Car Insurance

Obtaining a quote for car insurance only takes around 10 minutes but you’ll need to have certain information to hand. To complete a quote, you will need to provide details including the following:

Personal details
This includes your full name, date of birth and home address including your postcode, as well as contact details with at least one telephone number and an email address. We'll also ask for details about your relationship status, such as whether you're single or married, and if any additional drivers need to be named on the policy.

Employment status
Whether you work and if so, whether that's on a full-time or part time basis, self employed or other. Further details on your occupation and type of business are needed too.

Driving history
How long you've held a driving licence, any accident history and previous claims, and whether you have been declined for motor insurance in the past.

Vehicle details
Further information on the car being insured, including the make and model of the vehicle, whether it is fitted with an alarm, and any modifications which may have been made.
Estimated annual mileage should be provided, as should details on where the vehicle will be parked overnight for example in a garage, parked off road or on the street.

Some car insurance policies will include the provision of a Courtesy Car in event of loss of, or damage to, the car insured. It's important to check whether your policy provides a Courtesy Car. Both our Comprehensive Car Insurance and our Defaqto 5 Star Rated Car Insurance Plus come with a Courtesy Car as standard - subject to availability and eligibility.

Unfortunately, each year a large number of motorists drive without car insurance, despite the obvious risks. Being in an accident with a driver who is not insured can be particularly frustrating as your insurer will not be able to recover any repair costs. Some policies offer protection against this - when you compare car insurance it's worth bearing this in mind. RAC Car Insurance Plus includes our uninsured driver promise so if you're hit by an uninsured driver and it wasn't your fault, you'll get a refund on any excesses you have had to pay out plus you won't lose your no-claims discount.

A No Claims Discount (NCD), which is also referred to as a No Claims Bonus (NCB) can reduce the cost of car insurance as it rewards motorists who have not had to make a claim on their insurance. If you make a claim and you were at fault, you will usually lose at least some, if not all, of your NCD. If the accident was not your fault, your insurance provider may be able to reclaim the cost from the other driver involved and your NCD could remain unaffected. The best way to guarantee a No Claims Discount remains intact is to take out No Claims Discount Protection. With NCD Protection, drivers can make a claim without losing the NCD they have built up - although the number of claims allowed over the course of a period of time will differ from policy to policy.

All new car models are assigned to an insurance group by the Group Rating Panel, which is administered by Thatcham Research. There are 50 groups, ranging from group No.1 - which includes cars that are the cheapest to insure - to No.50, the most expensive. Insurers will take the group rating of a vehicle in mind when calculating the price of a policy, so if your car is in a lower group it is likely to be cheaper to insure in comparison to a model in a higher group.

There are three main types of car insurance - comprehensive, third party, and third party fire and theft. Of these, comprehensive offers the most complete cover as it protects your car as well as other people's property. Third party insurance is the minimum legal level of cover required to drive a car. It covers any damage caused to other people's property - but not your own car. Third party fire and theft is standard third party coverage, but it also covers your car if it is damaged by fire or stolen. It's still not protected against the cost of repairs.

If you need a more specialist type of car insurance, we also offer a range of other products - including temporary car insurance, black box car insurance, classic car insurance, test drive insurance and learner driver insurance.

Class of insurance refers to how a driver intends to use the vehicle being insured. There are usually four main classes of insurance, though these may differ slightly by provider.  Social, Domestic and Pleasure covers a motorist for everyday driving, such as trips to the shops and visits to friends and family, but not travel to and from work. Social, Domestic, Pleasure and Commuting adds commuting to a single regular place of work - driving to the office every day, for example.

Business use adds another layer of cover, enabling a driver to use the vehicle as part of their job, perhaps in driving to multiple sites as well as a single location. If your work requires regular driving around the country, this class of car insurance would be suitable.

Commercial insurance is for motorists who use the vehicle itself for business - delivery drivers, taxi drivers and driving instructors.

This all depends on your policy. Primarily, you will be covered to drive the vehicle stated in your car insurance policy but cover to drive other vehicles does not generally come as standard. You should certainly check your policy terms and conditions before driving another vehicle. Some comprehensive car insurance policies include Driving Other Cars (DOC) cover, but this is becoming less common. If you expect to drive another car on occasion - such as a spouse or family member - it is advisable to be a Named Driver on their policy. Or, you could look at temporary car insurance which provides cover from 1 hour to 30 days.

The cost of your car insurance is determined by a number of factors and many of them can't be changed - such as the age of a driver. But the price of your car insurance quote may be reduced by buying a car in a lower insurance group, building up your No Claims Discounts by driving safely and responsibly, and avoiding accidents. Adding a named driver can also help to reduce the cost of car insurance, as can increasing the voluntary excess you are prepared to pay on a policy. For example, if you set your excess at £150 instead of £50, the cost of your policy should reduce but you should make sure you would be able to pay this amount in event of making a claim.

If you're a younger motorist or have recently passed your test, it may be worth considering a specialist policy such as Black Box Car Insurance, which monitors driving behaviour and rewards safe driving. In other words, the safer you drive, the cheaper your premium could be when it comes to renewing your car insurance policy.

Yes, you can claim for damage to your vehicle due to potholes, but your policy excess would apply and any No Claims Discount (NCD) you hold would be affected. Pothole damage is covered under the ‘accidental damage’ section of your RAC Car Insurance policy wording.

If you drive under 6,000 miles a year and are over 21 Pay by Mile car insurance may save you money. Every driver and vehicle combination is unique so we can’t promise it'll be cheaper. Comparing it on a like for like basis, paying as you go could save you up to 26%. If you think your mileage will be increasing, then you can cancel the policy at any point. Don’t worry, there are no cancellation fees. Get a quick quote and find out if you could save.

Yes, we’re here to help. If you think you may be unable to maintain your regular policy payments, please contact us as soon as possible on 0344 159 1031. Our opening hours are Monday-Friday 8am-8pm, Saturday 9am-5pm, Sundays – closed, Bank Holidays 9am-5pm.

We have specialists on hand who can discuss your individual circumstances and agree how we can help with your financial situation. There are several ways we may be able to help including; moving your payment dates, agreeing partial payments or payment holidays in the short term and removing any fees applied to your policy.

Don’t wait until you miss a payment as we can help you in advance. We ask that you don’t cancel your payments or direct debits as this can result in your policy being cancelled and we don’t want you to be left uninsured, please get in touch with us in the first instance.

No, you do not need to inform us and will continue to be covered.

No, our motor insurance policy will provide, at minimum, third party liability coverage for the duration of the insurance policy. However, we encourage you to check your policy documents carefully for limits of coverage and policy exclusions. In addition, we encourage you to familiarise yourself with regulations around the cross-border transport of goods and abide by any travel advice issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

No, cover does not include driving in the Ukraine. You should also be aware that damage or injury caused by war, conflicts or similar events is common exclusion in motor insurance policies.