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Top Car Insurance FAQs
We’ll send your renewal invitation at least 21 days before your policy is due to renew. This will be uploaded to your customer portal, unless you’ve chosen to receive documents by post only, in which case it will also be sent to you by post.
All annual policies will automatically renew unless you make us aware otherwise.
If you wish to stop your policy from automatically renewing, you can opt out prior to the renewal period via your customer portal. If you are within the renewal period, you can contact our renewals team either by live chat or calling the telephone number provided within your invite.
You can opt out through the customer portal or by contacting us. Do this at least 5 days before your renewal date.
Yes, changing your payment method is easy! Simply log into your account on the customer portal and visit the ‘view my renewal’ section. Here, you’ll be able to make the necessary changes in no time at all.
Whether your old card has expired and you would like to add a new card, or you’d like to change from paying annually to paying monthly you can do so in the ‘view my renewal’ section of the customer portal.
There are many factors that contribute to the cost of your insurance, so it can be difficult to pinpoint exactly what has made your premium increase. Some factors are outside of our control, such as:
- Economic cycles
- Legislation and regulation decisions resulting in increased liabilities
- Political influences
- Cost of claims
However, if you have made any changes, received a motoring conviction or made a claim in the last 12 months then the new price will reflect the new risk details.
If you do need to make any changes to your policy, no matter how small, please contact us and we will make these changes to get you an up-to-date quote.
If you’re involved in an accident of your vehicle is damaged, stolen or vandalised you can report your claim to One Call Claims Limited 24 hours a day 7 days a week on 0203 738 7300.
One Call Claims Limited are an accident management company who can handle non-fault claims on behalf of One Call Insurance Services Limited. One Call Claims Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. You can choose an alternative accident management company or One Call Claims Limited. If One Call Claims are unable to deal with your claim they will provide you with the information of your insurance providers claims team.
It is important that you report all incidents within 24 hours – even if you do not wish to claim. It is important that you log this with us, as failure to report a claim may cause difficulties at a later date. Please ensure you have your national insurance number and drivers’ licence to hand when reporting your claim.
If you’re paying by a payment plan, such as a Direct Debit, and your premium has not been fully paid, you will be required to pay the outstanding balance.
If your premium was paid in full, you will not be refunded.
If, after an accident, your insurer is able to recover the costs of repairing your vehicle from a third party, this would be considered a non-fault claim. Whereas, if you claim on your own insurance and your insurer has to pay out in some way, this would be considered a fault claim.
For example:
- If somebody hits into the back of your vehicle and your insurer is able to recover the financial loss incurred from repairing your vehicle – this would be a non-fault claim.
- If you crash and it is not clear who was at fault for the accident, there is no third party to claim from or no other vehicles were involved – this would be a fault claim.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve made a fault or non-fault claim – both have to be disclosed to your future insurers as well as your current insurer.
It is worth noting, that if your claim is outstanding, it’s likely it will be considered fault until a settlement has been made.
First of all, you must stop if you are involved in any incident.
If you own the vehicle, you must give your name, address and insurance details to anyone who has a good reason for asking.
If you do not own the vehicle, you must give the owner’s name and address and the registration number of the vehicle.
Do not apologise or admit fault.
Please collect the following information to give to the One Call Claims Limited, as this will help them speed up your claim and will allow them to contact anybody else involved:
- Full details of the other driver(s)
- Phone number(s)
- Registration number(s)
You also need to make a note of:
- Injuries caused
- Witnesses
- Police officers
- Report references
Once One Call Claims have the above information, they will be able to provide you with the relevant support and information, to help you get your vehicle back on the road as quickly and safely as possible.
If you’re hit by an uninsured driver or an unknown driver, then you can make a claim on your insurance – but only if you have a comprehensive policy.
Third-party and third-party fire and theft policies, do not allow you to make a claim for personal damages.
Please note, if you do make a claim, this will affect your No Claims Bonus (NCB), unless we can claim our costs back from the Motor Insurance Bureau. Please call One Call Claims Limited for more information on 0203 738 7300.
If you are a private car policy holder then yes, you can report all claims including windscreen through the customer portal. Commercial vehicle platinum members will still need to call 0203 738 7300.
If you need to report a claim you can report your claim to One Call Claims Limited 24 hours a day 7 days a week on 0203 738 7300.
One Call Claims Limited are an accident management company who can handle non-fault claims on behalf of One Call Insurance Services Limited. One Call Claims Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. You can choose an alternative accident management company or One Call Claims Limited. If One Call Claims are unable to deal with your claim they will provide you with the information of your insurance providers claims team.
It is important that you report all incidents within 24 hours – even if you do not wish to claim. It is important that you log this with us, as failure to report a claim may cause difficulties at a later date. Please ensure you have your national insurance number and drivers’ licence to hand when reporting your claim.
Yes, all breakdowns can be reported quickly and simply by logging into your account on the customer portal.
To put it simply, insurance is a form of financial protection against risks associated items you have purchased. You’ll be more likely to take out insurance if the product you’re purchasing amounts to a significant value.
The list of insurance policy types is endless – almost any product will come with the option to add insurance.
The most common types of insurance are motor vehicle insurance or home insurance policies – these are also our most popular insurance types.
This varies depending on your insurer.
In most cases, you will be given 14 days’ to replace the vehicle on your current insurance. After this, your policy will be cancelled.
Please note, we will not automatically cancel your policy from the moment your vehicle is written off. We will give you at least 7 days’ notice before the policy is cancelled.
We’re sorry you’re experiencing this and we understand how worrying a rejected claim or voided policy can be.
If you don’t fully understand the decision or would like to talk through what this means for you, our Advanced Validation Team is available to help. They can:
- Explain why the decision was made
- Talk through any information used
- Discuss whether additional information may be considered
You can contact them via One Call Claims live chat - https://www.onecallclaims.co.uk/contact-us/
Important details that future insurers may ask about can be found in the rejection letter sent to you by email. If you’re struggling to locate or understand this, please let us know and we can talk you through it.
If you need extra support - for example due to health concerns, stress, or difficulty understanding the information - please tell us so we can make reasonable adjustments.
If your policy has been voided or a claim rejected, you may still be able to obtain insurance, although you may be asked additional questions by future insurers.
Going forward, it can help to:
- Carefully review the reason given in your rejection letter
- Answer future application questions fully and accurately
- Ask insurers or brokers for clarification if you are unsure how to answer
If you feel unsure about what you need to disclose or how a decision may affect future cover, our team can help explain this in plain language and discuss your options.
If you need more time to make decisions or support understanding this information, please let us know - we’re here to help.
If you would like independent advice or are finding things difficult financially or emotionally, the following organisations may be able to help:
- Citizens Advice – Free, confidential advice on insurance, finances and consumer issues - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
- StepChange Debt Charity – Confidential debt and financial support - https://www.stepchange.org/
- MoneyHelper – Free guidance on insurance and financial decisions - https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en
You are not alone, and asking for help will not affect how we support you. If speaking to these organisations feels overwhelming, we can talk you through what they do and how to contact them.
You can make a variety of changes through the customer portal, including updating your address, changing your vehicle, adding a driver and more.
Logging into the customer portal is the quickest and simplest way to manage these updates.
If you're paying by Direct Debit, you can update your payment date and account details by logging into the customer portal. This is the quickest and simplest way to make these changes
Whenever you make a change that could affect the price of your insurance, you'll be provided with a full breakdown of the costs.
If you're happy to proceed, you'll be guided through the changes step by step
If you make a change through the customer portal and it’s successful, you’ll receive immediate confirmation. Your documents will be updated within 24 hours, and a confirmation will be sent to the email address registered to your account
Yes, you can speak with one of our friendly agents who will be happy to help you make amendments to your policy. However, we encourage you to self-serve where possible. By making changes through the customer portal, you’ll receive a £18.50 discount on the administration charge and get immediate confirmation of your updates.
How do I cancel?
If you’re thinking about cancelling due to a change in circumstances, please contact our live chat team. They will be able to assist you with any updates to your existing policy or alternatively find you a brand new quote.
Why do I have to pay a cancellation fee?
As an insurance broker, we have to manually perform a variety of security and integrity checks on behalf of our insurance providers for both home and motor insurance. Unfortunately, this does cost time and money to perform and starts as soon as you purchase the policy. The fee is charged by us as a broker to recover any costs incurred whilst settling the insurance, providing a service and cancelling the insurance.
We regularly review the cancellation fee and compare against our competitors. We also ensure the fee does not exceed the total cost of your insurance. You can view our charges here.
I pay via premium finance, why do I owe money to cancel my policy?
If you pay via monthly instalments using a premium finance provider, this does not mean you pay for your insurance on a rolling monthly basis.
Essentially, paying monthly means that you have agreed to take out a loan from the finance provider and pay this back over a 12 month contract.
How is the cancellation calculated?
Cancellations inside of the 14 day cooling off period are a total of the time you have been insured for calculated by the insurer and a set-up fee.
Cancellations outside of the 14-day cooling off period follow a set charge structure which takes into account our administration costs for arranging the policy and administrating the policy cancellation. You will be charged for any time on cover as calculated by your insurance provider; this is normally pro rata and an insurance fee, any broker charges, a cancellation fee and the cost of any additional products purchased.
Where you have paid your premium in full, we will let you know the amount you are due back. If you are paying by Premium Finance, you will need to pay a balance of the cancellation charges as set out above, once we have calculated how much you have paid.
Please note this cancellation is based on no claims being made within the policy term, if a claim is outstanding or settled as a fault claim then the insurance premium will be owed in full.
Example of the calculation
The table below provides an example of the insurance cost and shows the total amount that may be charged if your policy is cancelled.
(figures used for illustration purposes only)
Total annual insurance cost | |
|---|---|
Total Insurance Premium | £748.33 |
Policy Enhancements | £0 |
Broker Fees* | £40 |
Insurer Fee | £0 |
Discount | £0 |
Total Insurance Costs | £788.33 |
Balance Outstanding from my previous policy | £0 |
Total cost of cancel | |
|---|---|
Cost for days insured | £129.16 |
Policy Enhancements | £0 |
Broker Fees* | £40 |
Insurer Fee | £0 |
Cancellation Fee | £55.99 |
Total Cancellation Costs | £225.15 |
Total Paid to Date | £143.26 |
Final Balance (total cancellation cost minus total paid to date)
£81.89
*Broker fees include any fee that has been applied to your policy throughout the policy term.
In this example of this cancellation, if you cancel your policy today, your total cancellation cost would be £225.15. You have already paid £143.26, meaning you would still need to pay £81.89.
If you are a Platinum customer, you are on a rolling monthly policy. This includes a range of benefits such as interest free monthly payments, lower compulsory excess, reduced fees and much more. For full details about your policy and the additional benefits included with Platinum cover, please log in to the customer portal to review your documents.
If you have not opted in to fix your price for 3 years, then your policy will be reviewed annually like a normal standard policy. During the 12 month period you will still benefit from interest free monthly payments, lower compulsory excess, reduced fees and much more.
For full details about your policy and the additional benefits included with Platinum cover, please log in to the customer portal to review your documents.
If you have opted to the 3 year price fix, this means that your price will remain the same (subject to no policy changes) for the 3 years- Giving you greater peace of mind and stability which will be reviewed once the 3 years has ended. The price fix is not a 3 year contract, so you are still able to leave at anytime.
For full details about your policy and the additional benefits included with Platinum price fix, please log in to the customer portal to review your documents.
Yes, we can offer a quote to extend your policy to cover more than one vehicle, but only on a temporary, short-term basis.
Unfortunately, not all of the insurers we represent can offer temporary cover as part of the existing policy.
However, you can get temporary cover from ourselves here.
Looking to insure another vehicle long-term?
Whether it’s a Car, Van, or Bike, you can take out a separate 12-month policy by simply getting a quote online.
Please refer to your motor insurance certificate (page 1, section 6) to see if you’re eligible for this.
Yes, it’s important that you declare any previous claims or convictions – even if they are unrelated to the vehicle you would like to insure. You should declare all claims and convictions received within the last 5 years.
In line with the law, you must declare any claims or convictions that you have received on your driving license, whether you received them on your car, van, motorbike – or any other type of motor vehicle. You must even declare a claim made whilst being insured on another person’s vehicle.
To put it simply, insurance is a form of financial protection against risks associated items you have purchased. You’ll be more likely to take out insurance if the product you’re purchasing amounts to a significant value.
The list of insurance policy types is endless – almost any product will come with the option to add insurance.
The most common types of insurance are motor vehicle insurance or home insurance policies – these are also our most popular insurance types.
Insurance Firms can choose to be ‘rated’ according to an ‘official financial strength rating’ which is provided by one of the international rating agencies, such as Standard and Poor’s 500 Index (S&P), Moody’s, Fitch Ratings and AM Best. Essentially, where insurance companies specifically ask to be scored, their rating is awarded according to their financial strength and ability to pay claims. The higher the score the ‘safer’ it is to hold an insurance policy with that provider.
An un-rated insurer is one which does not carry an official financial strength rating – this is often because they choose not to participate as the rating is often expensive to purchase and is not required by law. A rated insurer is one which does carry a financial strength rating.
As an insurance broker, we negotiate prices with the insurance providers on our panel – so it is likely that you will find a cheaper price than you would if shopping with them directly.
However, please note that, as a broker, we have to perform a variety of security and integrity checks on behalf of our insurance providers. There are also some changes that are unfortunately subject to additional cost, particularly if they involve changing address, a vehicle or driver. As such, we’ll charge an administration fee for changes like these to be made. This is to cover the time and resources involved in making such changes.
Yes, you can drive abroad – but, for additional peace of mind, you should make sure your breakdown membership is valid outside of the UK. You are not required to have a green card if you are driving within the EU.
An insurance excess is the amount you’re required to pay when making a claim on your insurance. In essence, it’s your contribution towards covering the cost of repairs.
Almost all insurance policies (except for life insurance) requires a minimum excess to be paid – this is usually agreed when you take out your policy.
There are two parts to an insurance excess:
- A compulsory excess: this is decided by your insurer and cannot be changed. It’s non-negotiable and you must be agreed to when you take out your insurance policy. It is based (and will vary depending) on your circumstances and risk factors such as your age, type of car, location and claims history.
- A voluntary excess: this is chosen by you – or the policy holder. You do not have to add a voluntary excess, but it could help reduce your premium if you do.
Your compulsory and voluntary excess combine to create a total excess which must be paid in the event of making a claim. You agree to this when taking out your policy.
You may be interested by an additional product we offer –Lifestyle Excess Protection, which can give you peace of mind when it comes to paying an excess in the event of making a claim.
For further information or to purchase this product, please log into the customer portal.
All our panel of insurance providers agree that you must go by what your doctor has recommended in relation to driving. Failure to do so could invalidate your insurance.
Classic car insurance policies are rated differently from standard car insurance policies. This is why you may see that you have 0 years of no claims bonus (NCB) on your policy. Classic car insurers take into account factors such as the agreed value of the car, its condition, usage restrictions (e.g., limited mileage), and storage conditions to assess risk and determine the premium, rather than using NCB. As a result, you cannot protect your NCB on this type of policy. However, you will still accumulate NCB years during your policy with us.
Need to make a claim?
One Call Claims are on hand and available to call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.