Everything You Need to Know About the Optional Extras That Can be Added to Your Policy

We pride ourselves on providing excellent cover for every customer, no matter the duration of the policy. But sometimes, you may want to take additional precautions, and use one (or more) optional extras to supplement your temporary insurance policy. To help you customise your cover, we’ve introduced three core optional extras: 

• Breakdown protection cover
• Excess protection cover 
• Legal protection cover. 

But what do each of these add-ons actually mean?

What is Breakdown Cover?

Put simply, breakdown cover ensures that if the vehicle you’re borrowing breaks down during the period you’re covered to drive it for, you’ll have access to assistance to get you back on the road again. Our breakdown cover will always last for the duration of your insurance policy – whether that’s hourly car insurance, daily, weekly or monthly. But what does breakdown cover actually include? Depending on where you breakdown and the extent of the issue, our breakdown cover offers:

• Roadside assistance: we’ll try to fix the problem and get you on your way again at the site of the breakdown.
• Local recovery: we’ll recover the vehicle within 10 miles of the breakdown.
• Home assistance: we’ll assist if the vehicle breaks down at home or within a mile of it. 
• Nationwide recovery: we’ll collect you and your passengers from wherever you’ve broken down, and take you home.
• Other transport: we’ll pay up to £250 towards the cost of alternative transport.

Pretty good, right? The peace of mind breakdown cover affords drivers is second-to-none: no matter what happens, you know you’ll be okay. If you’re planning a long road trip, it’s always a good idea to opt for breakdown cover – undertaking the drive from Land’s End to John O’Groat’s without it wouldn’t exactly be wise. And if you’re lending a family member or a friend your car, asking them to get breakdown cover will allay any fears you have about your car being left in the back of beyond, while they scramble to sort out a rescue. After all, it’s much easier to walk away from a car that isn’t your own…

So, how does breakdown cover work? Whether you’ve broken down on a busy dual carriageway or simply can’t get out of your drive – breakdown cover will sort it. Whilst the cost of breakdown cover will naturally vary depending on the duration of the period you’ve taken out your insurance policy for, it’s nearly always cheaper to have it than it is to pay the cost of organising your own roadside assistance. But how much is breakdown cover? Typically, adding on breakdown cover to your policy will cost from just £1.49 for an hour of cover, and £4.49 for 4 days – one hour’s worth of breakdown cover will naturally be significantly less than a week’s worth, and so on.

For full details of what your breakdown protection covers, always check the policy document wording.

What Does Motor Legal Protection Cover?

Legal protection cover is an add-on designed to protect you in the event of an accident that isn’t your fault, by providing you with the means to pursue legal action against the party at fault. If you (the insured person) has an accident that isn’t your fault, provided you’ve purchased this add-on, the expense of pursuing legal proceedings will be covered against a third party – the person who is at fault. But what does legal protection cover on car insurance?

• If there’s been damage done to the insured vehicle and any property within it.
• If you’re seeking compensation for bodily injury or death.
• If you’re looking to recover your excess.
• If you’re looking to recover lost earnings.

As with each of our optional add-ons, the cost of motor legal protection cover varies depending on the duration of your temporary car insurance policy, for example an hour’s cover costs from just £0.87, and a month of cover is from £1.99, and it applies for the full duration of your cover. Should someone else be borrowing your car, you might want to consider encouraging them to opt for motor legal protection cover, as this will equip them to pursue any wrongdoing without implicating you or requiring your assistance – financial or otherwise. If any damage is done to your (insured) vehicle, you’ll know you don’t have to worry about finding the cash to fix it.

Motor legal protection cover is ultimately intended to save you money down the line, in case of an event whereby you’d need legal help (and the requisite financial support) to pursue any compensation you might be owed by a third party. To pursue legal action without this add-on can be extremely costly. Whilst some lawyers may only charge you in the event they win your case, this is certainly not an industry standard – and you’d still need to be prepared to pay them a portion of any financial compensation you received in the event you won your case.

For full details be sure to review the policy wording for this optional extra.

How to Add These Optional Extras to Your Temporary Policy?

Each of our optional extras can be added easily to the temporary insurance policy of your choice. Simply apply for a quote as you usually would, and indicate which one (or more) of the add-ons you’d like to bolster your cover with. If someone’s borrowing your car and you’d like them to take out an add-on with their temporary cover, advise them of this before they complete their transaction. Depending on your plans, you’ll be able to judge which would make the most sensible choice for you – you could choose as many or as few extras as you’d like.

It’s always wise to be prepared for any eventuality on the road – especially as it’s typically other drivers you need to watch out for! Our new optional add-ons provide another layer of protection and security to your road use, ensuring that you can feel confident in a huge range of motoring circumstances – from a scratched wing mirror to engine failure.