1998 2.5 minibus 15 seat insurance question

[alandav123]

hi all, just wondering about this.........

I have had this ex mod 110k van for 2 years now and its always been MOTed as a 15 seater coach built van with no mods.

I take 9 seats out for most of the year to get all my stuff in, family things etc and we never need 15 seats.
the MOT is up again and I need to start putting the bloody things back in again and they are a bit heavy.

If I decided to MOT it with say 9 seats this year, will it increase my insurance as I now have a modified vehicle? I remember my insurance company asking if it had been modified in any way shape or form and telling me how serious it was blah, blah blah.

I have max NCB gained over many years and my cover is social and domestic with limited /weekend business cover as I work as a comedy magician ( gear in back).

Any ideas on companies worth contacting, or any input to sort this all out as the routine of seats in and out twice a year is knackering, plus they are a pig to carry and store.

Regards Alan

Lastly, if it was MOTed as a 9 seat this year and proper insurance sorted...would that mean it would have to stay that way for ever or could it go back again next year to a 15 seat?

Thanks again

alan

[MinorMatt]

you might find the insurance is cheaper... the only way to find out is to ring up and ask.

Given that its a coach built its been modified anyway

[alandav123]

hi there, when I say coach built I mean that it was made that way by ford and not a home made thingy, perhaps I have used the term coach built wrongly but thats what I meant.

Regards and thanks

Alan

[Altransit]

The MOT tester will only test the seats that are fitted, and no note is made as to how many there are. A lot of MPV's have removeable seats and there is no mention of modification if the vehicle is used without them

My own bus only has 9 seats fitted, as the insurance I have only covers 8 passenger seats plus driver, but the bus is still registered as a 12 seater, and will be restored that way when and if I sell it. I don't refit them for MOT

[alandav123]

Hi there, FWIW to anyone.
I drove to Dundee yesterday to a class 5 enabled MOT station.
The van has 6 seats init at the moment and as I recon it would fail on something I asked the MOT guy to test it but I intended to put all the seats back in when it went for thr retest.

It was a wasted journey as he has to create a test cert as it stands on the day and cannot change the class upon retest.

So I had to cancel and decide whether to put them all back or not.
Rang my insurers yesterday Tollgate ( No Fuss Policy with Norwich Union) and asked if less seats would mean a modified vehicle with automatically higher premiums and of course they did not ring back as yet
So I am in limbo now.

Question... are your insurers OK with reduced/modified seating and how does it effect premiums?

Regards Alan

[trigger]

"No fuss" policy with Norwich union!!! yeah right

[alandav123]

yes the irony had not escaped me either, what a carry on.

Last year after putting back the seats myself, I was called by Tollgate asking for the "engineers" name who had refitted the seats!!!!!!.

I said to the guy are you Jeremy Beedle or what.
He would not cover the van until had got a report from an automotive engineer specifically saying the seats were all in properly. I had to pay a local garage to create a report for me which I had to pay for.

To top it all, it made no difference to the idiot that I was time served HGV mechanic with city and guild 1,2,&3 and 7 years experience. I did it a few years back but to put seats in a tranny.....I think I can still do that.

No Fuss yeah right.
What I might do is refit them all today, get it MOTed as a class 5 , then when the insurance renewal comes round in May, I will ring around as many places as I can and work out a deal to remove some seats and strill be covered properly and tell Tollgate to sod off.

Regards Alan

[djc151084]

i done a quote with www.autonetinsurance.co.uk and then i done another quote saying that i had added a double seat to the back of my van , the premium did not change and they did not ask me any questions regarding who fitted the seat, so i then took out a policy for them at £250 a year with 5 years NCB it is only fire and theft cover tho.