Its a sensationalist piece by the Indo - shows where journalism has descended to in this country.

Technically the piece is right. The contract of insurance is covered by the concept of "uberrimae fidei" - utmost good faith. What it means is that the onus is on the person seeking insurance to supply the person giving the cover with any and all information that may impact on the risk and the insurer's decision to undertake the risk or that may affect the price they charge for it. A good example would be insurance cover for the Apple Watch. Given that there is a huge price difference between the std watch and the Gold version then that would likely be a material fact that the person seeking insurance should disclose their watch is Gold when submitting a proposal form as it is likely that it would effect either the taking on of the risk or the premium.

In reality, insurance companies in Ireland have taken a fairly pragmatic view, especially in relation to minor specification differences, optional extras fitted, etc. because in totality, whether a car has std 17" alloys or optional 18" alloys probably won't make a material difference to level of risk or the payout should there be a claim. However, if your car is new, has expensive factory Individual paint and leather, 22" custom alloys, etc. then they may care because the cost to replace with an equivalent spec car will be greater in the event of a claim. In the same circumstances, on a 15 year old car it probably has little impact on value and therefore payout. Their main concern in these circumstances (older example) may be whether there is a higher risk of certain claim types (e.g. theft) as a result of the modification from std spec, so the 22" custom alloys might still be a deal breaker.

In the UK there have been plenty of instances of insurers voiding policies due to modifications when claims are submitted but that is usually by the "cheap" insurers that are looking at every way possible to avoid payouts or reduce claim costs. There was a slightly similar culture here when Quinn Insurances were going but I think that has gone away, but I'd still tread warily with some of the budget, no nonsense type, insurers.