Avoid a financial hit from an uninsured driver

Being involved in a road traffic accident is stressful on it’s own, but what if you are hit by an uninsured driver?

Here are our tips to make sure you don’t end up out of pocket if you have an accident with an uninsured motorist.

Check if you are covered

The good news is that some insurance policies provide cover against uninsured drivers. Each insurer will have different criteria, but the comprehensive policies offered by Co-op Insurance come with our Uninsured Driver Promise.

Our Uninsured Driver Promise means if you have an accident that is the fault of an uninsured motorist, we will refund the cost of your excess and restore your no claims discount.

To take advantage of our Uninsured Driver Promise, all we ask is that you get the other driver’s details and make a note of their car’s registration, colour, make and model. Keeping a notepad in your car, with prompts for the bits of information you'll need, is a good way of making sure you don’t miss anything.

Without this promise, some insurers will not refund the excess – the amount of any claim you agree to pay when you take out the cover, which in many cases can run to hundreds of pounds.

Depending on how many years of no claims discount you have built up, the saving could range from around 30% to 80% of your premium. It’s also important to consider whether you want to protect your no claims discount. This could help keep your insurance costs down in the future and losing it can turn out to be very expensive.

Gather all the evidence

Even minor bumps are stressful and it’s completely normal to get a little flustered. The immediate priority is to check on any possible injuries and alert the emergency services if needed.

If you have a dash cam, it will record the accident and this can be very useful in showing exactly what happened and who was at fault.

You might have a camera on your phone, but this could be the one time you don’t have it on you or it’s run out of battery. As a back-up, why not keep a disposable camera with the notebook containing your prompts? This will remind you to take pictures of the accident, which will help establish exactly what happened and the extent of the damage.

Hopefully you will never be involved in an accident or have to deal with an uninsured driver, but when you’re next considering car insurance, why not have a look at how Co-op Insurance can protect you?