No, your policy doesn’t provide cover for any mechanical failure, or wear and tear to your vehicle or its parts.
What affects the price of your car insurance?
Your car insurance price explained
When we set the price of your car insurance, we analyse hundreds of factors, ranging from how many claims are being made, your own details and experience, and what's happening throughout the constantly changing world that we live in. Prices fluctuate as we continuously review and adjust based on the current market.
Parts and repair costs
Repairs and car parts generally become more costly each year. And this is taken into account when setting insurance prices.
Insurance Premium Tax (IPT)
It's a government-introduced tax on insurance policies including home, travel and pet, which every insurance provider has to charge.
Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) for car insurance has increased by 6% over the last decade and is now 12%. Such increases carry through to customer prices.
Fraud
Fraud adds approximately £50 to every premium, and if false or inaccurate details are provided, it can result in the policy being invalid and claims not being paid. We're always looking at new ways to combat this in order to keep prices down for honest customers.
The car you're insuring
Factors like the make, model, age, fuel type, value, transmission, and engine size of the car all influence the price of car insurance. In addition to this, if you've owned the car for longer, you'll be more used to driving it, which may result in a lower price.
The town or city you live in
We take into account the frequency of accidents, the cost of repairs, theft rates and claims for injuries around your local area. Fewer claims or lower costs in your area could reduce the cost of insuring vehicles.
No Claims Discount
As recognition for showing us that you're a safe driver, you'll receive a discount on your premium for each year of claim-free driving.
Your previous claims
The price we quote you will be affected by any accidents you've had or claims you've made during the last 5 years.
Previous driving convictions
Our data tells us that those with a driving conviction are more likely to claim, which can affect the price. This is why we take driving convictions into account when we calculate the cost of insurance.
Your driving patterns
The fewer miles you drive, the less likely you are to claim due to the short period you spend on the road. The nature of your journeys can also affect the price, such as whether you drive for business, commuting or social.
Drivers of the car
We look at all kinds of driver details when setting the price, such as age and type of licence. For example, on a provisional licence, the driver is fully supervised. But when they move to a full licence, they're no longer supervised and tend to drive significantly more miles.
Still need help?
Whether you're an existing customer or you're looking to take out a new policy with 1st Central, you can find lots of useful information on our Help & Support page.
Answers to important questions
What car insurance payment options do you offer?
If you're 18 or over, you have the option of paying in full or in instalments, subject to a creditworthiness assessment. It's more expensive to pay for your policy by monthly instalments instead of paying in full, because you're charged interest on a loan.
However, if you're 17 you'll need to pay in full as car finance is not an option for 17-year-olds, as you're not allowed to sign a credit agreement until the age of 18.
If you decide to pay by instalments, we offer two options: a direct debit from your bank or monthly recurring card payments from a debit or credit card.
When you purchase a policy for the first time and decide to pay monthly, you'll be required to pay a deposit on the day you purchase, in addition to your monthly instalments.
We accept the following cards:
Visa, Visa Electron, Mastercard, Maestro
Does my car insurance cover mechanical failure?
Does my car insurance cover business use?
You would have told us what you use your car for when you took out your policy.
Please check your Insurance Certificate to confirm your level of cover.
You can find your Insurance Certificate online in the Your Account.
Does my car insurance cover me to drive other cars?
If you are aged 25 or over, then in a majority of cases we will cover you to drive other cars, although there are some exceptions to this rule, for example some occupations won't be covered.
Please don't assume that you are covered without first checking your Certificate of Motor Insurance. When you buy a policy with us, we will email this to you and can also be accessed within Your Account. If your policy includes cover for driving other cars it will be shown under section 5 of your Certificate of Motor Insurance and will mean 1ST CENTRAL will provide Third Party only cover for any accident involving the car, while you're driving it. This covers any amounts you are legally liable to pay if someone else is injured or killed or their property is damaged, but not any damage to the car you're driving.
When you're getting a quote, we'll tell you before you buy whether driving other cars is included.
The following conditions must be met for this cover to apply:
- You must obtain prior permission from the owner of the car
- You are still in possession of your own car, it is still insured and it has neither been damaged beyond economical repair nor stolen
- The other car is not owned by you and is insured by another insurance policy to drive on the public highway (and is not a rental car, or hired to you under a hire purchase or leasing agreement)
- You are not named as a driver of the other car on any Certificate of Motor Insurance
- You are not using this cover to remove the car in the event it has been seized by, or on behalf of, any government or public authority
Does my car insurance cover me to drive my car abroad?
Your 1st Central policy includes up to a maximum of 90 days’ free cover per policy year whilst driving the insured vehicle in:
- any country which is a member of the European Union; and
- any country which the Commission of the Economic Community approves as meeting the requirements of Article 8(1) of the EC Directive 2009/103/EC, or as amended.
Countries include:
Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland (including Liechtenstein).
Currently you have the same level of cover you receive in the UK for 90 days whilst driving in Europe, and cover isn’t limited to one trip only. After the 90 days, if you’re still driving abroad, you’ll automatically have the minimum legal cover required for that country (usually third party only).
If you’ve already used your period of cover for this year or wish to extend your cover beyond your standard allowance, this will be subject to our underwriting criteria and you may need to pay an additional premium.
You need to let us know if you’re planning to take your car abroad, no matter how many days you plan to go away for.
You can view your Insurance Document Wording on our website here.