Who is the Co-op?
The Co-op Group was founded in 1863 and originally named The Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS); a movement that put customers at the centre of their operation with members taking a share of the profits. Co-op now offers a whole range of insurance products including car, home, life, travel and pet insurance.
Co-op car insurance policies
Co-op car insurance offers two car insurance policy types:
Comprehensive
Co-op comprehensive car insurance provides cover for the following:
- social, domestic and pleasure journeys, can also add cover for travelling to work
- cost of damage to other peoples cars and property
- cost of damage to your own car as a result of an accident or fire
- cover if your car is stolen or an attempted theft
- pays the market value of your car if your car is written-off in an accident, stolen and not recovered, or destroyed by fire
- cost of windscreen repair or replacement
- provision of a courtesy car when one of our approved repairers fixes your car as part of a claim
- cost of replacing lost or stolen keys
- 24-hour accident recovery service if your car needs to be recovered in an accident for which you could make a claim
- up to 30 days insurance cover in the European Union over the policy year
- Uninsured Driver Promise - 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 providing you can provide the car and uninsured driver details
Third-party fire and theft
Third-party fire and theft car insurance provides cover for the following:
- cost of damage done to other people, cars and property
- cost of repair for your car if it has been damaged in a fire, an attempted theft or if stolen and recovered
- pay the market value of your car if your car is written-off due to fire or theft or if it is stolen and not recovered.
Co-op car insurance extra benefits
There are a number of extra benefits you can add to your policy including:
UK and European breakdown cover
Co-op Insurance has teamed up with AXA Assistance (UK) Ltd to provide a comprehensive breakdown cover service that is advertised as being fast and reliable.
There are three levels of breakdown cover, including:
- roadside and recovery
- roadside, recovery and homestart
- roadside, recovery, homestart and EU cover
Guaranteed Hire Car
Co-op car Insurance provides you with a hire car as standard if your car is being repaired by a Co‑op approved repairer following an insured incident. Provides a hire car for up to 14 consecutive days if your car is written off or stolen and not recovered. Up to £200 for alternative travel expenses if Co-op car insurance is unable to supply a courtesy car.
There are two options available with regard to car hire:
- level 1 will provide a small hatchback
- level 2 will provide a four-door family saloon
No Claim Discount Protection
You can add No Claims Discount (NCD) protection at inception or on renewal provided:
- you have earned five years’ discount or more
- not made more than one claim in the last three years.
You will lose your protection if you make more than two claims in three years
Motor Legal Protection
Motor Legal Protection provides the following cover for you, and any named drivers, on your Co-op car insurance policy:
- up to £100,000 cover for legal expenses
- access to a 24-hour legal helpline
Medical expenses
- up to £250 per person
Personal belongings
- up to £250 per claim
In-car entertainment and navigation equipment
- unlimited if fitted as standard or up to £500 if not fitted as standard
Vandalism promise
- if you make a claim caused as a result of vandalism, you will not lose your No Claim Discount
Emergency transport and accommodation
- if you are unable to continue your journey as a result of an insured incident, Co-op will provide assistance in getting you and up to eight passengers to a safe location or pay up to £500 in total for one night's accommodation or supply a small hire car for up to a maximum of 24 hrs
Child Seat Cover
- If a child car seat is fitted to the vehicle that is involved in an insured loss, the seat will be replaced even if there is no damage to it
Misfuelling
Co-op insurance will pay up to £250 toward the cost of draining if inappropriate fuel is put into the fuel tank
Co-op Pay per mile car insurance
Traditional car insurance policies charge a similar premium no matter how many miles you actually drive. Co-op car insurance offers an option for low mileage drivers to just pay for the number of miles driven.
Start a policy and you will pay a fixed annual cost while your car is parked then just pay for the miles you drive every month. You will receive a 'Miles Tracker' in the post, which is plugged under your car dashboard to measure the miles you drive every month.
How do Co-op car insurance extra benefits compare with other insurers?
| Co-op | Direct Line | LV= | Aviva | |
| Guaranteed Hire Car | Yes | Yes | £9.90 for small hatchback, £29.90 for similar car to own | Yes |
| Transport after accident | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| No Claim Discount Protection | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Breakdown Cover | Individual cost calculation | From £25 p.a. | From £26 p.a. | Individual cost calculation |
| Motor Legal Protection | Individual cost calculation | £28 p.a. | £25.99 p.a | £29 p.a. |
| Multi-car Discount | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Black Box available | Temporarily unavailable | Yes | No | No |
| Admin fee for policy amendments | £25 | No | £15 | No |
| Available on comparison sites | Yes | No | Yes | No |
Co-op car insurance customer reviews
The consumer website Which? ranked Co-op car insurance 16th out of 39 policies analysed with a score of 68%. The report noted that there was no guarantee on the availability of a courtesy car and that the limit of £150 limit on windscreen damage was particularly low.
Summary
Co-op car insurance is a well-established car insurance provider and offers similar features to other providers. The NCD protection feature is better than some other providers but the £25 admin fee for changes to your policy is comparatively expensive.
