about uscontact us guides index dealer directory home
   

The KwikGuide to: Car Insurance
introductionAbout car insurancetypes of cover
extra features
jargon buster
common mistakes

Insurance buying guidewhere to buy
how to choose
cutting the cost

Features
compare a quote - form
useful linksback to index

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 














choosing car insurance and cutting the cost

extra features of car insurance

The additional features of car insurance policies vary greatly between different insurers and the different types of policy. Always check the small-print if you want a particular feature.

This page explains some of the main features of car insurance policies that you will find mentioned.

When shopping for insurance, use our Compare-a-Quote form to ensure you have full info about these features and their costs for each policy you look at. Looking closely at the small print will ensure you don't get hit with large extra costs later, making that low premium look not so attractive after all.


KwikTip: always get a car insurance quote from Direct Line too,
as they don't take part in the price comparison websites.


COURTESY CAR:
normally only offered as part of Comprehensive policies, insurers offer a temporary replacement car for you to use while your car is being fixed. This feature is not normally available if your car is written off or stolen and not recovered - only for use during the course of repairs.

It's easy to assume that this is a standard feature of car insurance. However, few insurers now include this facility in their policies free of charge. Even many well-known insurance companies will try to hit you with a one-off fee of £15 - £30 for a courtesy car should you need one.

Some will even offer a 'guaranteed' courtesy car for a small extra cost when you buy the policy. But this can be a bad deal. Approved repairers actually provide the courtesy cars. If the repairer your insurer recommends does not have a courtesy car available when you need one, you do not have to use that repairer. You can choose another repairer that will provide one.

However, your insurer may require you to pay a larger compulsory excess if you don't use the repairer they recommend. If so, balance this potential extra cost of switching repairers in order to get a courtesy car, against the cost of 'guaranteeing' one.


DRIVING OTHER CARS:
this feature means you would be covered to drive another car that does not belong to you. The cover offered is usually limited to Third Party only - it does not cover damage you may do to the car itself, only to other people.

This used to be a standard feature in policies but is increasingly being withdrawn. So do not assume you are covered - check your policy includes this cover if you may occasionally need to drive other cars.


AUDIO EQUIPMENT:
most policies will offer a certain amount to cover the audio equipment in your car in case it gets stolen.

If the equipment is not standard to the car, then the amount you can claim is likely to be limited. The maximum you can claim varies between insurers, normally between £100 & £400, leaving little benefit after a 'theft' excess is applied. So in many cases this feature is likely to make little contribution towards replacing stolen equipment.

However the good news is that due to the increasing amount of audio/visual equipment being fitted to cars, a few enlightened insurance companies are now increasing their maximum payouts to nearer the £1,000 mark. Check the small print to ensure the company you choose is one of them.


WINDSCREEN & WINDOWS:
normally included in most Comprehensive policies is the cost of replacing car windows if they get broken, plus the repair of scratches caused to the bodywork by a window breaking. Glass sunroofs are only included by some insurers.

However, an excess of at least £50 will normally apply to such claims. Some will expect you to pay as much as £75 towards the claim - a few even more - reducing the benefit of this feature considerably. Though you will likely be let off the excess if only the glass needs to be repaired.

Claims for only windows won't normally affect your no claims discount, but check with your insurer. You will have to declare any claims you have made if you renew your insurance with other companies however.


LEGAL PROTECTION:
this feature covers you for any solicitors' fees you may run up trying to claim back expenses not covered by your insurance, if you're involved in an accident that was not your fault.

These could include costs not covered by your policy, like excesses you have had to pay, travel expenses, hire or courtesy car charges, or the costs of additional treatment you may need for an injury.

A few insurers include this feature free, but most will charge extra - normally between £10 and £30. This is one feature worth paying for, but not too much.

Be warned, however, that insurers will generally only provide access to their legal assistance service if there is deemed to be a 'reasonable chance of success' of your legal claim. If not, you will have to pursue the claim at your own expense.


BREAKDOWN SERVICE:
most insurers will also offer to provide a breakdown service for your car. Only a handful include such a service free of charge - most will charge you from around £30 to over £100.

But the best company for your insurance may not be the cheapest for breakdown cover - it may make more sense to buy breakdown cover separately.

Add the amount an insurer will charge for a breakdown service to the cost of the insurance policy, and compare the total with other insurers to make sure you're getting the best all-round deal.


PAYING MONTHLY / IN INSTALLMENTS:
many insurers will let you pay for your policy over the year in monthly installments. But most will charge either a one-off 'administration fee' for the facility, or add interest to the installments.

Check what this fee will be, or the total you will pay if you opt for installments, and compare policies on the total price you will end up paying for the year.

Some insurance companies charge such high interest rates for paying monthly that it may even be worth paying the premium in one go on a credit card - especially one with a zero interest rate deal. Ask the insurer what their APR (Annual Percentage Rate) is for paying monthly, and compare that with your credit card.


DRIVING IN EUROPE:
most insurers include cover for driving your car in Europe as part of your policy. You will probably be expected to contact them before departing, to notify them that you are taking the car abroad.

The length of time insurers allow without asking you to pay extra charges can vary from just 3 days to the whole year round. The standard period is 30-60 days.

Protection will only extend to the basic cover required in the country you're driving in - normally equivalent to Third Party only.

So if you want Comprehensive cover while driving abroad, or cover for longer than the inclusive free period, expect to pay extra.

If you're likely to want to take your car abroad in the coming year, it may make more sense to choose a slightly more expensive insurance policy if a facility for driving a reasonable number of days in Europe is included free - saving you an additional fee later on.


PERSONAL BELONGINGS:
this feature aims to cover the cost of items stolen from your car that are not part of the car itself - most likely personal items such as bags and their contents or items of clothing.

However, be warned that the combination of an excess on such claims, and very often an extremely low maximum claim limit, makes cover for the theft of your belongings from your car very poor indeed - from almost all insurers.

The insurers' excuse is that we should all know better than to leave valuable items on display in an unattended car - effectively, we only have ourselves to blame.

However, everyone makes mistakes and the worst can sometimes happen. If it does, you will likely find yourself in the galling position of having paid a great deal for car insurance and having no useful cover for stolen items.


INJURY COVER:
this is additional to 'Emergency Treatment' cover, which all policies must provide under the Road Traffic Act. Injury cover provides a normally four-figure sum in compensation if you, or sometimes including your partner, suffer a serious injury in a car accident. Sometimes this will also include if an injury occurs in connection with any other privately owned car.

This can normally only be claimed for serious injuries like the loss of a limb, or of sight, or any injury that results in death within a specified time period of the accident.


MEDICAL EXPENSES:

this normally offers a low to middle three-figure sum towards the medical expenses (in addition to emergency treatment costs) of anyone injured in an accident involving the insured car.


CAR SHARING:

standard car insurance policies will not normally cover you if you're using your car for 'hire or reward' or as part of a business of carrying passengers.

But as car sharing schemes become increasingly popular, policies increasingly permit accepting payments for carrying passengers if as part of a car sharing agreement. The payments you take must not include any profit however.


VOLUNTARY EXCESS:

most insurers allow you to offer to pay a sum towards the cost of any claim. This is called the 'excess'.

Offering to pay more of the cost of fixing your car, should that ever be required, reduces your insurer's risk and so lowers the cost of your insurance.

But remember, the extra amount you volunteer will be in addition to the compulsory excess of the policy, which will normally be between £60 - £250. The minimum extra you can offer is normally £50 or £100 and increases in various amounts up to around £500.


NO CLAIM BONUS / DISCOUNT:
this is a discount that insurers will give you off your premium if you haven't claimed on your insurance in previous years. The more years without a claim, the bigger the bonus - often up to an extremely valuable 60 or 70%.

You can take your bonus between insurance companies if you switch when you renew by just providing your previous insurance certificate or renewal document to prove that you are entitled to it.

But remember, this discount really is as it says - for no claims. It's not fault-related. If you have to claim, even for something that was not your fault, you will very likely still lose your discount.

Sometimes small claims in specified areas, like claims for broken windows/windscreen, will not affect your discount. But this varies between insurers - check the small-print of the policy.

For drivers with good records, insurers will offer the option to have a protected no claims discount, for a small extra cost. The deal varies between insurers but normally means you can claim a certain number of times within a set period and still keep your discount. A few even off a guaranteed no claims discount, for a further extra fee. This means they will maintain your discount no matter how many claims you make.

However, if you change insurer when you come to renew, you will be expected to declare any claims you have made, even if they have not affected your discount with your existing insurer.


OTHER DRIVERS (NAMED DRIVERS):

your insurance company will expect to be told who else will be driving the car you are insuring, and will be interested in their driving record too. Adding a young or inexperienced driver to an existing policy will increase the premium considerably.

Insurers are catching on to experienced drivers 'fronting' a policy for a younger driver's car, in order to save money. In the event of a claim, they will take an interest in who the 'main user' of a car is.

However, a useful effect to note is that adding an experienced driver to a younger driver's policy will often reduce the premium.


TRAILER COVER:
some insurance policies will include cover for trailers you might like to tow with your car, but check the small print if this is a feature you would find useful. The cover may be limited to certain types of trailers and may specifically exclude common trailers like caravans, trailer tents, car transporters, horseboxes or food trailers.


CAR COVERED WHILE BEING SERVICED:

some insurance companies also extend your car's cover to when it is in the care of a garage for repair or servicing, while others specifically exclude cover in these circumstances. Presumably these companies assume that the business concerned will be adequately insured for any damage they may do to your car. You may not wish to assume that, so check your insurance includes this cover, or check that any business you intend to leave your car in the care of is adequately insured.


DISCOUNTS FOR SECOND CAR / HOME INSURANCE:

some insurance companies will offer an extra discount for insuring a second car with them, or if you already have a home insurance policy with them. So your existing insurer can be an even more sensible first place to start checking prices.

Our unique Compare-a-Quote form is designed to help you factor in all the features you would like from your car insurance policy and compare the total cost - not just the headline quote.

Next page:
car insurance - jargonbuster >>

 

 

  
© 2013 KwikGuides Ltd - All Rights Reserved