Car insurance do you declare a dashcam?

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As I’m looking around at dashcams, I’ve made a call to my (UK) insurance provider just to query:
A- is it classed as a modification?
B- do I need to inform them?

I’m sure different insurance providers have different takes on this.
I was told, yes, it can be classed as a modification if it is hardwired into the wiring system and yes I need to inform them.
They queried if I was planning to hardwire myself or get a professional installer. They also said, when I’ve chosen the model dashcam to ring them back up and they will check it on their list of approved dashcams and advise me further prior to getting it installed.

Do you/have you informed your car insurance?
 
No. I've queried my carrier about premium discounts for having one (not available) but they never even hinted they would consider it a modification if it were hard wired.

They said to me it would be classed as a modification to the existing wiring, so if an insurance claim happened at a later date due to the hardwiring on the dashcam if they were not notified or it’s not noted on the policy it could void the insurance.
 
I asume if it is hardwired, but i dont think we have this aspect in insurance here in Denmark, or maybe i just have not read the small lettering close enough.
But i have never declared anything, and i have had cars with +50 KG of electrical equipment ( high end boom car audio and necessary power grid / batteries / capacitors / amplifiers / fuse bokses / garden hose thick wires )

I have asked my company for a discount for having dashcams, but they was not able to do that, but they still liked the footage i sent in relation to me getting rear ended.

Lucky none of my cars have burned down to the ground so i have never found out.
 
If you just plug it into the fusebox and don't cut any wires then it can't really be classed as a modification, just an addition, not much different to connecting your phone to the car's Bluetooth! However if your insurance decided not to pay out because of an undeclared modification then it might take an expensive legal case to force them to pay, so always best to declare these things.

Generally it's best to declare them when renewing your insurance, then they can't charge you for making the modification to your insurance! You can plug it into the accessory socket until then. If they try and put the price up due to the modification then change insurance company.

Do you/have you informed your car insurance?
No, but I have modified car insurance anyway, and modified car insurance isn't necessarily expensive, mine is well under £300.

I asume if it is hardwired, but i dont think we have this aspect in insurance here in Denmark, or maybe i just have not read the small lettering close enough.
I think here they still have to pay out unless your modification was involved in causing the damage, but of course they don't have to repair damage to your undisclosed modifications, only put the car back to original condition. Trouble is that some insurance companies will be happy to fight you in court to avoid having to pay and they normally have much bigger budgets for fighting legal cases than you!
 
Seeing OP is in the UK, I think this is a regional question only people in the UK can answer on whether to declare or not.

Dash Cams are illegal in some countries, have restrictions in others, illegal in some states due to obstructing one's view, legal in other states. This question is analogous to asking "What Time is it Now". Only people in the same region will give the proper answer.
 
Interesting concept though.. modifying would include a different tire from stock... adding those blind spot mirrors.. using a different grade of oil.. coolant.. wipers... tinting.. decals.
 
Interesting concept though.. modifying would include a different tire from stock... adding those blind spot mirrors.. using a different grade of oil.. coolant.. wipers... tinting.. decals.

It boggles the mind that Dash Cam's are illegal in many jurisdictions. Some countries state that recording publicly is prohibited without the consent of others. Some countries argue the obstruction issue. As do states within the United States. Some states allow recording but not audio, since audio may require all within the vehicle to consent to being recorded.

Honestly, Dash Cams are far more practical in cutting down insurance fraud, catching an accident and removing He Said / She Said, and protecting drivers on the road from incidences that may occur.
 
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Interesting concept though.. modifying would include a different tire from stock... adding those blind spot mirrors.. using a different grade of oil.. coolant.. wipers... tinting.. decals.
Anything that doesn't match the car manufacturer's specification for your particular model and trim level should be notified to the insurance company, so you can put a different brand of tire on, but you can't change the size without informing the insurance company. Winter tires should be OK since car manufactures normally specify a winter tire/wheel specification. Of course adding tints can affect safety and adding decals and blind spot mirrors can affect value so it would be perfectly reasonable for the insurance company to change their pricing for those items.
 
Anything that doesn't match the car manufacturer's specification for your particular model and trim level should be notified to the insurance company, so you can put a different brand of tire on, but you can't change the size without informing the insurance company.

depends where you are and who you're insured with, eg here if it's legally modified you don't have to notify the insurer
 
depends where you are and who you're insured with, eg here if it's legally modified you don't have to notify the insurer
Yes, we were talking about UK insurance only, the rules seem to vary greatly across the world, as do the rules on how much modification you can do, we don't have limits on that so some people are driving far more risky cars than others!
 
There are so much WTF in the world.
Here you can not lower or lift a car more than a inch or so,,,,,,,, BUT i saw in a cop program on TV a cop pulling over a kid with a old VW golf that both the cop and i was in agreement that was illegal.
So the cop ask the driver "how have you lowered it" as there are many creative ways to do that, but the kid just said its a street legal lowering kit, whipped out some papers and that was the end of that deal,,,, aside for the massive crack in the windscreen.
But clearly that golf was way lover than 1" from the normal ride.

I am all for a simplification of Society and its rules, what we have now cleanly don't work when you can buy a legal lowering kit that lover the car more than what is legal.
 
There are so much WTF in the world.
Here you can not lower or lift a car more than a inch or so,,,,,,,, BUT i saw in a cop program on TV a cop pulling over a kid with a old VW golf that both the cop and i was in agreement that was illegal.
So the cop ask the driver "how have you lowered it" as there are many creative ways to do that, but the kid just said its a street legal lowering kit, whipped out some papers and that was the end of that deal,,,, aside for the massive crack in the windscreen.
But clearly that golf was way lover than 1" from the normal ride.

I am all for a simplification of Society and its rules, what we have now cleanly don't work when you can buy a legal lowering kit that lover the car more than what is legal.

One size fits all is impractical. For example, Denmark has different driving regulations, road, and weather conditions than Australia. So there's zero way to create uniformity around the world. However, I think Dash Cameras should be legal everywhere, but privacy advocates would disagree. The argument would be that each person should be free to consent or reject to have their image or audio recorded. And that is where States and Countries clash. Some places it's legal to video, but not record audio. Other places, it's legal to do both. The list goes on and on for restrictions.
 
No. I've queried my carrier about premium discounts for having one (not available) but they never even hinted they would consider it a modification if it were hard wired.

Exactly the same here. Plus my agent said nobody in SC USA offers an insurance discount for dashcams :(

Phil
 
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