Tyre Insurance Is It Worth It?

barnaclebill

I had it on the last car as it had expensive runflats, within one month I had a screw embedded in the shoulder and got a new tyre but that was it for the rest of the three years so for me a bad gamble , the tyre was £250 and I think the insurance was £400. So never again

reeac

Insurance of any kind is intended to make money for the insurance company, not the customer so on average it will cost more than just paying the bills if/when they crop up. It's justified for potentially bankrupting issues such as complete destruction of your house but, on a cost basis, not otherwise. If insurance companies offered bulk buying schemes eg. for tyres, pet pharmaceuticals etc. then there might be a case but not otherwise.

im-lost

Iceweasel wrote: »

For me tyre insurance is absolutely essential as I seem to consume tyres at an average of 1 or 2 a year.

Nearly 2 years ago I paid £405 (in 10 interest free instalments) for 3 years cover.

My tyres are runflats and the rears (ContiSportContact2 255/40 17) cost approx £190 each.

Within a month I had one fail in Austria and got a new one fitted the next day, which I paid for by Credit Card.

On return to the UK I received a cheque within a week of submitting the claim form and receipt.

It's essential to print off and carry with you blank claim forms as there is a section to be completed by the tyre dealer/fitter.

I also have had one punctured and damaged beyond repair in the UK - so I simply went to the nearest dealership where they fitted a new tyre and I was on my way within an hour - all paperwork completed and nothing to pay.

So far I've pretty well broken even and still have over a year to go - so any more tyre hassles and I'll have benefited.

Of course it's a bit of a gamble with lots of variables - chiefly the cost of a new tyre - and the mileage you cover - but that not the only things to consider.

Be sure to read the small print as some of these deals only pay 50% of the replacement tyre if the tread is below 6mm.

Also check that the territorial coverage meets your needs - some deals cover only the UK and Ireland - so my new tyre in Austria would not have been covered by some policies.

Some cover a maximum of only 5 replacement tyres.

I prefer to go for the car manufacturer's tyre insurance rather than the individual dealership's 'in-house' alternative which although it may be a tiny bit cheaper usually has several tricky suspect exclusions clauses that I'd rather not test the validity of.

Like I must use the dealership themselves or use Quik-Nit.

I also once discovered a flat tyre when I returned to the car on a in-bound Calais to Dover cross-channel ferry years ago and the ensuing discussion about whether the puncture happened 'abroad' or not was ridiculous.

and yet i've never had a problem with the cheapest of the cheap tyres on any car I've owned.

A fool and their money springs to mind, £190 for tyres that 'fail' and get punctures at the tip of a hat, no ta, ill stick to my £50 'ditch finders' that give thousands of miles of problem free driving.

Iceweasel

im-lost wrote: »

and yet i've never had a problem with the cheapest of the cheap tyres on any car I've owned.

A fool and their money springs to mind, £190 for tyres that 'fail' and get punctures at the tip of a hat, no ta, ill stick to my £50 'ditch finders' that give thousands of miles of problem free driving.

Thanks for that.

A fool and his money eh? Just as well I have a thick skin.

I drive for pleasure these days and just can't afford cheap tyres - they don't last long enough given the use I make of my car - they simply have to be replaced far too often.

In the last month I've covered over 4000 miles - been over several Alpine passes enthusiastically and had great fun - which is what my motoring is all about these days, now that I've retired.

Quite a few of those miles were at over 130mph in temperatures of over 30°C - legally of course.

Road-holding and safety are equally as important as pleasure of course so for me cheapy ditch-finders like Accelera for example which have an almost identical tread design to my ContiSports at approx half the cost are a waste of money for anything other than gentle commuting.

I get around 35 to 40K from the front tyres and around 25K from the rears - and given the above use, I'm more than happy with that.

But as I said in my first post on this thread I seem to get at least one unrepairable puncture/damage every year.

So it's horses for courses, and I stand by all the comments I made on the usefulness of tyre insurance - for some people, not all by any means.

If some folks are happy with cheap tyres - then that's fine by me.

It's a pity that the OP has not came back and told us what car and/or what tyres he has and what use he/she intends making of the car.

The OP asked if anyone had any experience with tyre insurance and unfortunately very few of the people who have posted on the thread have had that experience.

reeac

I assume that tyre insurance, like any other insurance companies keep a record of claims and hike premiums for any customers who are costing them big money due to big annual mileages, expensive tyres etc. It amuses me when people grumble about premium hikes when their pet exceeds a certain age ... What do they expect? As I implied earlier - insurance isn't a magic money saving scheme for the customers, it evens out expenditure over time ...but at a cost.

Tobster86

Does anyone else remember the old Family Guy episode about 'Volcano insurance'?

But in all seriousness, I get through a £440 set of tyres annually (about 15k miles; BMW 540i that likes to eat them) and presume they don't cover fair wear and tear, so can't see it being beneficial.

Iceweasel

reeac wrote: »

I assume that tyre insurance, like any other insurance companies keep a record of claims and hike premiums for any customers who are costing them big money due to big annual mileages, expensive tyres etc. It amuses me when people grumble about premium hikes when their pet exceeds a certain age ... What do they expect? As I implied earlier - insurance isn't a magic money saving scheme for the customers, it evens out expenditure over time ...but at a cost.

You assume wrong regards premium hikes.

I'm sure they do keep a record of claims - but I've never been charged any more than the published price which is available to anyone - regardless of their history.

It's a flat rate for everyone - irrespective of tyre size or cost and nowhere do they ask for annual mileage.

reeac

If there are no premium hikes for big claimers then best for low mileage people to avoid tyre insurance as otherwise they're subsidising the big claims. . Like I said earlier, insurance isn't a magic money maker for the customers.

Andy_goodwin

Guys
Thanks for all your replies but like Iceweasel says there arent many replies that talk of peoples actual experience. Picked up my second hand BMW last night and turned down their tyre insurance offer that amazingly fell from £445 to £378 before I left the showroom. The car has run flats on and using tyreshopper the cost of a replacement is £258 each. Researched the net and have probably come down to either ALA or car2cover whose equivalent insurance is £324 and £295 respectively for 3 years cover covering up to 5 tyres over the period. Both are 5star Defaqto rated policies. Really interested in anyone that has actually claimed on a policy and their experiences.

Iceweasel

The main problem that you will find is that almost no-one in the UK will repair a run-flat - even for a simple puncture, even when the tyre has not actually been driven with it flat.

They say that there is no guarantee of the carcass being stress-free after having run flat for a time.

I carry a spacesaver kit complete with jack, chock, wheelbrace etc. and would stop and change the wheel if possible so avoiding any extra damage to the interior side-walls. But I would hesitate to stop and get a jack out on a motorway of course.

They are only good for 50 miles or so when flat - and that's not good enough in remote areas.

I like the run-flats as they mean that Mrs Iceweasel would not have to faff around with jacks and wheelbraces etc.

I have had run-flats successfully repaired and had no problems with the repair - but that was on tyres that were taken off immediately and not actually run with zero pressure.

Despite the extra cost and a little hassle I still like the run flats as they give that extra degree of safety.