Insurance extras - good value or a waste of cash?

D

Darren C

A2OC Donor
Evening folks,

Time has come to insure my 'other car' later this month and I wanted to gauge some opinions on the extras such as motor legal protection and personal accident cover.

I normally tick these boxes perhaps because I work in safety and because I am a tad (read 'very') risk-averse, so I was planning on doing so again. What has got me thinking is the mileage I cover - circa 3500 per annum and the likelihood of needing the extra 'comfort blanket' that such extra cover might provide. Equally, I am aware that such cover isn't without its share of small print which invariably comes to light should a payout be needed.

I have a very competitive quote of £235 which when the above extras are added raises to £285. On a 19 month old fully loaded Mazda 6, both are a good price relatively speaking. Perhaps I am simply watching the pennies too much here.

Anyhow, I'd value your thoughts on whether you consider these options invaluable or a waste of cash etc...

Thanks in advance.

Darren
 
I always remove the legal protection cover. You are probably covered fir that by your bank account or home insurance anyway. If you ARE then paying for it again on your car insurance is a complete waste of money.

Upgraded hire cars in the event of a claim and things like that are often not worth it either.

If I look back over my 46 years of car insurance the money saved by not ticking the extras is in the thousands.

But insurance is just a gamble, the same as a casino or horse racing. It is just that you are betting that you will have an accident and the insurance company are betting you won't. If you do have an accident you win the cost of the repairs. If you don't have an accident you lose your bet (your insurance cost for the year)

Steve B
 
I concur with the analogy Steve and the broader comments. Appreciate the reply; thanks.

I was perhaps searching for an answer which said; didn't pay out because of x, y or z or invaluable because it...

Thanks again.

Darren
 
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I have personal accident insurance. I injured myself a couple of years back. I waited two weeks before going to the doc through work's health scheme - wait and see if it gets better before harrassing the medics. He diagnosed - after a CT scan - a meniscus tear. Not wear and tear, not age, just a simple "stand on it wrong and twist". Op to fix? €2k private or go through the public system and wait.
I asked my insurers. "NO!" came back. Why? "not an accident, wear and tear", and "you waited too long to tell us". This just after my MIL fell on ice and broke her wrist, which the same company also refused to pay for.

I've just insured the Octavia. It has no legal cover, but does have the additional "gap" insurance - to cover when the car value is worth less than what's owed on finance, glass insurance because that's always seperate here and a couple of other small bits, such as parking damage when no-one owns up and the-equivalent-of-AA cover. Add in crisis help and journey assurance and it essentially adds 15% on to the premium, which is nuts. The only reason I've not taken them off is because the dealer got a better deal that I had (15% cheaper) - so I'm getting €100 off and still the better cover. Fully comp is still a whisper under €600, though.

I think you need to understand what you're insuring against and then consider the likelihood that they'll actually pay up if you need them to. Understanding what each insurance specifically covers is a very good idea in this case, because double-insuring is pointless. But how likely that thing is? You'll not know and that's of course what they're betting on....

- Bret
 
Cheers Bret; good solid straight talking advice as always. Appreciate the personal tale in amongst the reply; hope you are now fully recovered with no long-term damage.

Cheers,

Darren
 
I'm with keeping them Darren as part of your policy.

From my my personal experience they made a painful time a lot less painful. A legal representative was assigned my case and guided me through all the relevant paperwork, I didn't have to pay out and then claim back any legal expenses, or medical assessment expenses and I received my personal injury payment.
 
Vonnie said:
I'm with keeping them Darren as part of your policy.

From my my personal experience they made a painful time a lot less painful. A legal representative was assigned my case and guided me through all the relevant paperwork, I didn't have to pay out and then claim back any legal expenses, or medical assessment expenses and I received my personal injury payment.
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Yes it is extremely useful if something goes wrong, but please check to see if you already have the same cover via your Bank account or home insurance first, you could be paying twice but could only claim from one of them.

Steve B
 
Thanks Vonnie; fair advice and very much appreciated too. It is as per the name suggests 'insurance' - one hopes one never needs.

Cheers,

Darren
 
Also check regarding breakdown cover. My insurer Aviva was quoting breakdown cover cheaper than what I was paying with the RAC. Their cover is provided by none other than RAC.
 
Cheers Hass; a good call - somehow I'm not surprised to read this, not because I understand it either. Breakdown cover is one extras box that I won't be ticking however, as it is included as one of my current account perks FOC.
 
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