Both Post Office car insurance policies have been rated by Defaqto, which awarded the Over 50s policy five out of five stars and the Under 50s policy three stars.
Note: Not all Defaqto products with the same star ratings have the same covers and terms.
Consumer rights group Fairer Finance awarded the Post Office Over 50s Car Insurance policy four stars, noting the inclusion of its cover for uninsured driver and courtesy car for the duration of repair as plus points.
The Under 50s Car Insurance policy has a two-star rating, marked down partly for not covering incidents with uninsured drivers.
About Post Office insurance
The Post Office became independent from Royal Mail in 2012. Since then it has been publicly owned and has branched out considerably, selling far more than stamps and jiffy bags.
Now customers can open or buy more than 170 different products and services, including savings accounts, currency, travel, home and car insurance, mortgages and broadband.
Post Office car insurance is actually arranged by insurance intermediary BISL, which trades as Budget Insurance.
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The Post Office provides two types of car insurance:
Under 50s Car Insurance
Over 50s Car Insurance
Each of these is available with the following levels of cover:
Fully comprehensive
Third party, fire and theft
Third party only
The Post Office does not offer a telematics option.
Telematics insurance policies allow higher-risk drivers, typically inexperienced motorists, to get affordable cover by agreeing to have a GPS transceiver installed to their car to monitor their driving.
By limiting driving to off-peak hours, keeping their speed down, and other behavioural modifications they can get a cheaper policy, or be rewarded with money off their next premium.
The Post Office does not offer a multi-car insurance discount as standard.
Taking out a multi-car insurance policy can 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
Not everyone needs an insurance policy that runs for a full year, some drivers, such as people relocating home and learner drivers may only need short-term or temporary car insurance to cover the periods when they are home.
The Post Office doesn’t offer temporary car insurance cover.
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There are three levels of cover with Post Office Over 50s Car insurance:
Fully comprehensive
Third party, fire and theft (TPFT)
Third party only (TPO)
Third party coverage
TPFT and TPO are more basic compared to fully comprehensive policies, but include the following as standard:
unlimited legal cover for accidents that result in death, injury or damage to property as a result of a collision with the policyholder’s vehicle
up to £20 million cover to third party property
cover whilst travelling within the EU to the same level as your UK cover for up to 60 days during any one policy term
Third party, fire and theft also includes:
new replacement car should the policyholder’s car be written off or stolen within 12 months of being first registered
a three-year guarantee on repairs carried out by the insurer’s approved mechanics. This also applies to fully comprehensive cover
Post Office fully comprehensive Under 50s car insurance
A greater degree of cover is provided as standard if comprehensive car insurance is selected.
Post Office Under 50s Car Insurance fully comprehensive policies also include the following benefits in addition to those listed for TPFT and TPO cover.
Cover is in place for damage to the windscreen, windows and sun roof, without any impact on the policyholder’s no claims discount.
A courtesy car is provided while an insurer-approved garage repairs the policyholder’s car, subject to availability.
Post Office Under 50s Car Insurance will pay up to £100 for items that are lost or damaged in the policyholder’s car, due to theft or an insured incident.
Costs incurred through medical treatment following an incident involving the policyholder’s car are covered to the tune of £200.
If the insured’s car is involved in an incident the Post Office will pay up to £150 towards a replacement fitted-child car seat even if there is no sign of damage.
The Post Office will cover costs incurred as a result of vandalism or malicious damage to the policyholder’s car, after any applicable excess is applied.
If the policyholder or their partner is accidentally killed or injured in an incident involving the insured’s car, up to £5,000 will be paid to the affected party.
If car keys are stolen the Post Office will reimburse the policyholder up to £500 for the cost of replacement keys, lock and labour.
Breakdown cover is provided on Under 50s insurance in the first year for new customers.
Post Office fully comprehensive Under 50s car insurance
A greater degree of cover is provided as standard if comprehensive car insurance is selected.
Post Office Under 50s Car Insurance fully comprehensive policies also include the following benefits in addition to those listed for TPFT and TPO cover.
Any excess attached to the policy will be paid if the policyholder is involved in an incident with an uninsured driver. If the claim is found to be not the fault of the policyholder, any no claims discount will not be affected.
Where an incident leaves the insured stranded, the Post Office will pay up to £100 per person for emergency transport or up to £400 per incident for overnight accommodation.
Post Office Over 50s Car Insurance will pay up to £500 for items that are lost or damaged in the policyholder’s car, due to theft or an insured incident.
What is Post Office car insurance best for?
Insurance policies tend to appeal to certain groups of people, or individuals with certain requirements. In the case of the Post Office Over 50s and Under 50s car insurance policies this could include customers:
looking for a policy tailored to their age group
under 50 who want a year’s breakdown cover included in their policy
over 50 who would welcome £100 towards ongoing transport or £400 towards overnight accommodation costs in the event of an incident
who want to insure with a brand with a long and secure history
for whom a 24-hour claims line is a priority
The Post Office in the news
The Post Office is one of several financial providers to offer incentives to entice customers. Over 50s will receive a £30 gift card from Argos, Amazon or M&S upon buying a new policy.
Complaints data
The Financial Ombudsman Service received fewer than 10 car insurance complaints about the Post Office but its service is run by BISL, which received 76 complaints. 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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