Frequently asked questions – car insurance

About your car insurance cover

Can I get immediate cover with Hastings Car Insurance?

Yes, providing you have a debit or credit card we can start your cover immediately and if you wish to pay by direct debit you will also need to have your bank details to hand.

Am I insured to drive someone else's car?

If you take out a policy through Hastings Direct this may be included as part of your policy, subject to eligibility. If you have this cover it will be shown on your Certificate of Motor Insurance and this will also be detailed on your quote under the heading "driving other cars". Please note the cover provided under this section will be restricted to Third Party Only and is subject to the relevant terms and conditions. This cover, if applied, will be limited to the policy holder only.

Am I insured to travel abroad?

Your policy gives you the cover described in your current Certificate of Motor Insurance, and automatically includes a FREE International Motor Insurance Certificate (which you should find on the back of your current Certificate of Motor Insurance) for a maximum of 60 days per trip. The International Motor Insurance Certificate is only valid for the following countries:

• Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and Channel Islands including transit by sea, land or air within and between these places.
• Any other country which is a member of the European Union
• Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Croatia

Therefore there is no need to call us if you are taking your car to any of these countries for less than 60 days per trip, but you do need to take your Certificate of Motor Insurance. Green cards may be issued if you wish to travel to any country not included in the above list, subject to prior agreement with the insurer. For use of a vehicle in trips exceeding 60 days in any of the territories above, or for any trip to a country not listed, you must first contact the customer service department to obtain an agreement and pay any additional premium requested. Unless this condition is met, only the minimum cover required by the relevant law in those countries listed above will apply, and no cover whatsoever will apply in any country not listed.

Can I insure my car if it has modifications?

Modifications that improve your car's value, performance, handling or attractiveness may be unacceptable. If you are unsure whether your vehicle modifications are acceptable or you have any questions, please call 0800 99 1066 to speak to one of our sales advisors.

Do the years I've spent driving a company car count towards my no claims discount (NCD)?

If you have previously driven a company car, not a pool car, including business and pleasure use, we may be able to offer you a NCD. You must have surrendered the company car within the last year, be claim free and able to supply a letter from your employer to confirm this information. Please call 0800 99 1066 to speak to one of our sales advisors and they will be able to confirm if we can accept this.

Will I get a courtesy car following an accident?

Providing you have Comprehensive cover, if you are involved in an accident and you use one of the insurer's recommended repairers, you may or may not be provided with a courtesy car while your car is being repaired, depending on availability. You will not get a courtesy car if your car is a write-off or stolen and not recovered.

If you are not entitled to a courtesy car, your policy does not cover the cost of hiring an alternative vehicle. However, if the accident was not your fault and you have taken out optional Legal Protection cover you will get legal assistance to help you recover the cost of hiring a replacement vehicle while yours is off the road.

Do you charge any fees?

In addition to premiums charged by the insurer we will also apply fees to cover our administration costs.

Please see Our Terms and Conditions for full details regarding our fees

If I cancel will there be any charges?

When you purchase your policy, we will send your initial policy documents in the post. On receipt of these, you then have a 14 day cooling off period for reflection. If you cancel during that period, the insurer will make a charge in proportion to the period of cover you have enjoyed. (If cover has not started, no charge will be made by the insurer). If you cancel after the 14 day cooling off period, the charge applied by the insurer depends upon the period of cover.

For full details concerning cancellation and charges, please refer to your policy booklet (which we make available to view, print or download via the link to Important Documents when we provide your online quotation). However, in either of the above cases you may not get any refund if a claim has been made, or is likely to be made on the policy. If you are paying by instalments, the full annual premium may still be due. In addition to the above, we apply our own administration charge to cover our costs - please click the link to Our Terms and Conditions to obtain full details.

Can I protect my no claims discount?

Yes, providing you have at least 4 years no claims discount we can usually protect this for you subject to a small additional premium. Once protected, if your are unfortunate enough to have a claim that is classed as your fault the level of your discount will not be reduced at the next renewal, however there is no guarantee that the premium won't increase.

Acceptance criteria and terms and conditions apply.

Do you include windscreen cover?

Yes, if you select Comprehensive cover your insurer automatically provides a replacement or repair of windscreen cover, subject to excess. In addition to the windscreen or windows of your car, cover includes any scratching to your car's bodywork as a result of the broken glass, as stated in the policy wording. Cover excludes sunroofs and any other glass forming part of your car. An excess will usually apply and details of this will be advised prior to you purchasing the policy and then confirmed on your policy documentation.

Do you offer legal protection cover?

Legal protection cover is not automatically included in your policy; however it is available as an optional extra, which you can include with your car insurance policy. It covers a select amount of legal costs which can be found by completing a quote, saving you the cost of finding a solicitor.

Do you offer breakdown cover?

Breakdown cover is not automatically included in your policy; however it is available as an optional extra, which you can include with your car insurance policy.

We offer three levels of cover:

	Drive sure - Roadside	Drive sure - Roadside & Recovery	Drive sure - Roadside, Recovery & Home Service
Yearly cost	£27.99	£49.99	£79.99
Monthly cost	approx £2.33 per month	approx £4.17 per month	approx £6.67 per month
No call out charges
Covers mainland England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Roadside assistance
Messaging service
Recovery service
Personal Cover
Home service
Emergency service
Alternative travel service
Caravan & trailer service

Do you offer Personal Accident cover?

Personal Accident cover is not automatically included in your policy, however it is available as an optional extra, which you can include with your car insurance policy. Our personal accident cover will provide valuable benefit for death or certain specified injuries, following an accident using the insured car. Also, cover is provided for your clothing and personal effects following a road rage incident.

Security for your car insurance

Are my details secure over the internet?

Yes, we use industry standard Secure Socket Layer (SSL) 128-bit encryption technology to keep your personal information and credit/debit details as secure as possible.

Levels of cover

What is the difference between comprehensive car insurance and third party fire & theft car insurance?

Comprehensive covers damage to your car as a result of accident, fire or theft as well as cover for windscreen damage. Comprehensive cover includes other items such as personal accident, medical expenses, personal effects and in-car entertainment. You are also covered for third party damage you are legally responsible for after an accident.

Third party fire and theft covers damage to your car as a result of fire or theft and also provides cover for third party damage if you are responsible for causing it.

What is an insurance excess?

An excess is the amount you must pay in the event of any claim, regardless of who is to blame for an incident. The excess varies depending on the car that is covered, the age and experience of the drivers on your policy and if you have opted to take protected no claims discount. If the accident is not your fault it may be possible to recover this excess from the third party, our legal protection policy, if purchased, is designed to help you with this. Details of your policy excess will be advised prior to you purchasing the policy and then confirmed on your policy documentation.

What is a voluntary insurance excess?

In return for a premium discount you can agree to bear a (voluntary) excess (on comprehensive cover) in addition to any compulsory excess, both of which would be payable by you in the event of a claim. The voluntary excess would not be applied to any glass damage claim, but all other claims would have excesses increased by the amount of the voluntary excess you have chosen.

Contact Details

How can I get in contact about my policy?

New Quotes
Call: 0800 99 1066

Lines are open:
Monday to Friday 08:00 - 21:00
Saturday 09:00 - 17:30
Sunday 10:00 - 17:00

General Enquiries and Existing Policyholders
Call: 0844 800 3844

Need to make a claim?

Please refer to the car policy documents for information on how to claim.