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Insurance brokers rally to defend winter tyres, oppose premium hikes
publication date: Oct 8, 2011
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author/source: Robin Roberts
With some meteorologists forecasting
the UK 's third harsh winter in succession, car manufacturers and tyre
companies are widely advocating the fitting of winter tyres.
According to the AA, winter tyres effectively improve traction, braking and cornering on wet or icy roads, at temperatures below + 7 degrees Celsius. But last winter, there was confusion as some motor insurers considered the fitting of winter tyres to be a ‘modification' warranting an increased premium or, at worst, withdrawal of cover. Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, says, "I believe that this was a misunderstanding by some insurers. It is ludicrous for an insurer to penalise a driver for fitting winter tyres, given that doing so both underlines a responsible approach to safety by the driver as well as reducing the likelihood of a collision." Mr Douglas says that provided the winter tyres and wheels to which they are fitted meet the car manufacturer's specification and are fitted professionally, there should be no need to inform your insurer. "But if you do tell your insurer, there should be no change to your insurance premium." He adds: "If your car insurance is due for renewal it would be worth checking with your insurer first. If they aren't happy about you fitting winter tyres, you could move to an insurer that is." He points out that AA Insurance doesn't need to know if its customers are fitting winter tyres. In many parts of Europe, where the winter weather is more predictable and severe than in the UK, it is common practice or a legal requirement for drivers to keep two sets of tyres and wheels - a set of ‘summer' or standard tyres and a set of winter ones. With an early cold winter being forecast, Swinton Insurance has teamed up with Goodyear Tyres to dispel the myths around fitting cold weather tyres to cars. Swinton surveyed its panel of insurers to find out if they consider the fitment of cold weather tyres to be a modification to the vehicle. A modification would usually see an increase in the car insurance premium. All ten of the major insurers on Swinton's panel which took part, said that they do not see fitting of cold weather tyres as a modification and therefore would not need to increase the premium. However, all insurers recommended motorists should inform them of any change to tyres, to make entirely sure the new tyres do not fall outside the manufacturers recommended specification and incur a premium rise. Some of the UK's largest insurers were surveyed as part of Swinton's panel including Ageas, Aviva, Axa, Provident, Chaucer and RSA. |
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