Buying car insurance is a bit of a nightmare of tick-boxes and sales pitches, where it’s hard to tell which extras are actually useful and which are just there to pad the premium.
Most of us are so used to seeing a long list of add-ons at the checkout that we either click through and pay for everything, or ignore the lot to save 20 quid. The problem is that some of these features, like hire car cover or legal protection, can be a massive lifesaver when things go wrong, while others are essentially a waste of money that you’re probably already covered for elsewhere.
Admittedly, it can be incredibly confusing, especially since the value of an extra depends less on the price and more on your specific circumstances and what’s already sitting in your bank account or breakdown cover. Getting a grip on which bits of paper are worth the investment is the only way to make sure you’re not overpaying for peace of mind you don’t actually need.
Breakdown cover: probably worth it
Imagine your car suddenly stops working in the middle of nowhere. The engine just gives up. That’s what a breakdown is, and it happens more often than people expect. Standard car insurance doesn’t cover this at all, so without breakdown cover, you’d be stuck on the side of the road with no help coming.
Breakdown cover means someone will come out to fix your car or tow it somewhere safe. You can buy this as an add-on to your insurance policy, or you can buy it separately from companies like the AA or RAC, which is often cheaper. Either way, most drivers find it worth having, especially if they do a lot of miles.
Key cover: more useful than it sounds
Car keys aren’t simple bits of metal anymore. Modern car keys have tiny computers inside them, which means when you lose one or someone steals it, replacing it can cost hundreds of pounds. Key cover pays for that, and it also covers changing the locks if someone gets hold of your keys.
You could claim for this through your main insurance policy instead, but doing that usually affects your no-claims discount, which is the reward you get for not making claims. That discount can save you a lot of money on future policies, so it’s often better to use key cover and keep your main record clean.
Legal expenses cover: handy if an accident wasn’t your fault
If someone crashes into your car, and it definitely wasn’t your fault, you might end up losing money in ways that aren’t immediately obvious, like missing work while your car gets fixed, or having to pay your excess upfront while you wait to get it back. Legal expenses cover helps you claim that money back from the other driver’s insurer.
Most policies give you somewhere between £50,000 and £100,000 of cover for this, which sounds like a lot but is really there for worst-case scenarios. It’s not something everyone will ever need, but for the relatively small cost it usually is, many people consider it worth adding.
Personal accident cover: check what you already have
This one pays out if you’re seriously injured in a car accident, or in some cases if you die. The amounts vary a lot, anywhere from around £1,000 to £150,000 depending on the policy. Here’s the thing, though: a lot of people already have something similar through life insurance or income protection policies they’ve taken out separately.
If that’s you, paying extra for personal accident cover on top of your car insurance is just paying for something twice. It’s worth checking your existing policies before adding this one.
Tyre cover: depends on how much you drive
Tyres get damaged. You hit a pothole, you pick up a nail, a kerb gets the better of you. Tyre cover pays for the repair or replacement when that happens. Whether it’s worth it really comes down to how much driving you do. If you’re on the road every day and covering a lot of miles, a tyre blowing out is a realistic possibility and the cover makes sense.
If you barely use the car and could comfortably pay for a new tyre out of your own pocket, it’s probably one of the easier add-ons to skip. One in six UK drivers currently doesn’t have any tyre protection at all, so it’s worth at least thinking about where you stand.
Enhanced courtesy car cover: only matters if you really need your car
When your car goes in for repairs after a claim, most standard policies give you a basic courtesy car to use in the meantime. Enhanced cover upgrades that, giving you a car for longer, sometimes up to four weeks, and often a car closer in size and type to your own.
If you rely heavily on your car and the idea of being stuck with a tiny runabout for a month while yours gets fixed would be a real problem, this add-on might be worth it. If you’ve got access to another car, or you could manage with public transport for a few weeks, it’s probably not essential.
Don’t pay for the same thing twice.
One of the most common mistakes people make is paying for add-ons they already have through something else. Breakdown cover is a good example: it’s sometimes included as a perk with certain bank accounts, so if you have one of those, you might already be covered without realising it.
The same goes for travel insurance that includes car cover abroad, or home insurance policies that cover key replacement. Before you tick any of the extras boxes when buying or renewing your car insurance, it’s worth doing a quick check of what you’ve already got elsewhere.
How to pay less without cutting things you actually need
Insurance premiums have been going up, and around one in five drivers has already cut back on breakdown cover just to save money. That being said, there are smarter ways to bring the cost down without leaving yourself exposed. Buying your policy around three to four weeks before it’s due to start is consistently one of the best ways to get a cheaper price, as leaving it to the last minute pushes costs up considerably.
Shopping around every year is important as well because insurers don’t reward loyalty the way you might expect, and your current provider might actually offer you a better deal if you compare what else is out there. Paying your whole premium annually rather than monthly also saves money because paying in monthly instalments usually involves interest that can add up to quite a lot over the year.
Also, if you’re increasing your voluntary excess to lower your premium, just make sure it’s an amount you could actually afford to pay if you did need to make a claim.
