Breakdown/Claim
This glossary is here to help shed light on some confusing insurance terms
Aggregator
A company or firm which collates information supplied by a customer or consumer in order to supply a range of insurance quotes or premiums.
An aggregator service should offer a shopping service to the consumer where the aggregator returns as many of the product results requested as possible offering the customer or consumer a range of choices or options on which products meet their request.
Alarm
A car alarm is a device installed in a car in an attempt to discourage theft of the car. Most alarms work by making a loud noise, others send a signal to the owner warning that their car is being disturbed. Some insurers will offer a discount if the vehicle is alarmed.
Meanwhile, a house alarm is a device installed within a house in an attempt to discourage thieves from breaking into the house. As with car alarms, most house alarms make a loud noise, others send a signal to the owner warning that their house has been broken into. Some insurers will offer a discount if a house has an alarm fitted.
Annual mileage and annual business mileage
In order for you to receive your motorcar, bike or van insurance quote, an insurance company or broker will want to know how many miles each vehicle covers in a year. The reason for this is simple; the more miles spent on the road, the greater the likelihood of an accident. Annual mileage is the total mileage you do in a year. Business mileage is the amount of miles you cover in direct connection with your employment or business.
Bonus
Please refer to No Claims Bonus.
Broker
A broker is an insurance intermediary who sells one or a range of policies from different insurance companies. One reason why brokers have managed to compete in the marketplace is that they are able, in certain circumstances, to negotiate the premium directly with the insurance company which may lead to a cheaper premium.
Comprehensive cover
Please refer to Cover Type.
Compulsory excess
Please refer to Excess.
Conviction code
Conviction codes are shown on the relevant driving licence. This is a 4 digit code of letters then numbers, i.e. AC10, SP30, TS30, XX99 etc.
Cover note
This is a document showing temporary proof of cover for a motorcar, van or motorcycle policy, while the policy and certificate are being prepared by the insurance provider.
Cover type
Third party only (TPO) covers damage that you have caused to a third party owned vehicle as well as injuries sustained by third parties in the same incident, it does not cover damage to your own vehicle or injuries sustained by you.
Third party fire and theft (TPFT) covers fire and theft of the policy holder's car in addition to the above mentioned third party only cover.
Comprehensive (Comp) covers accidental damage to the driver's car in addition to third party fire & theft cover. It also covers injuries sustained by you and third parties involved in the same incident.
Driving other cars (DOC)
If your policy includes DOC then it will be stated on your Certificate of Motor Insurance. DOC is explicitly for emergency use on a third party basis only and with the owner's permission as long as the car has its own separate insurance policy.
DVLA
Driver & Vehicle Licence Agency. www.gov.uk
Endorsement
The terms and conditions imposed on the policy that may affect the original cover. Any endorsements will be listed on your Policy Schedule.
Excess
The excess on your insurance is the initial contribution that you would make towards a claim, the compulsory excess is what is set by the insurer and must be paid in the event of a claim.
In addition to the compulsory excess, you can choose to add a voluntary excess which is what you agree to pay in addition to the compulsory excess in the event of a claim.
Fault or non-fault claim
The way to tell the difference between fault & non-fault claims boils down to whether or not the insurance company were able to recover all their costs from the third party involved.
There are situations where the insured can say that they were in no way responsible for a claim and yet still have the claim classed as fault. e.g. A theft claim where items have been stolen from a vehicle. Naturally the insured feels absolved of any wrong doing, however, as there is no third party to recover the cost of the stolen items from, the claim becomes a fault claim.
Green card
You may need at some point to drive abroad. Most policies will offer some level of cover as standard, perhaps RTA (Please refer to Road Traffic Act) or Third Party Cover (Please refer to Cover Type) whilst driving in Europe. However, it is imperative that you confirm this cover exists on the policy before you drive abroad as driving without the proper insurance can mean claims can be very expensive and may even lead to possible driving convictions if you are not driving with the correct level of insurance for that country.
Hot Hatch
A type of car based on an existing hatchback model, with bigger tyres and wheels to improve road handling and to give a more aggressive look, along with a more powerful engine to give increased performance. Some may also have revised suspension to give better handling or a firmer ride. Most hot hatches feature sporty interior trims, along with racing style steering wheels and bucket seats.
Immobiliser
An electronic immobiliser disables the engine of your motor vehicle. More recent motor vehicles have these factory fitted by the manufacturer and the details of the immobiliser should be shown within your car brochure. It's also possible to have an immobiliser fitted by a garage or specialist who would supply a certificate of installation detailing the exact model of immobiliser. Some insurers will offer a discount if the vehicle has an immobiliser.
Import or imported vehicle
UK-specification These are cars brought in from abroad that match UK specifications.
Non-UK specification These are cars that are brought into the UK from abroad but differ from current UK specifications.
Indemnity
Indemnity means protection or security against damage or loss by compensation, or something by the way of compensation. In insurance terms this would generally equate to being put back in the same state or financial position you were in prior to a loss.
Insurable interest
An example of insurable interest would be that in order to insure a car, it would need to be in your own possession. Therefore, you couldn’t insure your neighbours car, as if it is damaged or stolen then you incur no financial loss.
Insurance intermediary
Please refer to Broker.
Kit cars
A kit-car is an automobile that is available in kit form, i.e. you buy a set of parts that you assemble yourself. Usually many major mechanical parts such as the engine and transmission are taken from one or more donor vehicles. Kits vary in completeness from as little as a book of plans to a complete set of all the components required.
Licence Type
There are a number of different licences that exist, i.e. UK Full, UK Provisional, EEC Full, International etc. From an insurance point of view, you must have at least a provisional licence before you can legally drive on the road.
Legal Owner and registered keeper
The legal owner is the person or organisation that owns the vehicle, they have the right to sell the car and would keep any funds that are generated from its sale. Meanwhile, the registered keeper is the person named on the V5 (vehicle registration document). In most cases the legal owner and registered keeper of the vehicle will be the proposer (Please refer to Proposer) of the insurance policy. However this may not always be the case, for example, should the policy holder be driving a company car (of his/her employer), then the vehicle would be owned by the company but possibly the registered keeper would be the proposer.
Main driver
Whoever drives the vehicle the most is classed as the main driver. This can be a major factor in how the insurance provider arrives at its premium, the insurer is well within its rights to invalidate a claim or even cancel a policy outright if they are advised of the wrong main driver.
Modifications
Modifications are any changes made to the vehicle that are NOT classed as factory standard. This could include engine modifications, alloys, spoiler or sunroof etc. They can even include additions like stickers. Should you not inform us about modifications on your car or vehicle when obtaining your policy, the insurer has the right to refuse payment for any claim or potentially invalidate your policy.
No Claims Bonus (NCB)
For every year you hold an insurance policy, without a fault claim, you receive no claims bonus. This is a discount applied to premiums by an insurance provider which reflects a cheaper premium for, potentially, a safer risk or driver. So the more continuous years driving without a fault claim, the greater the discount applied. However, should you have a fault claim it is likely that your NCB will be reduced, unless you have protected NCB or PNCB (Please refer to Protected NCB).
Pass Plus
Pass Plus is a training scheme for new drivers. A number of insurance providers will offer discounts for taking these extra lessons. Please be aware that you will need to provide your certificate to the insurer if they allow a discount.
Points
Should a driver be convicted of an offence, for instance, speeding or dangerous driving, the driver will receive points on their licence. These will be a factor in how much the insurance provider quotes for their premium. More often than not the greater the number of points, the higher the premium quoted.
Proposer/policyholder
The term given to the person whose name the policy has been taken out in. So if you go to our site and choose to enter a quote in your name, you are deemed the proposer of the policy. Another term you may see used for proposer is policyholder.
Protected No Claims Bonus
Once you have accumulated a certain number of years NCB (Please refer to No Claims Bonus) insurance providers will allow you to protect your NCB. This means that should you have a fault claim then the number of years NCB will remain the same. However, this may not prevent your premium from rising as most companies rate on claims history as a separate factor.
Q-Plate
You've probably noticed (or not) that there aren't many q-plated vehicles on the road. The q-plate is used to point out something more than a unique registration. Here are some of the main reasons why a vehicle would have a q-plate:
- Built from unknown parts, unknown ages, or insurance write-offs.
- Stolen/recovered vehicles.
- Ex-military vehicles (Including Ex-Army, Ex-Navy & Ex-RAF Land Rovers and other forces vehicles).
- Imported vehicles.
Registered Keeper
Please refer to Legal owner and registered keeper.
Risk
In order for any insurance company to provide an insurance quote they must first evaluate the risk they are quoting for. This generally means looking at the customer's quote details and assessing them by their claims history, the cost or type of the vehicle they drive and perhaps the area they live in.
Road Traffic Act (RTA)
In 1930 the Road Traffic Act came into force to guarantee that cover would compensate the innocent victims of accidents. An example of this is third party property damage: the limit is £250,000.
Security
Please refer to Alarm, Immobiliser or Tracker.
Sum Insured
The amount that is paid out by the insurance provider when an insured event occurs.
Third Party
Someone involved in a claim who is neither the policyholder nor the insurance provider.
TPFT cover
Please refer to Cover type (Third party, fire & theft).
Tracker
Vehicle Tracking Systems are electronic devices installed in vehicles to enable vehicle owners or third parties to track the location of a vehicle. Most modern vehicle tracking systems now use GPS modules to allow for easy and accurate location of the vehicle. Many systems also combine a communications component such as cellular or satellite transmitters to communicate the vehicle's location to a remote user. Some insurers will offer a discount if the vehicle has a tracker.
Use
- Social, domestic & pleasure: This covers mainly personal use. Shopping, visiting friends, etc.
- Commuting: This cover is solely to allow drivers to drive to and from one permanent place of work. Please note that travelling to a railway station, where the car is parked, is classed as commuting.
- Business use: This covers the car in connection with your employment, such as driving to different places in addition to your permanent place of work.
- Commercial travelling: Covers the car to be used for door-to-door sales, etc.
Underwriter
The party that decides if a risk should be accepted and then calculates the premium.
Voluntary excess
Please refer to Excess.
Write-off
A damaged vehicle which is not repairable, or costs more to repair than the value of the car before damage occurred.
Yearly premium
The amount you are quoted by an insurance company to cover the risk details you have supplied, inclusive of I.P.T (insurance premium tax). There can be instances where the total amount you're required to pay to an insurance company for a year is higher than just the yearly premium quoted. This may well be for charges for other products such as payment protection or windscreen protection or due to an additional cost for paying by instalments.