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RAC Car Insurance: Your Guide

26/11/2009

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Understanding RAC Car Insurance

RAC car insurance is a key offering from RAC Limited, a well-established automotive services company renowned for its comprehensive breakdown cover and roadside assistance. Beyond just getting you back on the road, the RAC extends its expertise to providing a range of insurance products designed to protect your vehicle and offer peace of mind. When you opt for RAC car insurance, you're benefiting from the backing of a trusted name in the automotive sector, with policies underwritten by a reputable panel of insurers including Ageas, Aviva, LV, Sabre, and Somerset Bridge. This ensures a robust and reliable service for your motoring needs.

What is RAC car insurance?
RAC Online Car Insurance - Ideal if you’re happy to self-serve online and enjoy lower admin fees. You can call us to make a claim 24/7, but for general enquiries, we don’t provide telephone support. RAC Car Insurance – Suits drivers who like the flexibility of managing their policy online, as well as call centre support when it’s needed.

What Types of RAC Car Insurance Are Available?

RAC offers a variety of car insurance policies to suit different needs and levels of protection. While the foundational options of Third Party Only and Third Party, Fire and Theft are standard, RAC particularly distinguishes itself with its two main comprehensive policies:

RAC Comprehensive Car Insurance

This is a solid all-around policy that covers damage to other people's property and injuries to others, as well as damage to your own car from fire or theft. It also includes windscreen cover and provides up to £150 for personal item cover. A courtesy car is provided if your vehicle is being repaired by an approved repairer, and legal costs cover is an optional extra. Medical expenses cover is also included, offering up to £100 per injured person and £5,000 in personal accident cover.

RAC Car Insurance Plus

Stepping up from the standard comprehensive policy, RAC Car Insurance Plus offers enhanced benefits. It includes all the coverages of the comprehensive policy but with increased limits and additional features. You'll benefit from higher medical expense cover (up to £250 per injured person) and greater personal accident cover (£10,000). The cover for personal items is also increased to £250. This policy also includes cover for repairs, which is not a standard feature on the basic comprehensive option. Furthermore, RAC often includes optional breakdown cover and enhanced legal costs cover with this policy, providing a more complete package for discerning drivers.

Specialised RAC Insurance Options

Beyond their core comprehensive offerings, RAC also caters to specific driving situations and preferences:

Temporary Car Insurance

If you need cover for a short period, perhaps when borrowing a friend's car or using a vehicle for a specific event, RAC offers temporary car insurance. This flexible option can cover you from as little as one hour up to 30 days. For instance, a day's cover has a guide price of around £30.26, with the flexibility to extend your coverage online by adding extra hours or days as needed. This is an invaluable service for infrequent drivers or those needing short-term vehicle access.

Black Box Insurance (Telematics)

For drivers looking to potentially reduce their premiums, particularly younger or newer drivers, or even experienced drivers seeking savings, RAC offers black box insurance. This telematics policy involves fitting a small box into your car which monitors your driving behaviour. By downloading a dedicated app, you can track your driver score, which is influenced by five key factors:

  • Acceleration: Smooth acceleration is favoured.
  • Braking: Gentle braking indicates safer driving.
  • Night Driving: Driving between 7pm and 6am can negatively impact your score. If you are a frequent night driver, this policy might not be the most suitable.
  • Speeding: Adhering to speed limits is crucial.
  • Urban Driving: Driving in lower speed zones (35mph or below) is generally viewed positively.

It's important to note that if someone else drives your car, their driving habits will also affect your score, as there's no current option to designate different drivers for score monitoring. A significant benefit of choosing RAC's black box insurance is the inclusion of free RAC breakdown cover and free legal cover, adding substantial value to the policy.

How to Get a Quote and Compare RAC Car Insurance

Comparing car insurance quotes is a vital step in finding the best policy for your needs and budget. You can easily obtain an RAC car insurance quote through comparison websites or directly via the RAC website. For added convenience, you can compare an RAC car insurance quote on platforms like Caura by following the provided links. Taking the time to compare ensures you're getting competitive pricing and the right level of cover for your specific circumstances.

Contacting RAC Insurance

Should you need to speak with RAC insurance for any reason – whether it's to get a quote, make a change to your policy, or discuss a claim – their contact number is readily available:

RAC Insurance Contact Number: 0330 159 1031

Their customer service lines are open during the following hours:

  • Monday to Friday: 8am – 8pm
  • Saturday: 8am – 6pm
  • Sunday and Bank Holidays: 10am – 4pm

Making Changes or Cancelling Your RAC Car Insurance

Life circumstances can change, and you might need to adjust your RAC car insurance policy, for example, by adding a new driver or changing your vehicle. You can also cancel your policy if necessary. To do so, simply use the same RAC insurance contact number: 0330 159 1031. It's important to be aware of the terms and conditions regarding changes and cancellations:

  • Cancelling within 14 days: If you cancel within 14 days of receiving your policy documents, you will typically incur an arrangement fee and be charged for the period you were covered.
  • Cancelling after 14 days: If you cancel your policy after the initial 14-day cooling-off period, you will be charged a cancellation fee and for the time you have been insured.
  • Black Box Policy Cancellations: For black box policies, cancelling within 14 days of receiving documentation incurs a charge for the time covered plus a £35 cancellation fee. If you cancel after this period, and the box was professionally installed, the fee is £125. If you self-installed the box, the cancellation fee is £75.

RAC Car Insurance Reviews and Customer Feedback

Customer feedback provides valuable insight into the service and policies offered by an insurance provider. RAC insurance has received varied reviews across different platforms:

  • Trustpilot: RAC generally scores well on Trustpilot, with a rating of 3.9 stars based on a significant number of reviews (over 112,000). This indicates a generally positive customer experience for many. It's worth noting that these reviews often encompass the wider RAC services, including breakdown cover, which may influence the overall score.
  • Which?: On the Which? platform, RAC received a customer score of 64%, placing them 14th out of 27 insurance firms surveyed. Their standard policy received a policy score of 52%, ranking them 28th out of 28 firms. While the customer score suggests a reasonable level of satisfaction with the service, the lower policy score indicates that the specifics of their standard policy might not be as competitive or comprehensive as some other providers in certain aspects.

It is always advisable to read recent reviews and consider what aspects of the service are most important to you when choosing an insurer.

Frequently Asked Questions About RAC Car Insurance

What is RAC car insurance?

RAC car insurance is a product offered by RAC Limited, a company known for automotive services. It provides various levels of car insurance cover, underwritten by a panel of insurers.

How can I contact RAC insurance?

You can contact RAC insurance by calling 0330 159 1031 during their operating hours (Monday-Friday 8am-8pm, Saturday 8am-6pm, Sunday/Bank Holidays 10am-4pm).

What types of car insurance does RAC offer?

RAC offers Third Party Only, Third Party Fire and Theft, Comprehensive, and Comprehensive Plus policies. They also provide Temporary Car Insurance and Black Box (Telematics) insurance.

Does RAC offer breakdown cover with their car insurance?

While breakdown cover is a core RAC service, it is often an optional extra on standard comprehensive policies but is typically included free with their Black Box insurance policies.

How do I make changes to my RAC car insurance policy?

You can make changes to your policy, such as adding a driver, by contacting RAC insurance on 0330 159 1031.

In conclusion, RAC car insurance provides a range of options designed to meet diverse driver needs, from comprehensive protection to flexible temporary cover and telematics-based policies. Understanding the different levels of cover, contact procedures, and review feedback will help you make an informed decision about whether RAC insurance is the right choice for you.

If you want to read more articles similar to RAC Car Insurance: Your Guide, you can visit the Insurance category.

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