car insurance

When you call to report an incident, we’ll look at your policy and answer any questions about what is covered and what excess you’ll have to pay, if any.

Once we know that everyone is safe and well, the most important thing is to get your car repaired as quickly as possible.

If you use our recommended repairer network, you won't need to get an estimate for the repairs, and we'll allocate you a repairer straight away. The repairer will call you by the end of the next working day and will be able to arrange collection of your vehicle if you'd like.

Each repair is carried out in accordance with recognised industry standards and all work is guaranteed for five years.

At the repairer the damage to the vehicle will be fully assessed. They will then contact us with an estimate of the cost of the repairs and, once authorised, repair work will begin.

If your car is stolen then you will need to obtain a crime reference number from the police. When you report your claim to us we'll take some basic details and arrange a convenient time to discuss the theft in more detail. The outcome of your claim will depend on whether your car is recovered or not.

You may be entitled to a courtesy or hire car whilst your vehicle is being repaired. Subject to availability. We'll explain the options when you call to report your claim.

Our Guaranteed Hire Car or Guaranteed Hire Car Plus options guarantee your entitlement to a hire car. If you selected one of these cover options, your claims advisor will be able to contact the hire car company for you.

In some cases the fault is clear but it often isn't. There are occasionally a number of different opinions on what happened. We'll listen to your description of the accident and then look objectively at all other information available. We have specialist teams to deal with complex claims and we'll liaise with third parties and other insurers on your behalf.

The nature of your claim and whether or not your no claims discount is protected will dictate any impact on your discount. Your claims handler will try to give you an estimate of the impact when you report your claim, although this isn’t always possible.

If somebody has been hurt in an accident, the first priority is to ensure that they're OK. Claims involving injury can be quite complex so one of our specialist teams may be involved to support you through the process. We handle thousands of injury claims each year and strive to deal with them all fairly and promptly.

If you took out Churchill Legal Assistance Service with your car insurance policy and you have an accident involving your car that is not your fault, we will pay up to £100,000 in legal costs to help you recover your uninsured losses from the party at fault as long as it is more likely than not that your claim will succeed.

After an accident or loss, your vehicle may be considered more expensive to repair than replace. This means your vehicle will be written off as a Total Loss. In these cases, it is necessary for us to place a settlement value on your vehicle.

If you have our Comprehensive cover:
If you're the first and only registered owner and your car is less than one year old, we will attempt to offer you a permanent replacement vehicle of the same make and model.

If you have our Comprehensive Plus cover:
If you're the first and only registered owner and your car is less than two years old, we will attempt to offer you a permanent replacement vehicle of the same make and model.

In cases where this is not possible, your claim will be settled based on the market value of your vehicle at the date of loss.

If your car is more than one year old and is written off (Comprehensive cover) or if your car is more than two years old and is written off (Comprehensive Plus cover), instead of just being offered a bank transfer for the settlement value of your car, less any excess that may apply, we'll offer to help find you a replacement car using our trusted nationwide network. You can upgrade the new car by adding your own money. Or you can downgrade and take the extra value as cash. It's your choice.

Cars come with a 12-month warranty (terms and conditions apply) and free delivery in most cases.

This service excludes theft claims and the minimum price of the replacement car is £3500. It is also subject to availability – we may not be able to find an exact match for your car. There are some postcodes in Scotland and Islands where we are unable to provide free delivery.

We employ a specialist team of highly skilled motor engineers to ensure we place an accurate value on your vehicle. The engineers follow a consistent process to ensure that every vehicle is valued using the same methodology, whilst also considering the local market conditions. We aim to ensure that a fair market value on your vehicle is delivered first time every time.

In order to determine the market value of your vehicle we use a starting point from the UK’s leading valuation publication, Glass’s guide. The retail figure from Glass’s is used, which would be the amount you would expect to pay if you bought a vehicle from a used car dealership.

1. Overall mileage and condition: if the vehicle has low mileage this will increase the value; if it has high mileage this will decrease the value.
2. Full service history: the quality of the service history will have a bearing on the valuation.
3. Optional extras and modifications above the vehicles stated specification: this is taken into account in accordance with Glass’s guide recommendations.
4. The pre-accident condition of the vehicle: as our starting point is Glass’s Guide “retail ” we consider areas of damage that would need to be rectified in order to achieve that retail value. We calculate these deductions using standard repair methods, using our discounted Group rates.
5. The local market place: we look at the local market to ensure the value we have placed on your vehicle would allow you to purchase a similar vehicle in the local area.

When you've agreed a valuation with the engineer, they'll notify us and we'll arrange for a payment to be made. Payments are usually made by bank transfer and once requested, take around 5 working days to be processed.

Any agreed settlement will be subject to your agreed policy excess, and/or premium adjustment where applicable.