mudman2

Has anyone with insurance company contacts heard anything about insurance being cancelled after an accident when the insured cars suspension has been lowered.

I know a State Farm adjuster who tells me that they have instructions to void the insurance if the cars suspension has been tampered with i.e. lowered.

It started with the Ricer's and will be or is already policy. They will not insure a vehicle at all if they know its been lowered. If you do not declare, that also voids the insurance.

Is this BS or real ?

jamy85

Im pretty sure its BS. It doesnt make sense to me. I mean why would they cancel your insurance if your car is lowered

mudman2

Insurance companies will do anything to get out of a claim. But in this case they argue that lowered = racing

Adrian

Dear Michael,
This is certainly the case with most European insurers. I always recommend you check with your insurance company and policy wording and never exceed the limits placed on lowering by Porsche.
Here in Switzerland the lowering limit for all cars it is 40 mm.
For vehicles like the Cayenne which have some stability problems at high speed when lowered too much, I recommend that you check a little more closely.
Ciao,
Adrian
964C4
GT-2

woogiedaxel

BS to me. My friend has body shop and has modified cars all day come in from wrecks, and no problems.

beemaze

If a suspension has been replaced i.e. shocks and springs which were specifically made for the vehicle there is no way an insurance company would know if it has been lowered unless they were able to physically measure before and after. They would also have to prove that the replacement somehow contributed to the loss/damage to the vehicle. Suspension components are commonly replaced in high mileage automobiles in order to keep them roadworthy. In fact, one could argue that lowering a vehicle properly could make it even safer given the lower center of gravity.

Now I've read that some not so bright people actually have their springs "cut" which would qualify as an unsafe modification to the spring's coeffecient. That would be a case where an insurer could argue against the insured.

CayenneS

I am with Woodgie and Bee on this one.. I am going to call and confirm however

Ryan

mudman2

So whats the difference between this and say a life policy where you answered no to smoking on the form when you actually smoke 50 a day and die of lung cancer. In that case your policy would be voided.

tkerrmd

Total bs. cay has plenty of room to lower it and thereby make it safer at speed not unstable where did you get that info Ciao? Plenty of cars as speed goes up their susp lowers the car for added stability ie decreased air under the car which is what makes the car unstable at speed. Seems like lots of bull in this thread!

mudman2

I am not sure that is true. Just because you can does not mean that you should, and if you are trying to avoid paying out on a claim, changes from the manufacturers specs on which all statistics including safety and handling are calculated would be fair game.

Suspension designed to lower would be covered by the manufacturers specs.

I would love an insurance company comment here.

jhunt@huntinter

I would suspect that those with the resources to challenge an adjuster would not have any issues. If you are an 18 year old kid with your slammed kia... they might screw around with you a bit.

Adrian

Dear Tom Kerr,
Where did I get my information from? From working with a very respectable Porsche tuner outfit here in Switzerland who is trying to get all their Cayenne modifications properly homolgated by Swiss and German authorities. This involves some serious high speed testing by the engineering staff from these authorities.
From driving their tuned Cayenne and having the problem demonstrated and how it has been corrected using speed inputs.
The only open issues now are suitable tyres and the brakes which require additional cooling because the Cayenne does not stop within requirements from 300 kph (186 mph).
Ciao,
Adrian
964C4
GT-2

woogiedaxel

Switzerland has some funky road laws. I have swiss customers and they cannot do minor mods, even some cosmetic because it wont pass their inspections. You guys got serious red tape there. In fact i had a guy cancel part of an order today because he cannot use eyelids on his car he claimed. They dont even cover any part of the beam area. I guess illegal there, oh well.

Adrian

The Swiss (which I am not) apply the same certification rules as the Germans do. If the component is purchased without Swiss or TÜV certificates it cannot be legally installed, that is correct.
Tuned cars including Porsches cannot be registered unless the conversion has been homologated.
A lot of people remove their "tuned packages" before their inspections. As a result the Police are doing more and more random checks.
However the upside of this is;
a). We can all purchase modification kits/parts that have been tested and passed (homologated for Porsche in our case).
b). We can all be confident that it is going to work. The only caveat to this is that European tuners are not so experienced with USA only components or systems used in US VIN Porsches. The 993 engine is good example.
c). We can safely drive at high speeds on the autobahns or the track knowing our modifications are safe.
You will see a lot of German tuners advertise their parts as "Only for export". This means they have never been tested nor approved by the TÜV.
For us living here purchasing "Tuner kits" or parts from the USA or the UK etc is normally a waste of money because they will be ordered removed at inspection time. Been there done that bought that t-shirt. I have a basement full of parts I purchased from the USA.
Ciao,
Adrian
964C4
GT-2

Aeson

I installed some lowering springs. The springs look the same and doesn't lower it enough for someone to think that it was lowered. I really think thats BS in the US.