What’s covered by an LV= car insurance policy and what are the different types of cover?
Your questions on what our comprehensive car insurance covers, our optional extras and the different choices on offer - answered below...
Types of cover | Comprehensive car insurance | What else is covered / not covered
Types of cover
We offer two types of car insurance: Comprehensive and Third party, fire and theft.
Third party cover is the minimum legal requirement in the UK and most EU countries. Our Third party, fire and theft insurance covers your car if it’s damaged by fire or stolen and not recovered. If you’re involved in an accident that was your fault, it covers damage or injury you cause to other people and their vehicle/property but doesn’t cover damage to your car.
Most people go for our comprehensive cover. In fact, if your car’s under six years old, then it’s your only option. Comprehensive means your insurance covers vandalism and damage caused to your car in an accident as well as damage caused to another vehicle and/or injury to its driver. It also covers your car if it's damaged by fire or stolen and not recovered.
We insure most makes and models of vans. The easiest way to find out more about it is to head over to our van insurance page.
Although we don’t provide specific cover for caravans or trailers, our car (or van) insurance does cover damage caused to other people or their property when you’re towing one.
Comprehensive car insurance
Here are some of the benefits of our comprehensive car insurance:
- Accidental damage cover - Scratched or dented your car? We pay for repairs so it's good as new.
- Uninsured driver promise - If the other driver's not insured and you have to claim, you keep your no claim discount and there's no excess to pay, as long as you have the other driver's details.
- Vandalism promise - If your car’s damaged by vandalism, you won't lose your no claim discount. You'll need to report the incident to the police, give us the crime reference number and pay the excess.
- Lifetime guarantee on repairs when using our recommended repairer service for as long as you own the vehicle (labour only, excludes parts).
- Personal accident cover - £10,000 cover if any named driver(s) are injured.
- Personal belongings cover - £300 cover for loss or damage to things in your car, like clothes, your bag or mobile phone.
- A new-for-old car replacement - If your car’s written off and it’s less than 12 months old, we replace it with a brand new one.
- Wrong fuel - If you put the wrong fuel in your vehicle, we pay to drain and flush your fuel tank and cover the damage to the car's engine. You may have to pay an Accidental Damage excess - we'll let you know how much that is if you make a claim. Tip: if you accidentally use E10 rather than E5 there’s no need to drain the tank, just fill with E5 next time.
Have a look at your policy documents for a full list of the cover benefits.
If you can't find your LV= insurance documents: log in or register for an online account.
Plus, download the Alexa Skill or Google Action to make fact-finding easier.
Guaranteed hire car cover doesn't come as standard with our car insurance, but you can add it to your policy anytime. Check your policy documents to see if you're covered already or find out more about optional extras.
Want to add guaranteed hire car cover to an existing policy? Chat now, or call us on and we'll be happy to help:
If you bought your car insurance before 22/11/2022 please call: 0330 678 5222
If you bought your car insurance on or after 22/11/2022 please call: 0330 678 5111
Calls will be recorded.
For Text Phone: dial 18001 first.
Lines are open:
8am - 8pm Monday to Friday
9am - 5pm Saturday and bank holidays
10am - 4pm Sunday
Personal accident cover protects you in the event of a serious injury while travelling in, or getting in/out of your car.
Our comprehensive car insurance comes with £10,000 personal accident cover for you, your partner or a named driver on the policy if the injury results in:
- Permanent or total loss of sight in one or both eyes
- Permanent or total loss of hearing in one or both ears
- Permanent loss of any limb above the wrist or ankle
- Permanent loss of use of any limb above the wrist or ankle
- Permanent, total disablement; or
- Death
You’ll find a more detailed description and more information about personal accident cover in our car insurance policy document.
Optional: Extended Personal Accident Cover
With our comprehensive cover, you have the option to increase your personal accident cover from the £10,000 in total up to £100,000 per eligible person.
You’ll also benefit from an additional cash payment if you, your partner or a named driver are admitted to hospital as a result of an accident in the car.
Pick and choose from our optional extras to enhance your cover so it’s just right.
- Breakdown cover from LV= Britannia Rescue.
- £100,000 personal accident cover to cover you, your partner and named drivers for serious injury when using your car.
- Up to £100,000 Motor legal expenses.
- Option to protect your no claim discount for the life of your policy.
- Guaranteed hire car while your car's being repaired, with the option to upgrade to a similar size car.
Conditions apply and some of these options aren't available for all cover levels. See our optional extras for more information or get a car insurance quote.
What else is covered / not covered?
EV charging accessories: With LV= electric comprehensive car insurance, we'll cover your charging cables and home charging point(s) for accidental damage, fire and theft.
Pregnancy or surgery: You’re still covered if you’re pregnant or you’ve had surgery, including a caesarean or other operation. Just check with your doctor that it's safe for you to drive. If so, there's no change to your car insurance cover and you don't need let us know.
Riots: Your car insurance does include a level of cover for damage caused by riots.
With comprehensive car insurance, your car's covered against vandalism, fire or theft as a result of a riot in the UK.
With third party, fire and theft insurance, you can claim for damage to your car caused by fire or for theft resulting from a riot in the UK.
Vaccination: You’re still covered to drive immediately after a vaccination, including one for COVID-19. LV= covers you to drive after medical treatment, such as getting holiday jabs or giving blood, as long as you’re fit to drive.
Volunteering: you’re covered under normal social use if you’re volunteering in any capacity, either due to COVID or as part of your normal life.
If you can't find your LV= insurance documents:
Just log in or register for an online account plus download the Alexa Skill or Google Action to make fact-finding easier.
Remember not to leave your keys in your car: We may not be able to cover you against theft if your keys are left in the car when it's stolen.
Electrical or mechanical faults: Our car policies do not cover your vehicle for mechanical or electrical issues or wear and tear. If you think your vehicle has suffered a fault, it’s best to take it to a garage.
If you’re still not sure, call our incident report team on 0330 678 5900.
Calls will be recorded.
For Text Phone: dial 18001 first.
Lines are open:
8am - 6:30pm Monday to Friday
9am - 1pm Saturday
Closed Sunday and bank holidays
Yes. We'll cover you to use your privately-owned vehicle to aid in a humanitarian crisis:
- You're covered to transport aid around the UK and for all other volunteering purposes you need your vehicle for.
- You’re covered to drive in the ‘Free Circulation without Green Card’ zone at the same level as your UK cover (for the period stated in your documents). Ukraine and Russia are not in this zone.
Familiarise yourself with the regulations for the cross-border transport of goods and make sure you follow any travel advice issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. Please also check your policy documents carefully for any limits of cover or policy exclusions.
You don't need to let us know if you're using your car to volunteer - your cover won't be affected.
If you’re not sure about something, just give us a call and we’ll be happy to help.
Damaged cars can be split into two categories: Category S (Cat S) or Category N (Cat N). With LV= Car Insurance, you can cover a vehicle in either category, provided it's roadworthy and has an MOT (if applicable).
You can get a car insurance quote online.
What is a Cat S car?
A vehicle written off with the classification Category S means it has sustained damage to any part of the structural frame or chassis which requires realignment to its original dimensions or replacement of these parts. A minor, localised repair on a panel identified as structural won't necessarily be considered realignment of a structural panel.
What is a Cat N car?
A vehicle written off with the classification Category N means it hasn’t sustained damage to the structural frame and doesn’t need its chassis replaced or realigned to original dimensions. There may still be some safety critical items that need replacing, such as steering and suspension parts.
Not what you were looking for? Find your answer in our car FAQ hub.
Sorry if any of this sounds like jargon. You'll find an explanation in our car insurance glossary...