Car insurance - 3rd party fire & theft, hire car query

TODEYE

My car (though in excellent nick) is worth too little to get fully comp insurance so I've gone for 3rd party fire & theft.  But I'd like the option of a hire car if mine is in a collision and needs repair.  The conditions for this extra say there is an additional excess of £200 if using a non-approved repairer.  I find it hard to understand this excess as they wouldn't be paying for repair except in case of fire. 
I couldn't get sense on the phone so can anyone explain how this would work?  Wouild they even give me a hire car, if the repair would cost more than the book value of my car, which would be very likely? 

MyRealNameToo

TODEYE said:

My car (though in excellent nick) is worth too little to get fully comp insurance so I've gone for 3rd party fire & theft.  But I'd like the option of a hire car if mine is in a collision and needs repair.  The conditions for this extra say there is an additional excess of £200 if using a non-approved repairer.  I find it hard to understand this excess as they wouldn't be paying for repair except in case of fire. 
I couldn't get sense on the phone so can anyone explain how this would work?  Wouild they even give me a hire car, if the repair would cost more than the book value of my car, which would be very likely? 

The hire car would only be available when your insurer is doing the repair therefore on a TPFT policy its only going to be there for Fire and Theft (stolen and recovered) claim and no cover for accidental damage claims therefore no hire car for that either. 

Are you sure TPFT is actually cheaper? In many cases, due to negative selection, comp insurance is cheaper than TPFT

QrizB

TODEYE said:

My car (though in excellent nick) is worth too little to get fully comp insurance so I've gone for 3rd party fire & theft.

Fully comp can be cheaper than 3PFT. Did you compare the prices before choosing?

TODEYE said:

But I'd like the option of a hire car if mine is in a collision and needs repair.  The conditions for this extra say there is an additional excess of £200 if using a non-approved repairer.

Re. hire car, if you're hit by someone else you'll find plenty of ambulance chasers who are happy to hire you a car at the other party's expense. I'm not sure what you're benefit getting from your insurer as part of this "extra"?

MyRealNameToo

QrizB said:

TODEYE said:

But I'd like the option of a hire car if mine is in a collision and needs repair.  The conditions for this extra say there is an additional excess of £200 if using a non-approved repairer.

Re. hire car, if you're hit by someone else you'll find plenty of ambulance chasers who are happy to hire you a car at the other party's expense. I'm not sure what your benefit getting from your insurer as part of this "extra"?

The fact you won't end up in a long drawn out process if the third party insurer dispute the value of the hire. On your own policy it's covered by the terms so you dont have to justify why you needed it, why you couldn't pay for it yourself etc.

Plus credit hire is only available to non-fault claimants. If its a fault accident or split liability then credit hire won't be involved and your on your own whereas a hire car from the insurer is available if the option is taken on a Comp policy.