[n55jb4]

Hey OP, I think you need to escalate this with insurance company - try to send a written letter by regular mail (with delivery confirmation and signature) AND an email copy with all details you can remember and a detailed explanation about exhaust NOT affecting your situation, include things like your speed, rpms, etc to show them that 5hp is within error margins basically. Make it an official letter, with date, signature and send it to insurance claims department AND to supervisor who is in charge (there is usually a supervisor who oversees insurance worker who is on your case)

However, with that been said - I'm now afraid to get into accident as I also have some modified parts. Hell, I think 99% of e90post members have at least 1 part modified and not reported to insurance. We live in a society that has way too complicated rules and fineprints for literally anything. I think it's a civil right to be able to mod your car if you are not breaking any rules. I mean why should I be charged extra for anything I mod on my car? Why should I be required to report it to insurance? This is like no privacy and overly complicated process. When insurance companies take our premiums we don't make them sign bunch of paperwork requiring them to do such and such, but when we install aftermarket exhaust for better sound - suddenly it's a crime to not report to them? WTF?

[e36mmm]

Any updates?

[Newtoy]

Originally Posted by thebatman

Listen kid! It's unfortunate that you had an accident.
I'm giving you the logistics on how insurance companies work.
All insurance companies work on the same principle. They are a business! Out there to make money. If they can find any way to turn down a claim or pay out thousands of dollars, they will.
I clearly mentioned that they "May" or "Most likely" deny your claim, not that they "Definitely will NOT cover". You obviously were too blind to see that and now you are having trouble with your insurance claim. You are stating that they are denying your claim due to aftermarket bits and now you are going to pay an Insurance lawyer to assist you in your claim. So who's the expert here? As you clearly know by now, Lawyers fees are the biggest killer.
They deny your claim.
You hire a lawyer.
You go to court.
You may lose, you may win.
If you win, they pay out your car, but lawyers fees will be in the thousands.

Guess I'll just go back to the bat cave with my bat mobile and my billions of dollars.

kid?lol thx but late 30's dude my kid days are far behind n who's the expert?well the lawyers are and the ones specialised in insurance law probably deal with these situtations on a daily basis and most of them will tell you from the start if you have a good chance to win or not..yes they cost a fortune but am ok with it as long as i'm standing up for my rights..
why would i be paying my premium knowing i wasn't insured in case of an accident?
i had a modded 4x4 some years ago and got t-boned and i was with the same insurance company at the time..they processed the claim and got the car fix even if they saw all the modifications on it including a lift kit and i was never told i was in the wrong for non disclosure of those parts so a few years later its an issue because this time am at fault?shouldn't they have refused the repair back then?
anyway its not an arguement this thread was intended to get opinions and advice from everyone on here so thank you for your input

[Newtoy]

Originally Posted by e36mmm

Any updates?

waiting for their internal dispute department to review the claim but they will only get back to me in 2 weeks..it didn't help that it happened over the holidays

[Newtoy]

Originally Posted by n55jb4

Hey OP, I think you need to escalate this with insurance company - try to send a written letter by regular mail (with delivery confirmation and signature) AND an email copy with all details you can remember and a detailed explanation about exhaust NOT affecting your situation, include things like your speed, rpms, etc to show them that 5hp is within error margins basically. Make it an official letter, with date, signature and send it to insurance claims department AND to supervisor who is in charge (there is usually a supervisor who oversees insurance worker who is on your case)

However, with that been said - I'm now afraid to get into accident as I also have some modified parts. Hell, I think 99% of e90post members have at least 1 part modified and not reported to insurance. We live in a society that has way too complicated rules and fineprints for literally anything. I think it's a civil right to be able to mod your car if you are not breaking any rules. I mean why should I be charged extra for anything I mod on my car? Why should I be required to report it to insurance? This is like no privacy and overly complicated process. When insurance companies take our premiums we don't make them sign bunch of paperwork requiring them to do such and such, but when we install aftermarket exhaust for better sound - suddenly it's a crime to not report to them? WTF?

true..i don't think there's many stock 335i on the forum, everyone is mostly on here to gather information about what can be done to their car and unfortunately the system makes you a puppet where you don't have much control over anything you own.
for peace of mind like socket said earlier the best thing to learn from this is to make sure you sort out a proper insurance company that are willing to insure the car with the mods

[Socket]

How are things progressing New?

[naenae]

this is my advice, you should prolly do this now.

call them and say.
I'm having issues dealing with you guys directly so Im going to get the Financial Services Ombudsman to do it for me. Then asked for a case/complaint number, can you please give me one and ill be on my merry way.

1 of 2 things will happen.
You will get a call from the manager straight away or within the next 24 hours and they will suck your dick and pay you out.

2. the ombudsman will confirm your story, call them, make them look stupid and you will get paid. and if you think that you're not going to get paid, do it anyway, give them hell. go on products review.com, go on their facebook, twitter and tell everyone about your bad experience with such and such.

good luck. companies hate looking stupid.

[Newtoy]

Originally Posted by naenae

this is my advice, you should prolly do this now.

call them and say.
I'm having issues dealing with you guys directly so Im going to get the Financial Services Ombudsman to do it for me. Then asked for a case/complaint number, can you please give me one and ill be on my merry way.

1 of 2 things will happen.
You will get a call from the manager straight away or within the next 24 hours and they will suck your dick and pay you out.

2. the ombudsman will confirm your story, call them, make them look stupid and you will get paid. and if you think that you're not going to get paid, do it anyway, give them hell. go on products review.com, go on their facebook, twitter and tell everyone about your bad experience with such and such.

good luck. companies hate looking stupid.

thanx naenae yeah the dckhead keeps telling me i have to wait til the 18th to know the outcome which is exactly within the time limit they have to review the claim..i'll do what you advised and see what happens.

[Newtoy]

just a bit of an update..the review from the insurance internal dispute department came back negative so now its in the Ombudsman hand to try and sort out something hopefully works out in my favor..
i also contacted maurice blackburn lawyers but unfortunately they don't take on any claim under 30k as they believe at the end of the day it doesn't benefit me after i pay their fees and the court fees so still looking at talking to Kenyon and Ahmet laywers who specialise in insurance claim ,,am in the meantime looking to buy an audi A5 as they are not overly expensive and suits my budget atm

[Boganian Rubes]

Originally Posted by Newtoy

looking to buy an audi A5

https://www.carsales.com.au/car/chev...dge/c6-series/

You can thank me later cuz

[Newtoy]

Originally Posted by Boganian Rubes

https://www.carsales.com.au/car/chev...dge/c6-series/

You can thank me later cuz

lol

[Socket]

Any updates New??

[Newtoy]

Originally Posted by Socket

Any updates New??

hey socks the Financial Ombudsman has just allocated my file to a case officer couple of days ago and after talking to her on the phone it sounded like she really wanted to do everything she can to help so fingers crossed i all works out for me..she will be sending both the insurance company and myself some form to fill out and will also be getting all the relevants documents and recordings from the insurance to review.

on the other hand iv been busy with my new ride a 2014 ford ranger that this time is insured with shannon..completely different feel from the power the 335i had but that's to expect from a 4x4..i was surprised how cheap my insurance was even after i told them about what happened with virgin insurance and the claim being denied..probably didn't care much as they specialise in insuring modified cars anyway.

[Socket]

Originally Posted by Newtoy

hey socks the Financial Ombudsman has just allocated my file to a case officer couple of days ago and after talking to her on the phone it sounded like she really wanted to do everything she can to help so fingers crossed i all works out for me..she will be sending both the insurance company and myself some form to fill out and will also be getting all the relevants documents and recordings from the insurance to review.

on the other hand iv been busy with my new ride a 2014 ford ranger that this time is insured with shannon..completely different feel from the power the 335i had but that's to expect from a 4x4..i was surprised how cheap my insurance was even after i told them about what happened with virgin insurance and the claim being denied..probably didn't care much as they specialise in insuring modified cars anyway.

That's great news mate. May take some time but I hope it all works out for you..... good luck and keep us posted

[Newtoy]

hey guys bit of an update..i received a copy of the documents forwarded to the ombudsman yesterday by auto & general insurance and as i was going through them i noticed again they make mention of a supposedly non standard turbo that was also fitted on the car which i have been saying from the start that it has never been replaced neither by me nor the previous owner as he bought the car new from BMW and never done anything on it apart from the normal service from BMW dealership..
so i replied to the email with the ombudsman as attachment requesting the insurance to provide more information about the turbo with brand etc as so far the only thing i've been told its a different color from the standard one so that was a reason enough to assess it as a non standard part.
As i've been told many times before here's the insurance reply to my email

" Thank you for your email. The non standard turbo is not the reason we have denied your claim. We note that the Underwriting Manager has however mentioned this in his Statutory Declaration. We apologise for any confusion this has caused."

Now everyone knows that the turbo is one of the main component on the car to considerably increase torque so isn't it weird that they keep saying they denied the claim because of those akra mufflers that were fitted when they mostly regulate gas emmissions and sounds whereas the turbo which should have been the issue is being disregarded?

bit dodgy to me and confusing to be honest..

[Boganian Rubes]

That's so shit what a fuck around

[Hoper]

Yep its shit NT, fingers crossed for you

Thanks for sharing though, got me off my ass and I updated my policy, Budget Direct said no we won't insure you anymore because you've lowered the car, so I got a refund and am now with Shannons with all mods listed

If you hadn't shared this I probably would have been effectively uninsured, so thanks for sharing your pain bud

[Newtoy]

Originally Posted by Hoper

Yep its shit NT, fingers crossed for you

Thanks for sharing though, got me off my ass and I updated my policy, Budget Direct said no we won't insure you anymore because you've lowered the car, so I got a refund and am now with Shannons with all mods listed

If you hadn't shared this I probably would have been effectively uninsured, so thanks for sharing your pain bud

yep budget direct is under auto & general insurance and they would have definitely knock u back if u'd made a claim..glad i could help and u got it sorted.
am also with shannons with my new ride

[Socket]

Yep avoid AAMI and other mainstream insurers imo
Shannons is the only insurer that insures and pays up on modified cars
They cost a bit more then other insurers but make sense really
Hops said it best, if you are not with Shannons you might not be covered

[Mayuri Krab]

Originally Posted by Newtoy

" Thank you for your email. The non standard turbo is not the reason we have denied your claim. We note that the Underwriting Manager has however mentioned this in his Statutory Declaration. We apologise for any confusion this has caused."

Now everyone knows that the turbo is one of the main component on the car to considerably increase torque so isn't it weird that they keep saying they denied the claim because of those akra mufflers that were fitted when they mostly regulate gas emmissions and sounds whereas the turbo which should have been the issue is being disregarded?

bit dodgy to me and confusing to be honest..

Sounds like they are just dicking you around trying to get you to give up, at 1st they mention the "non stock" turbo but when you called them out on it, they make other BS crap regarding other mods.

Kinda like getting pulled over by a shit mood cop while driving a Skyline and getting yellow stickered for all random sort of BS.

I think the main issue started when you told the assessor about removing aftermarket parts, which straight away put him/her into the mindset of "omg illegal modifications, payout denied" if you didn't mention about taking parts out good chance he/she probably wouldn't notice (as long as you don't have some massive bling poping out like some of the JDM modified cars lol) and just write the car off as normal.

I say this because when I hit a Kangaroo last year and made my claim with my mainstream (RAC) insurer (whom I also didn't list any mods on my forum), when I towed the car to them for assessment my DCIs, CP and DVs were clearly visible (JB4 and kittyless DPs were also present but those are pretty well hidden ) but the assessor didn't even seem to take notice and just went ahead and approved the repair.

Any way good luck with it

Originally Posted by Socket

Yep avoid AAMI and other mainstream insurers imo
Shannons is the only insurer that insures and pays up on modified cars
They cost a bit more then other insurers but make sense really
Hops said it best, if you are not with Shannons you might not be covered

Just car and Famous was the other 2 that insured modified cars, JCI I think was the only one back when I was on my Ps who would insure <20 year old P plater driving turbo JDMs (with like a $3.5k excess)

Too bad they are now non-existent

How was your policy with Shannons Socket?

Did they have any "< x km driven per year" or "must be a weekend car only" restriction?

[aaron_]

Nrma insure you as long as all mods are legal


Goodluck OP. Confusing that an exhaust is causing all this

[Newtoy]

hey guys haven't been on here for a while and probably my last update so basically i just got a call today from the ombudsman which took a really long time to come up with a review and unfortunately the insurance provided enough proof to show that i was a fault for not disclosing the modifications on my policy so they won't pay me back..
i'll maybe get a call from them soon to tell about what's to follow and dropping the wreck back to me so if anyone is interested in buying the car i'll be happy to agree on something as i won't remove any of the few mods that was done on the car [cpe dci, akrapovic ss catback,chargepipe with tial bov and vertini magic wheels]
mperformance rear bumper and side skirts are in perfect condition as all the damage is at the front of the car not sure what needs to be done at this stage to get it back on the road but it will maybe suit someone with a project on the way.
i know 101Duck was interested at the time but its been already 7months so might have to ask again if he's still keen.

thanks again everyone for all the help and info i gathered from this forum and for being such a great community and i had a really great time while it lasted now its time to move on to other things.