Courtesy car insurance

What is a courtesy car?

If you are involved in a car accident or your car is off the road for a significant amount of time, your annual insurance provider or the garage you’re using will usually provide you with a courtesy car. This vehicle will allow you to get around while your vehicle is being repaired or until any outstanding issues with your insurance company are resolved.

While it is commonly assumed that your insurance provider would offer you a courtesy car to tide you over until your car is fixed or written off

Unfortunately, things aren’t always as simple and straightforward as we’d like, and you aren’t always guaranteed a courtesy car. Like most insurance products, it’s all in the fine print and each individual insurer will have their own rules on who qualifies for a replacement vehicle.

According to research in 2015 by Go Compare, of 226 comprehensive car insurance policies listed by independent researcher Defaqto, 211 could offer a courtesy car but only 101 of those would guarantee one.

It’s this inconsistency that can mean many drivers are left in the dark over whether they’ll be able to get around when their car is being fixed.

Does my insurance cover courtesy car?

When it comes to cars which have been written off entirely, things are even less assured as even if you get a courtesy car, you may be under certain restrictions including how long you get the vehicle for.

If you’re unable to get a new vehicle before that time ends, you could be left stuck, without a car, unable to get around.

Whether you’ve had an accident or not, you should check your policy wording to be sure you have courtesy car insurance included in your annual policy so there are no nasty surprises waiting for you.

How does courtesy car insurance work?

If you have received a courtesy car with your annual insurance policy, then you need to check the level of insurance you get with the replacement vehicle.

You’re not guaranteed to get the same level of cover on your courtesy car as you have with your annual policy if you’re insured at all. Some insurance companies will provide a replacement vehicle but won’t offer insurance as standard on the vehicle.

In the research carried out by Go Compare, just 46 of the 226 policies provided courtesy car hire insurance as standard for their own courtesy cars.

You may get cover from the car hire company your insurer works with but again this may not be of the level you expect.

How could temporary car insurance help me?

If you find that your insurer doesn’t offer cover with their replacement vehicle, you’d be unable to use the vehicle unless you either add it to your existing policy, which comes with admin fees and can have an impact on your future premiums, or you can purchase  temporary courtesy car insurance cover from Tempcover.

Temporary car insurance is not only a fast, flexible, and affordable option but it’s also a great way to guarantee a certain of level of car insurance while using a courtesy car.

Courtesy car insurance cover comes with comprehensive cover as standard regardless of why you have the courtesy car.

You can get a policy for the duration you need (from 1 hour up to 28 days) while your car is being repaired or until you purchase a new vehicle and if you need longer than 28 days, you can simply buy a new policy quickly and easily.

There are no long-term contracts and because you can choose the duration you want cover for, you don’t pay for insurance you don’t need.

Temporary policies from Tempcover are standalone policies which are separate from any existing cover you have. This means that unlike when you add a new vehicle to your policy if you were to have an accident because you’re driving in an unfamiliar vehicle, your No Claims Discount won’t be affected.

At what is bound to be a stressful time, temporary car insurance from Tempcover provides a process that’s quick and easy to get and comprehensive insurance throughout the policy for complete peace of mind.

To see how much time and money you could save with courtesy car insurance from Tempcover, get a quick and easy quote now.