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Do Decats invalidate insurance?


r37

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As above really, now my car has had its MOT im looking at fitting some un-silenced decats for more noise. My one questions is that as its in no way road legal would it invalidate my insurance if i had an accident?

 

I remember reading a thread like this a while back but cant find it, can anyone help?

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Mmm, strange one.

 

Your car must pass an MOT and then be roadworthy.

Decats aren't dangerous - hence car is still roadworthy but not emmision complient.

BUT then you have insurers stating that a decat car MAY be faster, although very unlikely (although is a mod).

 

Bikes have been subject to police stops due exhausts but very few would question whether a bike may have a gutted cat unit.

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They do not invalidate insurance. If they did, then the insurer would cancel your policy when you told them you fitted them. Which of course, you would do because you're not silly.

 

Would you expect your insurance to be void if you had a crash with a knowingly blown head light bulb? Or a broken wing mirror? Or any number of different things which is an MOT fail but not declarable?

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you have to have a valid mot to validate your insurance, technically de cats don't meet mot requirements with the new laws as you need to maintain the same level of kit as was there on manufacture. Racing cats are legal, as they are still cats and pass emissions and still legal. De cats are sold as not road legal, have to removed for mot's unless you use a dodgy/friendly garage. An insurer could if they wanted use it as an area to disallow payment. But unlikely. They insurer named parts on the proviso that the meet the mot regs etc. Its highly unlikely to be a point of contention but there is a slim chance, especially if they are not declared to the insurer.

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bit more complex than originally taught isnt it.

 

My insurance does cover many mods, exhaust included. but as their not road legal and i'd be very likely to have a crash while on the road, im driving a car thats technically not road worthy/legal. Might be worth giving my insurers a call, though i'd guess they will say it invalidates it out of course.

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Totally wrong mate. MOT has no relation to insurance whatsoever.

 

Car at home. MOT run out. Car gets stolen. Do you think insurer won't pay out?

but if you did drive it and have a crash without an mot, your insurance wouldn't pay out.
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As above really, now my car has had its MOT im looking at fitting some un-silenced decats for more noise. My one questions is that as its in no way road legal would it invalidate my insurance if i had an accident?

 

I remember reading a thread like this a while back but cant find it, can anyone help?

 

Fitting De-Cats would not invalidate your policy of insurance but it could leave you in a civil battle with the insurance company should they decide not to pay out following a claim because of the undeclared mod. There are far too many thing which technically make your car non legal on the road such as front window tints, incorrectly spaced digits on number plates etc which do not invalidate your insurance. Declare all mods.

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Totally wrong mate. MOT has no relation to insurance whatsoever.

 

Car at home. MOT run out. Car gets stolen. Do you think insurer won't pay out?

but if you did drive it and have a crash without an mot, your insurance wouldn't pay out.

 

Yes they would !

 

As said mot has nothing to do with insurance

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christ how difficult it this thread being made!

 

Declared then insurer will pay....not declared then obviously not.

 

Not road legal for MOT pass.

 

I have never in my long line of crashes had an insurer query a valid MOT on the car.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Depends on the insurance company I would suggest. If it says that the car has to be roadworthy as a condition of insurance then you could be in a grey area now that the new rules came out that if a car came with cats it has to have cats on it to be considered road legal. So if the DVLA or whoever enforce it stopped you for a roadside check and found you had no cats then your car would be considered unroadworthy.

 

If the car has decats and is involved in a claim then it will be entirely up to to the insurance inspector or the local garage giving the estimate as to what they put down. My Yamaha R1 was involved in an accident many moons ago and it had race body work, no headlamps, race exhaust etc and the garage simply put down the prices for the standard OEM items on the estimate. The insurance company didnt query it or send one of their own inspectors out. The last time I had a car written off (probably around 2005), the insurance inspector came out, looked around the car - didnt look underneath it or even open the bonnet. It had various non standard bits on it, including entire interior out of a sportier model, again they didnt question it.

 

As others have said, MOT is a separate thing and again, with the new rules if your car had a cat then it has to have a cat for its MOT whereas previously it didnt - it only had to pass the emissions test.

Edited by rabbitstew
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If decats are illegal for road use I wouldn't have thought an insurance company would be happy to add them to a policy would they?

 

The problem with insurance companies is that (normally) they dont know, understand or really care what these things are. They will probably just hear the word "exhaust" and say "yep thats £80 extra for performance exhaust thank you".

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