Car insurance - Tips & Advice - Understanding car insurance
Q. How can I pay for my car insurance with Direct Line?
A. You can pay for your insurance cover by:
To cut administration costs and keep our prices down, we don’t accept payment by cheque, cash, Electron or Solo cards.
Q. Can I pay by installments?
A. Yes, you may be eligible to pay by installments. This is subject to our normal installment criteria.
Q. If I am buying a new car, how do I transfer my policy over to the new vehicle?
A. If you are buying a new car and want to transfer your existing policy over, you would need to call our Customer Service Department and amend your current policy. There may be a variation in price and a change in the underwriting criteria for the new car, but this will be discussed with you.
Q. Is it possible to get car insurance on a car that is not owned by my spouse or myself?
A. If it is a company car, or one that is on long-term lease for example, we can look at insuring it in your name. To discuss your circumstances further, please contact our Customer Hotline on 0845 246 8701.
Q. What is your No Claims Discount Protection (NCDP) scheme?
A. Our No Claims Discount Protection (NCDP) scheme is available to policyholders with either 4 or 5 years’ discount. Under the scheme you will not suffer any loss of No Claims Discount (NCD) if you make no more than one fault claim in a period of cover or two fault claims in any three consecutive periods of cover. Don’t forget, we also offer Named Driver No Claims discount when you take out a policy.
Q. What documents would I have to submit as proof of my No Claims Discount (NCD)?
A. The document you are required to submit as proof of your No Claims Discount is a renewal notice from your previous insurer. If this does not state your No Claims Discount (NCD) entitlement or is not available to you, simply call your previous insurer and request confirmation of your NCD, which you can then forward to us.
Q. What is your cancellations procedure including refunds? Secondly, what happens if I have already paid in full prior to cancelling my policy?
A. You can cancel your policy over the phone and the certificate of insurance can follow at a later date, we will also require a written request for cancellation. Once we receive the Certificate, we will then cancel your policy and calculate the refund from the date we received it. This is provided that no claim that would normally affect a No Claims Discount has arisen since inception or last renewal date. The refund will be on the following basis:
Should you have any queries, please contact us on 0845 246 8701. Having paid an annual premium, if the policy is cancelled prior to renewal date then a partial refund would be made, provided no claims have been made during the period of cover. Alternatively, if you do buy a new car and contact us, we offer a substitution of cover for good customer service and for you to maintain the same renewal date.
Q. How do I get the Pass Plus discount?
A. To get the Pass Plus discount you need to contact us on 0845 246 8701. The Pass Plus discount is not available online as we do need to check that you meet all criteria. Read more about how Pass Plus can benefit you when you take out Direct Line car insurance.
Q. Can I have an annual green card and are they free?
A. Yes, you can have an annual green card that is free of charge. However, this only gives you the minimum cover in the country you are driving in (i.e. the equivalent or less than the UK’s Third Party Only insurance), but you can extend your policy to allow the same cover you enjoy in the UK (i.e. Comprehensive or Third Party Fire & Theft) by paying an additional charge. This is called a Foreign Use Extension.
To counter weekend or small trips, we do allow trips for 3 days or less free of charge. We allow a maximum of 90 days’ Foreign Use per policy year. The reason we do not allow free Foreign Use cover is because less than 10% of our customers take their cars abroad. Therefore, if we factor in this risk across our entire portfolio we are penalising a lot of customers unnecessarily.
Q. Are my spouse and I covered for our business use with our Direct Line policy?
A. Your policy documents will confirm which cover applies to the policy. If you are in doubt, please contact us on 0845 246 8701.
Q. Do I have to pay an excess if my windscreen is repaired?
A. Please refer to your schedule or your motor insurance certificate for your windscreen damage excess.
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