car insurance

In some cases the fault is clear but it often isn't. There are occasionally a number of different opinions on what happened. We'll listen to your description of the accident and then look objectively at all other information available. We have specialist teams to deal with complex claims and we'll liaise with third parties and other insurers on your behalf.

The nature of your claim and whether or not your no claim discount is protected will dictate any impact on your discount. Your claims handler will try to give you an estimate of the impact when you report your claim, although this isn’t always possible.

Once we know that everyone is safe and well, the most important thing is to get your car repaired as quickly as possible.

If you use our recommended repairer network, we'll allocate you a repairer straightaway and you won't need to get an estimate. The repairer will call you on the next working day and arrange collection of your car.

The repairer will fully assess the car's damage and contact us with an estimated cost of the repairs. Once authorised, repair work will begin. All work is carried out in accordance with recognised industry standards and each repair is guaranteed for five years unless you sell the car or the lease ends.

After any repairs have been completed

Once work on your car is finished, the repairer will let you know. If there’s an excess applied on your car insurance, you'll need to pay that directly to the repairer. In the unlikely event that you are unhappy with your repairs you should raise this with the repairer. If after speaking to them you're still dissatisfied, you can call our claims team on 0345 878 6261.

Your car being an ‘economic write off’ means that it’s been considered to be too expensive to repair, so we’ll offer you the market value amount so you can replace it. This is known as a ‘settlement value’. You can accept this amount and we’ll give you the money to buy the replacement yourself.

However, there are times when we may be able to find a replacement for you. Here’s how:

Do you have our Comprehensive cover?

If you're the first and only registered owner and your car is less than one year old, we’ll attempt to offer you a permanent replacement car of the same make, model and age.

If your new car is stolen and not recovered, or written off, we’ll replace it with one of the same make and model. This is subject to availability; we may not be able to find an exact match for your car. In cases where this isn’t possible, your claim will be settled based on the market value of your car at the date of loss.

Do you have our Comprehensive Plus cover?

If you're the first and only registered owner and your car is less than two years old, we’ll attempt to offer you a permanent replacement car of the same make, model and age.

If your car is more than one year old and is economically written off (Comprehensive cover) or if your car is more than two years old and is economically written off (Comprehensive Plus cover), instead of being offered a bank transfer for the settlement value of your car (less any excess that may apply), we'll offer to help find you a replacement car using our trusted nationwide network. You can upgrade the new car by adding your own money. Or you can downgrade and take the extra value as cash. It's your choice.

Cars come with a 12-month warranty (terms and conditions apply) and free delivery in most cases. There are some postcodes and Islands where we’re unable to provide free delivery.

If your new car is stolen and not recovered, or written off, we’ll replace it with one of the same make and model. This is subject to availability; we may not be able to find an exact match for your car. In cases where this isn’t possible, your claim will be settled based on the market value of your car at the date of loss.

We employ a specialist team to establish the market value of your car. The valuation is what you would expect to pay if you were to buy the car from a used car dealership.

These are some of the factors we use to determine a car’s value:

• Overall mileage, age and condition.
• Full-service history.
• Optional extras and modifications.
• Pre-accident condition.
• The local marketplace.

Hire cars

Guaranteed Hire Car Plus is an optional extra which guarantees you a similar-sized hire car if your car is damaged in an incident, written off or stolen. If you have this cover option, your claims advisor will be able to contact the hire car company for you.

A hire car is a replacement car guaranteed to be provided by one of our appointed hire car suppliers whilst we are dealing with your claim.

Courtesy cars

A courtesy car is a replacement car provided at no extra cost if yours is being fixed by one of our approved repairers (excluding windscreen damage) for the duration of the repair, subject to availability.

Depending on the circumstances of your claim, you may not be entitled to a courtesy car. To find out more, refer to your policy booklet.

Returning a hire car or courtesy car

If you are entitled to a hire car or courtesy car, the provider of the vehicle will agree a return date with you.

If somebody has been hurt in an accident, the first priority is to ensure that they're OK. Claims involving injury can be quite complex so one of our specialist teams may be involved to support you through the process. We handle thousands of injury claims each year and strive to deal with them all fairly and promptly.

When you've agreed a valuation with the engineer, they'll notify us, and we'll arrange for a payment to be made. Payments are usually made by bank transfer and once requested, take around five working days to be processed.

Any agreed settlement will be subject to your agreed policy excess, and/or premium adjustment where applicable.

How does it work?

If you take out Motor Legal Cover with your car insurance policy, we’ll pay up to £100,000 in legal costs for you to take legal action or defend yourself in court. We’ll cover you if:

• you have an accident involving your car that is not your fault and you need help to recover your uninsured losses from the person to blame,
• you’re prosecuted for a motoring offence while using your car and you need help to defend yourself in a criminal court,
• you’re involved in a breach of contract dispute about the purchase or sale of your car, or goods or services you have paid for in relation to your car,

as long as there is a higher than 50% chance of you succeeding with your claim.

How you need to claim will depend on what has happened

If you’re in a motor accident, you’ll need to tell our motor claims department about any losses you have. This could be an injury or out of pocket expenses that are not covered by your insurance policy. 

If you receive notice of a prosecution for a motoring offence, or if you’re in a motor contract dispute, you can ring the 24-hour legal helpline on 0345 246 2408 for confidential legal advice on any private motoring legal problem. If you wish to make a claim after receiving legal advice, they will start this process for you.

What happens next?

If your circumstances mean that legal cover may be available, your claim will be passed to our specialist legal expenses claims department to review. 

If you have a valid claim, we’ll confirm that your policy will cover legal costs charged by a legal representative like a solicitor, as long as you follow their advice and there is more than a 50% chance your claim will succeed. A solicitor will then be instructed to act on your behalf to represent you in your legal claim.

Paying your legal costs

We’ll cover your legal costs of this claim in accordance with the policy terms and conditions. You can read these in more detail in your policy booklet.

Most cases are resolved through negotiation, but a minority go to court. How quickly the claim is concluded will depend on the circumstances, whether your opponent side accepts responsibility (where relevant) and any timetable set down by the court. 

We take insurance fraud very seriously. It drives up the cost of everyone's premiums and we don't think it’s fair that the actions of a few should affect so many. Therefore, we’re using special detection processes to identify false and exaggerated claims to help keep the cost of your policy down.