Anyone actually report modifications to your insurance company? Anyone have it bite them in the ass?
Personally no, I don’t.
I asked mine before installing all my parts and they told me that they would cover any suspension, brakes, and wheels/tires but performance enhancing items like engine or drivetrain mods would not be covered.
I don’t have mods to worry about but here in canada they flatbout won’t insure you if you’re modified so guys have to almost not say anything an d risk it.
My insurer asked me to let him know of any ‘racing modifications’ that I might have on my car after I casually asked if they covered track days (my last provider did).
I told him it’s not a race car.
I tried calling around and ask about insuring a modified car (when I had the S4) bc I wanted to be honest and upfront. But quickly realized that was the end of the conversation with literally everyone I talked to.
So I ended up just leaving things as they were.
Ironically, when I hit a tire on the interstate and had to have some parts replaced via insurance (post sc install), they were more than happy to pay for the aftermarket parts, such as exhaust, that were on the car. I think it was bc the list price for a F.I. Muffler was 1/4th the price of the Audi oem part lol. Also they were happy to pay for aftermarket front lip and other stuff like that. I also got paid for the “missing passenger radiator” lol. I didn’t realize till after it was all said and done, but certainly wasn’t going to call to try and explain that one.
giant spoiler…admit it
Haha! It was on my B8 S4. Not on the current car… ;D
When my s4 was totaled, I took a couple hours getting my personal belongings, including an MTM chipped A-box ECU, boost gauge, diverter valves and some intake and boost plumbing.
They don’t ask around here. I think some insurance companies like progressiv will cover modifications but you pay you pay for it. You’re essentially putting individual insurance policies on each mod.
Some companies like Haggerty will cover whatever you want them to cover but they are picky about the cars they will insure. I went from full coverage with State Farm who would declare my car at 17k if it got totaled to full coverage with haggerty who will give me a $26,000 check it it gets totaled and I SAVED $140 a year. You just tell them what you want the car to be worth and that’s it. They also guarantee flat bed tows, and you can get unlimited 50 mile tows for $50 a year.
I bet they cover S4’s since they are relatively exisive and usually insurance thinks they are worth less than what they go for in the market.
Regarding Hagerty, they state this on their site:
The daily use and highly customized part could be an issue.
Then I tried the “get a quote” and they only go up to 1999 and add:
Don’t believe most of us would come close to qualifying.
For your basic bolt on parts you’re better off not saying anything. If you’re in an accident insurance is responsible to cover the costs to return your vehicle to “preloss condition.” At my shop at least, I’ve never seen an insurance company refuse to pay for an aftermarket/ performance part that was installed. However say you have a supercharged S/RS4 and you’re in an accident that damages the supercharger. If you’re a claimant you should be good. If its your fault and you’re using your own coverage that would be a sticky situation. My guess is that you’re insurance company wouldn’t cover the supercharger because your car was not originally equipped with one. One way around this would be to get a agreed value policy that includes your mods and engine work.
You obviously don’t live in Ontario 
Thank god I don’t. ;D Massachusetts. We do have some messed up insurance rules here too though.
I had a guy a track tell me an interesting way he insures his highly modified daily drivers.
His last car was a new model Pontiac G6 GTO, but he had swapped a LS6 or something into it, as well as full build etc.
So under his main auto policy he Insured it as a regular car as his daily driver. Then he used a separate company and paid for a rider policy on personal property for an agreed amount.
His car got totaled sitting at a stoplight, his main company paid the cash value of the car (~16k) and then he pulled his personal article policy for the agreed value (~15k) and he was back to square one. He said both companies paid with no questions or concerns, and at that point he basically had no ownership to the car or any parts on the car.
I’m sure you have to be pretty specific about what type of separate policy you have, but in theory it certainly worked for him.
As I recall, he said his monthly insurance was ~175/mo for the car, and then about 80/mo for the personal items policy. So not bad total investment if you do have 10k+ in serious parts ( parts beyond suspension/exhaust/brakes etc).
I guess I was posing this question from more of a legality standpoint than coverage one. Since if your insurance company specifically asks you if it’s modified, and you answer no, when in reality it is, in a way you are mis-representing information.
Now how far would an insurance company be willing to use that against you if they find out otherwise? Deny a claim? Drop your insurance? Or do nothing and not really care?
I guess most of that depends a lot on the companies specific policies and local laws.
I COMPLETELY forgot Audi guys DD their cars. Disregard the Hagerty suggestion.
Lol
Well, not so much the B5 guys.
no B5 is the most reliable platform. And the fastest.