Car insurance basics
Car insurance protects you from liability if you injure someone or damage their vehicle or other property while driving. It's compulsory for drivers to have car insurance.
Buyer's checklist
Here's a checklist of points to think about when choosing your car insurance policy.
What kind of cover do you need?
Third party only covers you against having to pay if you injure someone or damage their vehicle or other property, but won't pay to repair damage to your car. Third party, fire and theft cover will also pay to repair or replace your own car if it is stolen, damaged or destroyed by fire.
The most commonly purchased option is comprehensive cover. Comprehensive cover pays to repair damage to your car, including windscreens, in addition to all of the cover described above.
What do you want your policy to include?
Car insurance policies vary, so always be sure to check what your policy offers as standard and what are optional extras for which you have to pay more. Policies can include insurance for:
- Legal costs - legal protection cover pays for legal costs if you're involved in a legal dispute because of an accident while driving. For a lot of policies, including Greenbee Car Insurance this is optional with a small additional cost.
- Motor breakdown - motor breakdown policies provide differing levels of cover that can include roadside assistance, recovery of a broken down vehicle to the nearest garage, assistance if your car won't start at home and even cover in Europe. This is usually an optional feature and comes at an additional cost. Greenbee offers three levels of cover - Roadside Rescue, Home Rescue and European Rescue. Find out more about our policies here
- Courtesy car - many policies increasingly only provide a courtesy car as an optional extra. Some policies only provide a courtesy car if your car requires repair, but will not provide a replacement should your car be stolen or written-off. Greenbee provides a courtesy car during repairs and a replacement car for up to 21 days following theft or write off.
- Insurance abroad - if you're going to be driving on holiday, you'll need insurance. Greenbee's car insurance offers 90 days cover for driving in Europe as standard, and you have the option of adding breakdown cover in Europe too.
- Personal accident - personal accident cover will protect you or your spouse/civil partner while you're travelling in any car. Greenbee Car Insurance offers up to £10,000 as standard.
- Audio or sat nav equipment - cover provided tends to differ on whether in-car equipment has been fitted by the manufacturer or if you have organised the fitting of audio systems and sat nav yourself. Greenbee provide unlimited cover if it has been fitted by the manufacturer and up to £500 for non-manufacturer fitted equipment..
- Windscreens - All insurers provide cover under a comprehensive policy for damaged or broken windscreens and windows. However, it's worth checking whether by having the glass repaired instead of replaced, you can avoid paying any excess. This is the case with Greenbee Car Insurance and if you claim for your windscreen, your no claims discount won't be affected.
Can you afford to be off the road?
It's worth checking to see if your policy includes a courtesy car while your car is being repaired or replaced. Many policies don't offer courtesy cars, or only for certain types of claim. Greenbee's insurance offers a courtesy car as standard for any type of claim, even if your car is written off or stolen.
Have you got a good no claims record?
All insurers give discounts for no claims. The levels of discount depends on the number of claim free years. Many insurers only offer discounts up to 65%. Greenbee offers a discount of up to 75% (dependent on the number of claim free years) and in most instances we also give you the option to protect your no claims discount against any two claims in three years. With Greenbee, you can also transfer any no claims discount earned on a company car to your own car and we can transfer no claims discount earned to a second vehicle.
Are there ways to reduce the premium?
Fitting extra security to your car, such as an immobiliser, can help cut the cost of your policy, and keeping your mileage low will also mean lower premiums. A higher excess usually lowers the premium, but remember this is the first part of any claim that you will need to pay, so be sure you are happy to pay that amount, just in case. You can use the voluntary excess to increase your total excess. Compare policies and see what they offer.
