After reading the other thread about Direct Line not paying out, cancelling policy etc after an accident due to window tints, in spite of all other mods being fully declared, I decided it was time to get honest.

http://www.scoobynet.co.uk/bbs/thread.asp?threadid=272248

On the 'phone to Elephant, who are generally excellent to ask them about it - you can add modifications on the website but there are three different tints options and none with dark back and lighter front, only 30% and above all round. They then informed me that it would be another £49 odds for the remaining 7 months of my policy - that is nearly £100 per year (on a sub £900 policy I might add). They could not explain why, when I fit security film to reduce the risk of a break in and save the insurance company money etc that it nows costs me more - and the parts are not covered!!!!!

ARGHHHHHH - I then "enquire" about the cost of fitting a backbox and there is only one modification listed guess what - exhaust system and manifold change - non standard. I explained it was only a backbox, no pipework etc, no decat etc. but it had to be listed as all or nothing.

Guess what????

It only cost me £18.90 for 7 months - figure that out.

So, in summary in this rant, it costs me £100 to make my windows safer with shatterproof PENTAGON tints and thus less likely to get stolen, broken into etc, yet I could technically do a full 4 inch bore system, manifold change and decat total and it would only cost me about £35 a year complete with performance enhancement. That is crazy.

Please read this lesson - if you are thinking about tints, you MUST disclose them, or as he said, the policy would be invalidated as soon as the car was looked at by anyone from an insurance company, under any circumstance, not necessarily your own company.

The lesson is - get a full 3 inch system (or 4 inch), new manifold, no cats, gain 40 BHP and it will only cost you £35 a year. What an insurance bargain.

Anyone else suffered for their honesty like me - I wish I was a theiving scumbag with no insurance, road tax etc and a £200 fiesta (not really).

Brian.

Brian you better read my thread, it's not good news for you. I would call them asap, once you have read this.

Elephant and the window tinting fiasco

Following on from this I finally got throught to a guy who said that as long as it was done by a professional firm it was ok, result. Well not really as then he explains that if your car has a tint that allows less than 70% light in then they do not cover it. So I asked him what is the point have that box on your modifications, he says that when you check it they e-mail you to tell you that they don't accept this level. To put it into perspective a manufactures tint is about 78% of light into the car so it pretty much rules out any level of tinting.

Talk about covering their ar$e.

what about doing just the back half of the car?

Same story I'm affraid, phoned Tesco and they have no problem and are only £50 more.

Wear sunglasses then, seems like a cheaper option to me