Tyre insurance

[karmaking]

I didn't realise such a thing existed until we bought a new family car recently... it was the only "add-on" that the dealership tried to persuade us to take that we took, and I did so because it was pretty cheap (£50/yr).

Having now been through a claim on it, I can give some details in case anyone else has never heard of it, or was wondering whether it actually pays!

The policy I have is with the AA (although the actual insurer is a company called Motorway Insurance Services). I was very pleased that I DID take it out when it transpired that the tyres on the aforementioned family car are £240 EACH (don't ask...) from a Ford dealer and £170 each from the cheapest source I could find in the UK!

Headlines:

1. They sound very happy to pay out when you call them up as the customer - the process to claim is described as simply taking the car to any tyre repairer/fitter (doesn't have to be the branded main dealer) and the dealer simply calls a special number to confirm that the tyre is indeed damaged/un-reparable and the insurer will even pay the tyre supplier direct (minus a £10 excess).

2. NB. All tyre damage is covered - be it accidental or malicious (I suspect they will want a police report for the latter)... no reulting damage to the car or anything else is covered (but would probably be covered should you want to claim on your normal car insurance).

3. In reality, I found the following:

a) many tyre dealers don't want to deal with you AT ALL when they hear you need them to contact a tyre insurer;
b) when I found one that would do it, they assured me it would be a significant hassle... they were right!

The tyre repairer called the insurer who told them that the "DOT" numbers from both tyres were required - repairer had to ring-off and go and get these...

When repairer called back, insurer said they didn't mean the DOT numbers, it was the manufacture dates of both tyres they needed - repairer had to ring-off and go and get these...

When repairer called back, insurer said they needed to know the tread depth of the damaged tyre - repairer had to ring-off and go and get this... (note careful distribution of info requirements on a strictly one at a time basis!)

(Repairer getting annoyed by now)

When repairer called back, insurer said they would not pay for new tyre but only a repair as there was so much tread left on the damaged one. Repairer said that tyre could not be repaired as the hole made by the AA when temporarily repairing the tyre to get my home (no spare - again, don't ask...) was too large and it would be dangerous.

Insurer asked to see a photo of damaged tyre. Repairer told them o get of their backsides and send an assessor out to look at it if they wanted to dispute the claim. Insurer relented.

Next, insurer said they would only pay a proportion of the new tyre cost as damaged tyre was already worn. At this point, customer (yours truly) gets on phone and points out that they had just tried to say that tyre could only be repaired because there was too much tread left on it. After some too-ing and fro-ing, insurer relents.

By this time, repairer is so fed up with time spent that he wants paying by me and not insurer (unsurprisingly!), but insurer gives go-ahead for replacement and I am expecting a cheque from them. Will report back once it arrives and I can confirm amount is correct!

Basic lesson to be learned: the insurance is worth it to me as the tyres are very expensive and we live in a rural area where I imagine that all four will probably get damaged over the course of a year.

However, if the tyres on your car are inexpensive and your local repairer/fitter WON'T deal with insurance claims (you need to check) this probably isn't worth it due to hoops they will make you/the fitter jump through. You'll need a good nerve and to stand your ground to get paid-out (if I ever do!)...

If anyone wants to know the cheap and reliable tyre fitter near me that WILL deal with insurers, Private Message me as they won't appreciate a wave of insurance claims!!!

Cheers
kk

[Sweadsell]

How many days travel insurance do you need to book for, we are coming straight to Adelaide, so 2 days. Do we need to carry on cover after that, or are we covered by medicare when we arrive?
Laura x