Does the insurance company cover you if you fudge ya 4by offroad?

All depends on the Policy wording. I have cover that is specific to 4WDing and covers me on and off road Australia wide.

A member on here drowned his 4by in a creek crossing and the ins company paid out in full.

If it is just a run of the mill comprehensive insurance policy offered by one of the big firms then it may just limit the coverage to be roads only, or maybe gazetted tracks.

It pays to read the fine print!!!

Cheers
Muddy

Gotta do all your homework.
As you know, Insurance Companies will do anything to get out of paying out a claim, so get it in writing..
I quizzed the RACV about wher eI like to go and some of the small mods I have done to the Navara, and I got the OK
When in doubt, give Shannon's or AAMI a ring, you might get a supprise, and what ever you do ,,,, read all the plicy, and if you cannot see the area, in fine print, give them a wring and ask them at the other end, exactly what page, and paragraph it is written on

Cheers
Bucky

Mate, there are a couple of insurance companies that specifically provide Off-Road/4wd Insurance. TCIS and DGA insurance brokers should be able to help wrt to covering your 4wd in any situation. I'm insured with DGA for any mod and for anywhere in Australia.......

www.tcis.com.au/

www.dgainsurance.com.au/

I am with AAMI and as long as I am not in a competion, in a timed or trial event I am covered anywhere in Australia, public or private property.
I got it all in writing and even asked about drowing a car on private property and was told I would be covered, (Got the refernece in the PDA for that as well)

BUT, I have to keep my 4wd in a legal and roadworthy state. So all mods that need to be engineered have to be.
So in QLD I cant go higher than a 2" lift and 32" tyres on my 80Series, even though I have a engineers cert for a 5" lift. (car was rego'd in NSW for awhile) I have had to drop it back to a 2" to pass QLD rules, otherwise I would void my insurance.

Have a look at the 4wd Victoria web site. They have negotiated an insurance package with a company, specifically for those of us who use their 4wd's anywhere.
I found their rates to be very competitive, and they pay a commission to the 4wd association, which is returning something back into our hobby.

After some sobering interpretation of the available policies I took one with TCIS because some fourby clubs were using them. Essentially I am covered except for competitive events and if unauthorised changes are made to the vehicle.

There are many traps for the uninitiated who presume that because the aftermarket suppliers and magazines promote products they will always be acceptable to the Dept of Transport and the insurance company.

The other trap is the one mentioned above - not checking to see if the policy covers travelling off gazetted roads. It is the old problem of not knowing what question to ask if you don't already know the answer.

EV700

Might have a trawl through the policy then. Cheers guys.

http://www.allianz.com.au/internet/Allianz.nsf/docs/978454C457B4F33B4A256E4C00193AF0/$FILE/32295510.pdf

Gday All

Sorry about the long winded address above, but if someone is a little bored/interested etc that is the write up on the cover I have and it has a section called"when we won't pay". It makes no mention of 4wd, off road, water etc, so as far as I can see I'm well covered. Any one care to proof read it for me in case I've missed something?

Cheers Andrew

There are 2 sections of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 that apply to all contracts of insurance:

The duty of the utmost good faith

S 13 A contract of insurance is a contract based on the utmost good faith and there is implied in such a contract a provision requiring each party to it to act towards the other party, in respect of any matter arising under or in relation to it, with the utmost good faith.

and

S 21 The insured's duty of disclosure

(1)
Subject to this Act, an insured has a duty to disclose to the insurer, before the relevant contract of insurance is entered into, every matter that is known to the insured, being a matter that:

(a)
the insured knows to be a matter relevant to the decision of the insurer whether to accept the risk and, if so, on what terms; or
(b)
a reasonable person in the circumstances could be expected to know to be a matter so relevant.
(2)
The duty of disclosure does not require the disclosure of a matter:

(a)
that diminishes the risk;
(b)
that is of common knowledge;
(c)
that the insurer knows or in the ordinary course of the insurer's business as an insurer ought to know; or
(d)
as to which compliance with the duty of disclosure is waived by the insurer.

...

These are only extracts and the whole of the Act and case law applies but I would reason it this way:

If an insurance company insures (say) a Nissan Patrol, would it not be of common knowledge or should he not know that it could be used off road? Would they not then be obliged to quote a premium that includes that risk if it is not expressly excluded by the insured/insurer?

I wrote off a Tribute on a beach and the insurer supplied me with a new one as per their policy discretion

George

We are with AAMI and they covered me eben though I was offroad and not on a gazetted track, I told them that and they didnt have a problem.

Just got the quote for all the plastic down the side of the Patrol and also a small dent in the passenger door almost $5000. Service excellent.

Did I mention I was in a car park, not on the road, oh well .

Looks like two parts to the question.

A comprehensive insurance policy is just that - comprehensive. If it doesn't exclude anything, then it is included.

So there is no need to get in writing that they will cover you for off-road use, because they will need to tell you that they don't (if it isn't excluded - its included). It is as simple as that.

In terms of the first part to the question, the answer lies in whether it has been disclosed to the insurer that there are larger tyres on the car. It will either accept it and insure you, or decline to insure you. But if you don't disclose it the insurer would be within its rights to 'potentially' deny any claims made on the basis you have not met the disclosure requirement, and that the car is outside of the manufacturer's specifications.

A lot of people make the mistake of not recongnising that insurance is a two way street. You are obligated to disclose anything that would be reasonable for an insurer to know before deciding whether or not they are willing to insure you or your vehicle. Secondly, once accepted they are obligated to meet your claims providing you meet the policy requirements.

Western QBE

As long as there is no sign post indicating "4WD restricted" you are covered.

Just got my policy transferred from WA to NSW.... full NCB and it cost me 700+ in yearly premium.

can't complain......