Hi

I was rear ended in my RRS1 last night. No one hurt and I’m hoping only my rear bumper needs replacing. The question is the car has an Arden body kit on it so will they try and replace it with a standard bumper and will they /can they refuse to do anything as I said the car was unmodified.

I possibly wrongly assumed the body kit was fitted from new as it also has Arden exhaust tips.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I personally think the only people who can answer your question fully are the insurance companies involved, unless someone is a actual insurance claim/assessor it will be a pure personal opinion as to what the insurance company should or will not do, as you were rear ended I assume the other party was at fault so you might be lucky, otherwise if you need to claim on your own insurance you may have a battle as insurance companies are reluctant to pay out at the best of times without giving them a excuse even if it was unintentional. Again I wouldn't know but you might be able to compromise and pay the difference in price between the Arden bumper and the L/R one if the claim is approved, but again would depend on the insurance company involved I imagine. Hopefully they will just pay out.

Cheers
Col

If it goes anything like when I was rear-ended in £4ks worth of Mini, if you call your insurance company the conversation will go like this:

Us: "Hi, yeah, we were rear ended - low speed, less than 10mph, just looks like some bent/broken plastic bumper pieces"
Them: "Well, given the age of the car we should just write it off now. Will you take £2k?"
Us: "But nobody has even seen it?"
Them: "Yes, but given the age of the car..." etc

It was a battle to get it repaired, not written off.

You are best off claiming directly against the third party insurers, if you have their details.
Avoid the third party accident management companies your insurers will try to punt you to at all costs (also personal experience, they were bloody useless!) 2014 BMW 530d Touring, 2006 BMW 650i, 2018 Mini Cooper S

If you were rear ended then liability is likely to stick to the third party insurer, in that case it may be worth trying to claim directly from them.

I think mrsammyp gives the best advice, make your claim directly to the other cars insurer.
Having failed to disclose to your insurer that you have a modified car, you don't really want to stir up that hornets nest. I would be surprised if they didn't take a very dim view and refused to process your claim, they may even decide you owed them the premium they would have charged you had they been aware of the body kit.
Fortunately, the damage seems minor enough that it's still usable so time is on your side.
You may be wise to now declare the body kit to your insurers, just think about the situation if it had been your fault and it was written off.

Even if you claim directly from the third party insurer, you will probably find in the small print of your own insurance you are required to notify them of any accident irrespective of blame. If you don't the other insurer may anyway and as everything is probably on a national insurance database these days, it may give you problems with future insurance for not disclosing the accident. Just don't give the insurance company any excuse not to pay put.

Cheers
Col

That goes without saying Col, it's one of the questions asked during renewal regardless of a claim on OP's own insurance. Same if you have a bump in a company car, it has to be disclosed. It gives them a chance to screw more money out of you even if it's costs them nothing.
I was under the impression that the OP was wondering what to do about his current position.

The claim has been referred to the underwriters by the assessor engineers because the car has a body kit which I didn't (unintentionally) declare.

I’m now really worried they will refuse to pay (cost is £3,750 + vat.).

Gulp!

Even if the kit was fitted from new, it should be declared as the insurance companies ask if the vehicle is modified from manufactures specification. I’ve got Oversized wheels, a performance exhaust, cosmetic improvements and EBC pads declared on my insurance for £40 extra a year. They weren’t to bothered about the EBC pads but I told them I’d rather declare it than not. 2019 5.0 SC SVA (Current)
2012 5.0 SC AB. Sadly written off by a campervan
23 plate Focus ST (Current)
1942 VEP Ford GPW Jeep (Willys) (Current)
1943 Whites M16 Halftrack (Current)
16 plate Eurofighter Typhoon, 2 x Eurojet engines with 20,000lbs thrust each. 1380mph

If you’re claiming against a third party it’s irrelevant, they’ll have to pay to make you good. If you were calling on your own policy then your insurer could happily decline your claim. L405 P400e Autobiography (MY2020)... Silicon Silver / Espresso
RRS TDV6 HSE Lux (MY2011)... Nara Bronze / Arabica - now gone!

Insurers talk to each other, I will guarantee the 3rd party insurer will be looking to get out of paying up. The assessor already knows it’s not standard (from the above OP post) so they will try anything.

Not the same thing but I had an accident in 2003 which involved 6 vehicles. I ended up taking the blame as 4 of the 6 vehicles were insured with direct line and it was cheaper for them to just pay up rather than argue with the other insurers. The vehicle that hit me was uninsured and couldn’t be traced. 2019 5.0 SC SVA (Current)
2012 5.0 SC AB. Sadly written off by a campervan
23 plate Focus ST (Current)
1942 VEP Ford GPW Jeep (Willys) (Current)
1943 Whites M16 Halftrack (Current)
16 plate Eurofighter Typhoon, 2 x Eurojet engines with 20,000lbs thrust each. 1380mph

If the other driver/insurer has accepted blame your claim will be honoured regardless. They cannot escape on a technicality I mean. It could be a solid gold bumper... the third party would have to pay to make you good if they have accepted liability. L405 P400e Autobiography (MY2020)... Silicon Silver / Espresso
RRS TDV6 HSE Lux (MY2011)... Nara Bronze / Arabica - now gone!

I wouldn’t say they have to honour it, they could turn around and say that as the modifications to the vehicle weren’t declared, the insurance was nul and void. Therefor the vehicle was uninsured and may chase the claimant for compensation to repair the 3rd party vehicle. I’m no lawyer, I’m just very wary of insurance companies and I hope the OP gets his car repaired. 2019 5.0 SC SVA (Current)
2012 5.0 SC AB. Sadly written off by a campervan
23 plate Focus ST (Current)
1942 VEP Ford GPW Jeep (Willys) (Current)
1943 Whites M16 Halftrack (Current)
16 plate Eurofighter Typhoon, 2 x Eurojet engines with 20,000lbs thrust each. 1380mph

I would hope that ultimately, the third party insurance company will have to honour the claim against their driver if he accepts liability, similar to the OP being third party insured. They could however make it very hard for him and just say "OK, sue us" if he doesn't have the protection of his own insurance company. He may have to go to one of these companies that recover third party losses. Not sure what risks that entails as Iv'e never used one.

Just by way of an update: my insurers underwriters have asked me questions around did I know about the mods when I bought it. When was it added, how much did it cost etc. I have honestly said I didn’t know it was a modification. They will apparently pay and go after the other insurer for repayment. This is why I guess they want to be sure they can get full costs before approving repair.

So two weeks on and I’m still waiting to hear.