Courtesy Car Excess Insurance - worth it?

NormalforNorfolk

I have had to make an insurance claim for an incident in a car park where I scraped my car and it needs a panel resprayed and dents removed. I am receiving a courtesy car while mine is being repaired. The insurer’s authorised repairer have offered Courtesy Vehicle Excess Insurance where for £19.99 if I have an incident while driving the courtesy car it will pay up to £500 to cover the excess. The excess on my policy which I will be paying towards the work on my car is £350. I’ve not come across Courtesy Car Excess Insurance before so not sure if I should do it or not - does anyone have any experience of it and would you recommend taking it?

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6686458/courtesy-car-excess-insurance-worth-it

Well £500 is closer to your normal excess than £0 but really up to you if you think £20 is worth reducing it to zero for the number of days you'll have the car. Normally its a waiver not insurance

Personally I dont buy it but then i am used to driving lots of different vehicles whereas others are more nervous about a new vehicle.

chrisw

it's the same as all insurance really - a waste of £20 unless you need to make a claim. I wouldn't bother personally but the £20 might be worth it if it gives you peace of mind.

LukeB_92

A couple of practical checks before deciding, as the headline £500 figure does not tell the whole story.

First, check what excess actually applies while you are in the courtesy car. It is not automatically the same £350 as on your own car - the repairer's courtesy car terms can set a different amount, and that is the figure the £19.99 is really protecting you against.

Second, check whether this is a waiver that simply reduces that excess to nil at the repairer, or a separate insurance product where you would have to pay the excess first and then claim it back. The paperwork, exclusions and claim deadline are different. Look in particular for limits to a single incident, and exclusions for things like tyres, wheels, windscreens or damage a driver not named on the agreement causes.

Whichever way you decide, it is worth photographing the courtesy car all round, including the wheels, and noting fuel and mileage when you collect it, and doing the same on return. That protects you if pre-existing damage is queried, which is often a more common problem than a new incident.

After that it really is a short-period risk decision: a few days of local driving is a different proposition from a fortnight of unfamiliar motorway miles.