Motor Insurance

The options for motor insurance are Third Party Only, Third Party Fire and Theft and Comprehensive. Third Party Only covers your legal liabilities towards third parties out of the use or ownership of the vehicle. Third Party Fire and Theft also covers loss or damage arising out of theft of fire. Comprehensive cover additionally covers accidental damage such as collision damage. An insurer is not obliged to quote terms for an insurance, even if this is a mandatory requirement for you to drive your vehicle. Therefore, there may be instances where a combination of driver age and experience and type of vehicle can result in no insurance cover being available. Third Party Fire and Theft and Comprehensive upgrades may also be subject to limiting factors such as the type and age of the vehicle and the age of the drivers.

No Claims Discount is a percentage discount accrued annually over a period of consecutive claims-free years. The maximum discount allowed may vary from 45% to 70%, depending on the underwriter, on the cover selected and whether the vehicle is a private or commercial one. This maximum percentage is usually attained after a period of between 4 to 6 years, again depending on a number of factors.
It is usual practice for motor underwriters to set you back two steps following a claim. This is equivalent to the percentages of No Claims Discount earned during the last 2 years preceding the claim. It is best to enquire with your insurer/broker before filing a claim in order that you may gauge the feasibility of the claim after taking into consideration the increase in premium and the excess.

A number of underwriters may offer you the possibility to purchase No Claims Discount protection. This is usually in consideration of a small additional premium and is usually offered on comprehensive policies where full No Claims Discount has already been attained.

No Claims Discount may be transferable between two individuals who have a legal status of marriage or co-habitation and from a company to its’ majority shareholder (and vice-versa and by agreement of the other shareholders). It may also be transferred from one vehicle to another belonging to the same Insured.

In the event of a sale of vehicle on which No Claims Discount has accrued one may utilise this No Claims Discount within a period of 2 years from the termination of the last valid insurance policy on which the No Claims Discount was being enjoyed, after which time it shall be forfeited.

Where an Insured person relocates to a foreign destination for residency, a No Claims Bonus Certificate may be issued by the Insurer confirming the number of claims free years the `Insured’ has enjoyed during the currency of the policy from which such No Claims Discount is required to be transferred.

The discount is a No Claims not a No Fault discount. This means that once you lodge a claim, you lose the discount until such time that your insurers manage to recover their outlay from the third party at fault or his insurers. Same goes for the excess. This is paid with the claim and is returned to you if and when recovered.

In the event of a total loss or a constructive total loss which means that the repair costs would exceed viability and you would qualify for a total loss compensation, the underwriters are bound to reimburse you for the estimated market value at the time of the incident which brought about the loss under review, the amount noted in your certificate being only the highest amount the insurers would pay. You therefore have the obligation to ensure that your vehicle is insured on the correct market value. Most brokers and insurers have the facility to investigate and advise on this following an enquiry to this effect.

Since EU accession your motor policy should automatically cover you for third party risks anywhere within an EU member state. You may also have the option to extend cover for third party fire and theft or comprehensive whilst overseas, but such requests are considered on a case by case basis and, when conceded, will generally be against an additional premium.

For travelling outside of the EU zone, you will need to purchase a green card for third party cover. Same procedure applies to extend cover to Third party fire and theft or comprehensive.

For front to rear (bumper to bumper) collisions you simply need to fill in a “Front to Rear” form and contact your respective insurers who will be guiding you accordingly.

For any other collisions please contact the Traffic Warden service on 21320202 and our office on 234 33 234. Kindly ensure that you notify us immediately following the incident and ideally not later than 24 hours from the date of the incident, unless occurring over the week-end, in which case please contact us on the first working day following the week-end.

In the event of any claims for theft, arson or injury, please inform the nearest police station immediately upon discovering the loss, damage or injury and inform our offices immediately thereafter.

On a comprehensive policy you have the option of extending the standard cover for the hiring of a replacement vehicle up to a specified amount, when you take out the policy or upon renewal. This means that irrespective of whether you are at fault you can recover the costs to hire a replacement car when you are claiming for damages on your vehicle. The number of days for which you can hire a replacement vehicle is stipulated by the respective insurers.

If you are not covered under a Comprehensive policy, and you are involved in a traffic accident for which you are not to blame, you are entitled to claim for the hiring of a replacement vehicle from the third party’s insurers if the third party is found to be responsible for the accident. The third party insurer will however only cover the period during which your vehicle is actually being repaired which does not include waiting time for parts and commencement.

It is recommended that before you hire a replacement vehicle you contact us in order to confirm the rate and the amount of days you are entitled to hire for.