Could your towbar invalidate your car insurance?

The answer is yes it could - but not if you have your Car Insurance with us. We have uncovered some worrying information that may apply to members who don’t have their car insurance with us.

Although there are no exact figures, the number of caravans, trailers and even horseboxes on UK roads suggests that the number of vehicles fitted with towbars is increasing.

It goes without saying that just about all our caravan-owning members will have a towbar fitted to their car, but many others who enjoy the touring lifestyle in other ways may well have one too. This means that many of you have had an 'aftermarket' towbar fitted to your vehicle, or have considered the installation of one. But in doing so, are you unknowingly invalidating your car insurance? You may be if you are not insured with the Club’s Car Insurance.

Many would expect the installation of an aftermarket towbar to be routine, and not something insurance companies would expect you to declare as a modification. However, this is often not the case, and recent complaints made to the Financial Ombudsman Service back this up.

One such case related to a driver who ended up facing a huge bill after their insurer refused to pay out following an accident, on the grounds that the driver had failed to list his car’s towbar as a modification when purchasing cover. This was in spite of the fact that the towbar had no bearing on the accident, and was a removable type that wasn’t even fitted to the car when the collision happened.

The customer referred the decision to the Financial Ombudsman Service, but they upheld the insurers decision on the grounds that the tow bar should have been disclosed. In the end, the insurer relented and paid out, but as an exception.

In most cases, insurers do not take any action in respect of towbars, however some insurers don’t accept modifications in any form, no matter how insignificant or common.

Our advice? Don’t take the chance!

If you or a previous owner has made any change from the original manufacturer specification, no matter how insignificant it may seem, disclose it when buying (or renewing) your policy. If you can’t find a way to do that online, get on the phone and ask for confirmation. If you are unsure whether the towbar was fitted as standard or aftermarket, carefully check any accompanying history provided to you at purchase.

Designed to cater for our members and their touring lifestyle, our Car Insurance policy does not include a requirement to disclose a towbar as a modification, and our panel of insurers all adhere to this as part of the policy wording. However there may still be limitations on other modifications, so the advice to check still stands.

Other touring-focused features of our policy include:

• Legal Liability cover (inluding your caravan, whether or not it is attached to the car)
• awning included as personal effects, even when put up
• cover automatically extended to driving in the EU and associated countries for up to 270 days a year.

Why not check us out at your next car insurance renewal, you may be surprised at how competitive we are.

 

Published May 2025