Car extras adding more to insurance premiums


It may be your pride and joy, but adding extras to your car, especially if you happen to be an actor, could see your car insurance premium rising by as much as 171 per cent, it has been claimed.

Research from BeatThatQuote.com found that altering your car above standard factory alterations could reduce the chances of even being able to get a quote from an insurer.

Among those insurers who would give quotes, adding a rear spoiler increased premiums by 25 per cent, darkened windows by 50 per cent, bull bars and non-standard alloys by 30 per cent and lowering the suspension boosted premiums by 171 per cent.

A driver's occupation also played a part, with actors sometimes incurring a mark-up in premiums of more than 60 per cent to cover the risk of giving a lift to a famous colleague, the website claimed.

To qualify for the lowest rates, a driver needed to be a 40-something, female office worker, with a clean driving license and an alarmed, low-mileage Ford Ka, who parks in a secure garage in one of the UK's less eventful towns.

Sophie Neary, product director at BeatThatQuote.com, said: "It's all very well for rock stars to add thousands of pounds worth of extras to their cars, but unless you're on a rock star salary, you could end up spending all your spare cash on doing up your car and then find that you can't afford to insure it.

"You may be safer opting to follow Leonardo di Caprio and drive an eco-friendly Toyota Prius instead!"

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