The Co-op is a mutual insurer owned by its millions of members and it has existed for over 175 years. Read more about how it compares when it comes to car insurance.
Defaqto rating: 5/5 stars
Co-op car insurance achieved a five star rating from Defaqto, an independent financial research company.
Note: Not all Defaqto five-star rated products have the same covers and terms.
Trustpilot rating: 1.7/5 stars
Trustpilot has given Co-op Insurance a poor rating of 1.7 out of five based on 67 reviews.
Co-op Insurance began in 1867 initially to provide fire insurance for co-operative societies. It is part of the Co-op Group and its car insurance is underwritten by CIS General Insurance.
The Co-op is one of the world’s largest consumer co-operatives with interests across food, funerals, insurance, legal services and health. It has a clear purpose of championing a better way of doing business for you and your communities.
Co-op car insurance is available to those from age 17-80.
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Co-op provides only one type of cover:
Fully comprehensive
Smartbox can be fitted to most cars. Black box is a condition of the young driver insurance policy. Co-op car insurance does not apply a night time curfew but night driving will increase the price. Check out how it can reduce the cost of insurance for students.
Co-op does not currently offer multi-car insurance but an extra car can be added temporarily under your policy. It is well worth taking out a multi-car insurance policy to help reduce your insurance costs:
if you own more than one car
if you’re a family with more than one driver
if you’re a couple with more than one vehicle
If you would like to add another car to your policy, Co-op offers temporary car insurance to existing policyholders.
Even for short-term cover, it’s best to compare quotes for short-term or temporary car insurance.
Compare a range of short-term insurance policies with Uswitch and money.co.uk*
Courtesy car
24-hour accident recovery service
Up to £750 for replacement keys and locks
Up to eight days insurance cover in the EU (you can add more)
Personal accident benefit of £5,000 for the customer and their spouse or civil partner for death or certain disabilities.
Windscreen repair has a £15 excess and £75 for window replacement.
Personal belongings has a £250 limit and cash is excluded.
Child car seat claims is unlimited.
If you do put the wrong fuel in your car, Co-op advises you not to start the engine as it will cause serious damage. If you have breakdown cover, they will drain the wrong fuel, but you will have to pay for it. If you do make a claim, beware it will affect your no claim discount.
Co-op has extra cover options. A selection is shown below.
For an additional premium, Co-op Insurance Breakdown cover provides cover against costs associated with breakdown and includes:
roadside assistance available
emergency helpline any time, day or night
Europe-wide rescue and recovery service
up to one hour's labour to repair at the scene
recovery to a suitable repairer or to your home
if an electric vehicle has run out of charge, recovery of the vehicle to the nearest suitable charging point
Co-op car insurance allows for foreign use – up to eight days full cover in any EU (for longer travel you can add extended foreign use to the policy) and certain other associated countries during the policy year.
Co-op has motor legal protection up to £100,000 legal expenses and representation cover.
Policy covers legal costs incurred with Co-op Insurance’s consent with a £5m limit on any one accident for property damage.
As a further benefit to motor legal expenses there is legal advice available on any personal motoring-related legal matter concerning the laws in the UK, Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.
peace of mind
if you like the idea of supporting communities as a result of Co-op’s membership fund and charities work
if you want to protect your no-claims discount and transfer your company car no-claim discount
if you are a Co-op member and want to make use of your exclusive member price
When you choose to insure with the Co-op you know that you’re helping us to support communities around the UK through its membership fund and work with charities and groups.
During the pandemic, Co-op Insurance has also worked to support its most vulnerable customers.
During lockdown the insurer suspended direct debits for a number of its customers and also introduced payment holidays across many of its product lines.
However, as lockdown has eased Co-op warned in late June that motor incidents increased by over a third (35%) as non-essential shops re-opened. As the Government advised people to walk, cycle or drive where possible, Co-op Insurance is anticipating a further surge in road traffic incidents as more people take to the roads with restrictions lifted.
Nick Ansley, head of motor insurance at Co-op said: “Prior to lockdown, many motorists across the country drove regularly, whether that be to commute, to see friends or family or take day trips.
“With concerns about public transport and official advice to consider all other forms of transport, such as driving, cycling or walking, it’s clear that even more people are taking to the roads.
“With this in mind, we’re reminding all road users to take extra care to help keep themselves, others and their communities safe.”
The Financial Ombudsman Service received more than 104 car insurance complaints about Co-operative Insurance Services in the first half of 2020. Co-op accounted for just over 2% of all car insurance complaints but has more than 3% of the market so gets a smaller proportion of complaints than you might expect for its size. To put that in context, 67 firms had 10 or more complaints each and those totalled 4,550 complaints. Nearly 200 firms had fewer than 10 each, sharing just 479 complaints between them.
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