MAM
Modified Your Bike? Here’s How It Can Affect Your Insurance Claim
Customising your bike can be fun. A new exhaust, wider tyres, or a sharper look can make it feel truly yours. But for many riders, the excitement fades the moment they file an insurance claim after an accident, as it gets rejected. That shock usually comes down to one reason: the bike was modified.
If you have already modified your two-wheeler or are thinking about making changes, it helps to understand how bike insurance looks at these upgrades.
What Counts As a Bike Modification?
A bike modification is any change made to the bike after it leaves the factory. It does not have to be a big upgrade; even minor or cosmetic changes can be treated as modifications.
The following are some common examples:
● Aftermarket exhausts or silencers.
● Engine tuning or performance upgrades.
● Different tyre sizes or non-standard alloy wheels.
● Changes to the frame or body.
● Extra lights, horns, or electrical fittings.
● Cosmetic changes that affect the bike’s structure
Even if the bike feels better to ride or looks cleaner after a change, it may still affect how your insurance works.
Why Modifications Concern Insurers
When you buy bike insurance, the cover is based on the bike’s original design and make, like how the bike performs, how safe it is, and how much risk it carries.
Once you modify the bike, that picture changes. Handling may be different, braking behaviour may change and repair costs can increase. In some cases, the bike may no longer meet legal standards.
From an insurer’s point of view, undeclared modifications create problems such as:
● Risk that is higher or unclear.
● Difficulty in linking damage to standard parts.
● A possible violation of policy conditions.
This is why insurers expect full and accurate details about the bike when issuing or renewing a policy.
Common Reasons Claims Get Rejected For Modified Bikes
Here is why claims may be rejected:
● You did not inform the insurer
If you modify your bike without telling the insurer, it is treated as missing or hidden information. During inspection, these changes are usually noticed. This can lead to a reduced settlement or a complete rejection.
● The modification contributed to the accident
If the accident is linked to a modification, the claim may not be paid. For example, oversized tyres can affect balance and engine tuning can affect braking response. If the modification led or had a role in the accident, the insurer may not entertain the claim.
● The modification is illegal
Some changes are not approved under the Indian motor vehicle rules. For example, you added loud exhausts beyond permitted noise limits and if claims involve these illegal changes, they are generally rejected.
Does Comprehensive Bike Insurance Cover Modified Bikes?
Comprehensive bike insurance offers broader protection. It usually covers damage to your bike due to accidents, theft, fire, or natural events, as well as damage to a third-party property or vehicle. However, it does not automatically cover every modification.
Coverage depends on:
● Whether the modification is legal.
● Whether you declared it.
● The modification is officially recorded in your policy.
If the insurer knows about the modification, approves it and adds it to your policy, it can be covered. However, if the change is not reported or concealed, it may not be covered.
What to Keep in Mind Before You Modify Your Bike
Insurance policies are built around factory-approved designs and legal standards. Any change that alters the original setup should be shared with the insurer, as this helps avoid conflict and delays during claims.
If you are planning upgrades to your two-wheeler, talking to the insurer or learning about what will be covered and what will not helps.
Conclusion
Bike modifications can improve looks or performance, but they also bring insurance risks. Most claims are rejected not because a bike was modified, but because the changes were not disclosed or were not legal.
Before customising your bike, take a moment to see how it affects your bike insurance. That one step can save you from a rejected claim when you need financial support the most.
Brands
Devika Prabhu returns to Spni as business head for Hindi movies
Former Disney executive comes full circle to lead Sony’s Hindi movie channels
MUMBAI: Devika Prabhu has come full circle in her media career. She has been appointed business head for Hindi movies at Sony Pictures Networks India, returning to a network where she once worked earlier in her journey.
Prabhu announced the move while reflecting on how careers often loop back to familiar places. She joins Sony Pictures Networks India after nearly 18 years at The Walt Disney Company, where she held several senior leadership roles across content, marketing and business strategy.
Most recently, she served as vice president and business head for kids, youth and infotainment television at Disney India. In that role, she oversaw brands such as Disney and National Geographic, managing a Rs 400 crore business while steering content strategy, partnerships and digital expansion. Her work involved leading teams across programming, acquisitions, marketing and localisation while collaborating with global stakeholders.
Before that, she headed content, marketing and product for the kids and youth television portfolio, overseeing strategy across 10 channels spanning Disney Kids, UTV Youth and UTV Hindi Movies.
Earlier in her career, Prabhu spent nearly eight years at Sony Pictures Networks India, then known as Multi Screen Media, where she worked as assistant vice president for strategic planning and research.
Her return to Sony, she said, carries a sense of familiarity and renewed purpose.
“Every story has its turning points, and sometimes journeys come full circle,” she said while announcing the move, describing the role as both a fresh start and a homecoming.
Over the past two decades, Prabhu has worked across multiple facets of the media ecosystem, from brand building and strategy to programming and franchise development. She believes movies remain one of the most powerful storytelling formats, capable of shaping culture and sparking conversations long after the credits roll.
At Sony Pictures Networks India, she will lead the Hindi movies business and work with the network’s teams to expand the reach and impact of its film channels as audiences increasingly discover cinema across multiple platforms.
For Prabhu, the move marks the start of what she calls “the next act”, one focused on bringing the magic of Hindi cinema to viewers across the country.
