Roof boxes are a superb way of adding additional storage to your vehicle; they’re sleek, can hold a vast amount of goods, and are easy to install. The benefits you receive from a roof box are genuinely endless. However, although it seems harmless to attach a cargo box to your motorized vehicle, is it? That’s something many people question, especially with insurance. Therefore, does having a roof box affect insurance? Here’s what you need to know:
Surprisingly, a roof rack is considered a vehicle modification, meaning it could potentially affect your insurance eligibility. Because of this, you might be legally required to notify your insurer about the modification and request to alter your policy to make your vehicle road legal.
When purchasing a rooftop cargo box, the last factor you consider is insurance. However, it’s something you’ll need to develop some research on to guarantee your vehicle is legally road permitted. To understand more about how you can add a roof box to your policy, along with other helpful-to-know facts about the topic, I suggest you read the below.
How to add roof boxes to your insurance
After researching your current insurance for your vehicle, you might have found out that it doesn’t state any coverage for cargo roof boxes. If you’ve encountered this situation and wish to travel on public roads, then you’re legally obliged to add this to your policy or obtain insurance that allows roof boxes.
Become familiar with your current policy
Before you ring your insurance supplier and provide the necessary details, you’ll want to familiarise yourself with your current policy. Some, not all, policies may allow you to already install a rooftop cargo box onto your vehicle without any changes to the agreement. This could save you a ton of headaches and maybe even money if they miss sell you additional coverage.
If you’re not sure where to find your current policy, you’ll want to contact your provider. After giving some confidential details like name, address, registration number, etc., they’ll be able to send you a copy of your current policy via mail or email.
After reading, if you’re not 100% sure whether you need to make any changes to your policy, I would go ahead and say you probably do. It should clearly state what your insurance covers. Therefore, if a cargo box isn’t, you’ll want to contact them before you begin traveling with this type of storage equipment.
Contact the insurer of the vehicle
Now you’ve identified that you need to add coverage for a roof box on your policy, you’ll need to contact your insurer. After probably waiting a while on hold, you’ll be transferred to a helpful representative who can provide you with more details about your issue. Usually, adding a rooftop cargo box to your insurance isn’t a problem, and most insurers will allow this modification.
However, this might cause your policy to increase in price. If you pay monthly, your reoccurring price will increase. Whereas, if you’ve paid your insurance in full, they’ll request the increase in full until the end of the year. To ensure you don’t reencounter this problem next year, you’ll want to tell the representative that this will be an ongoing modification. Therefore, it’ll automatically be added to your policy each year.
Accept your policy change
Almost all vehicle insurance companies will require you to sign off the revised documentation. This just clarifies that you made the changes, you’re happy with the agreed contract, along with other legal information. After you’ve achieved the above and this last step, you can now freely use public roads with your cargo box without worrying about any legal complications.
Great, you can now legally drive on a public road with your roof box because your insurance policy has been revised. But what will happen if you avoid this procedure?
What happens if you don’t add a roof box to your insurance?
We discussed that you might need to add a cargo box to your policy if it isn’t covered already. However, what if you just ignore this? Will anything happen? Well, unsurprisingly, yes. If you don’t declare any vehicle modifications (aka your cargo box), you’ll automatically void your existing plan. This is classified as fraud because your policy falsely covers you.
Because of this, you can fall into all types of complications. The primary two are:
- If police stop you, they have the right to ask about your cargo box and your vehicle’s insurance policy. Upon further investigation, if they declare your policy is void because of the medication, it could mean the police have the right to get your vehicle towed.
- In the event that you’re in an accident, you won’t be covered. Because of this, your vehicle, the cargo box, and the transporting goods won’t be reimbursed. Additionally, the accident report will discover that you are not insured currently, meaning you could fall into legal complications.
Both of the above examples are events you want to avoid at all costs. From simply installing additional storage onto your vehicle to it potentially getting towed away. It isn’t a smart idea. Therefore, guarantee your policy is up to date with your new modifications.
Do other cargo carriers need to be added to an insurance policy?
Throughout this post, we discussed that you need to add a roof box onto your vehicle’s insurance policy to guarantee that your vehicle, you, and other motorists are covered in the event of any accidents. But what about the other variations of cargo carriers?
No matter which cargo carrier you have installed onto your vehicle, basket, bag, or specialized, they’re all considered car modifications. Therefore, each and every one of them might need to be declared to your insurer before you travel on a public road.
Conclusion
After reading the above, you should have a solid idea of whether a roof box affects your insurance. Because it’s considered a modification, maybe, you’ll need to re-evaluate your current policy and determine if you’re covered or not. In some instances, you might be. However, in others, you will need to add this to the policy to ensure you’re entirely road legal.