(3) that as many as 19% of motorists only obtain one quote when they purchase car insurance. (2) Price comparison figures based on research conducted by Consumer Intelligence, September 2005 to February 2006. (3)Based on Research carried out by TNS PhoneBus amongst a representative sample of 625 GB car drivers aged 16+ during 4-6th March 2005. Read more...

Motorists Speed Every Time
Darren McCauley, Head of Car insurance at Churchill said:. Half admit that they only stop speeding when they actually catch sight of a speed camera. *Based on Department for Transport figures of number of full licensed drivers in the UK - 33,771,698. car insurance companies in uk Read more...

Equipment such as Nitrous Oxide injection kits are currently unacceptable to most insurers, due to how the car is likely to be used afterwards. Ceri Assiratti said, "Our data suggests that, in general, modified vehicles present more of a risk to the insurer. Not only are they more expensive to repair, but as any episode of "Pimp my Ride" clearly demonstrates, heavily modified vehicles attract attention, unfortunately sometimes of the unwanted variety!" So while Pimp My Ride's Xzibit may be able to afford his car insurance, make sure you can too by consulting with your insurer before you make any modifications or you could end up with an expensive headache. Elephant Insurance -