Things to look out for in your car insurance policy fine print

Although we deal with car insurance claims and repairs on a daily basis, we understand that purchasing car insurance can be bewildering and stressful at the best of times. For a start, there are many myths around consumer entitlement. To make matters worse, it can be hard to tell if the policy you’re purchasing is appropriate for your circumstances in the first place. In this blog, we highlight some of the things you should look out for when purchasing car insurance, especially in the fine print!

• The use of second-hand and/ or non-genuine parts – Unfortunately, it’s becoming more and more common for insurers to grant their preferred repairs the use of second-hand and/or non-genuine parts to carry out a repair. Essentially, this means that if you take your vehicle to one of your insurer’s preferred repairers, your car may not be repaired with new or genuine parts. This is to keep costs down for insurers but may compromise repair quality and the safety of the vehicle being returned to the road. As an independent repair centre, we always use new and genuine parts to repair our vehicles. We can guarantee the use of new and genuine parts because we are not bound by the contract you have with your insurer.

• Change of Circumstances – Some insurers state that any change of circumstance must be reported to them during the policy term, and not just at renewal. This may include (but is not limited to), change of address, change of occupation or any driving convictions. Different insurers have different requirements around this, so it’s always worth checking your policy fine print. In the event of a claim, your insurer may not pay out in full if you fail to disclose information which would have altered the purchase price of the policy.

• Personal vs Business Use – Some insurers have strict requirements when it comes to vehicles being used for any kind of business activity. For example, if you use your vehicle for parcel deliveries, or carrying passengers for a fee, this must be disclosed to your insurer. Disclosing inaccurate information to your insurer could result in an insurer denying a claim or cancelling your policy.

• Young Driver Excess – Many insurers now apply a young driver excess to their policies. This means that if you’re under a specified age, usually 25, and you make a claim on your policy, you could be paying an extremely high excess amount. If you’re a young driver, this is something you should look out for when purchasing car insurance. Remember to always select an excess amount that you can afford to pay, should the worst happen.

Here at CARS, alongside carrying out top-quality repairs, we provide credible and non-biased advice, tailored to our customers’ individual circumstances. Visit our advice centre, in particular the blogs ‘How do I choose the right insurance company for me?’ and ‘What happens if I make a claim on my car insurance?’ to find out more.