Car insurance optional extras
Optional extras
Car insurance policies differ between insurance providers. To choose the one that suits you best, you should know exactly what you want from your cover. Are you not fussed, because you don’t use your car that often or do you want ‘all risks’ protection in case you have a break down or are involved in an accident and need a replacement car?
For peace of mind there are a host of extras you can add to your policy.
Breakdown recovery
Breakdown recovery will give you assistance in case you break down on the road. It provides services such as immediate repair, cover of cost of repairs, towing and alternative transport. Vehicle breakdown cover offered will vary from provider to provider and there are different levels of cover available, from basic to luxury.
Legal cover
This covers you for any legal costs that might arise should you be involved in an accident that wasn’t your fault. Legal cover can go towards things such as:
- recovery of your policy excess
- personal injury compensation
- recovery of out of pocket expenses
- cost of a replacement vehicle whilst yours is being repaired
- vehicle repair costs
- loss of earnings
Replacement car
Most comprehensive car insurance comes with a courtesy car in case your car needs to be repaired. But often this is tied to using approved repair companies and availability of the courtesy car. With a guaranteed replacement car, you will get a hire car for a certain period after your car becomes unusable due to a claim (excluding windscreen damage).
Protected no claims bonus (NCB)
For an additional cost, you can protect your no claims bonus (NCB) after a certain amount of years without claiming. NCB protection generally allows you one claim in a year or two claims in any three year period, without losing the discount earned for your previous years of safe driving. Some car insurers offer NCB protection no matter how many claims you make.
Payment protection
If you are paying your car insurance premium in instalments, you might want to take out cover for your payment. For an additional cost your instalments can be covered against accident, sickness or involuntary unemployment.
Should you take extra cover?
Adding optional extras onto your car insurance will cost you extra, so the cheapest option is to take out basic cover. But remember this might prove costly in case you need to make a claim.
Some car insurers offer optional extra benefits included in their policy, so a more expensive policy could work out cheaper if you know exactly what extra cover you want to have.
One thing is certain - there are so many car insurance schemes out there, you can find a deal specifically tailored to your needs. Our impartial car insurance comparison service can help you find the best of the bunch.
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