Can I add safety features to my car?
When shopping for auto insurance, typically the higher the safety rating of your car, the less expensive your cover can be. But, what about those vehicles that don’t have the highest safety rating to start out with? Are you able to add safety features to not only make your vehicle safer for yourself, you passengers, and everyone else on the road, but to help bring down your insurance costs?
The positive affects
Making your vehicle safer can have a positive impact on your insurance, many insurers will offer discounts for approved safety features that you add to your vehicle. Your insurer wants to assuming the least amount of risk possible when it comes to your policy, so when you add safety features you lower the amount of risk of getting into an accident.
Here are some safety features you can add to your vehicle that can not only help to keep you safer on the roads, but save you a bit on your auto insurance.
Winter Tires –Most people already choose to make their vehicles safer during the cold winter months by switching out their summer or all-seasoned tires for winter tires. As more science comes out showing the benefits of installing winter tires, it is a no-brainer feature to help you and everyone else on the road safe. Not only that, but you can see a discount of around 5% on your premiums for having them installed.
Driver assist technology –Adding various driver assistant features can not only give you peace of mind while driving but it can also lead to a discount on your premiums. Technology now plays a big role in how we drive, from safety features that can detect lane changes/blind spots, help you parallel park, see when you’re backing up, etc. Some newer vehicles already come with these features, but you can also add them to older models.
Anti-theft/recovery –Like with driver assist, some vehicles already come with this feature. But for ones that do not, there are anti-theft devices on the market that can help keep your car safe from theft and track it in the even that a theft occurs.
But, add with caution
When you are adding safety features to your vehicle, use caution. To ensure that your insurance is affected in a positive way, and not a negative one, it is important to speak to your insurer first. They will be able to tell you how your insurance may be affected by adding a particular safety feature, and advise you as the best way to go about getting and installing them. Some features are easy enough to install at home, but some may require professional help.
Tell your insurer
If you do add any safety features to your vehicle, it is in your best interests to tell your insurer. As previously mentioned, you can likely receive a discount on your auto insurance premiums, but they will not know to give you a discount if you do not tell them you added the safety features.
Generally speaking, anything that you do to your car that alters the level of risk it holds needs to be relayed to your insurer. If you do any sort of modifications to your vehicle, and failure to inform them, you could experience negative repercussion ns down the road. Being less than honest on your insurance application or with your insurer after you are approved can lead to denied claims, voided coverage, and application refusals.