Doesn't driving give you enough to think about, without having to fathom out all the technical terms? We like to make life easy, so we've turned a trunkful of specialist insurance and motoring jargon into clear, straightforward explanations.
Don't know your NCB from your SP30? Want to find out what your car tax will cost - and the easiest way to get it? Or what you need if you're driving abroad?
You'll find these answers and many more, right here in our A - Z quick answers. You can also find more information in our guides on easier motoring and buying car insurance.
A - Z quick answers
Act of God
How insurance companies refer to an event that isn't any individual's fault. Despite what some people might tell you, you are insured against Acts of God, with just a few exceptions mentioned in your car insurance policy.
Additional premium
An extra amount you might have to pay, usually because of a change to your car or who's insured on it.
Annual premium
What you pay every year for your insurance. With elephant, you can pay by direct debit or credit card so it's easier to budget.
Betterment
If your property (e.g. your car) ends up in better condition after an insurance repair than it was before you claimed, you may be asked to make a contribution towards the repair.
Certificate
It's important to keep your insurance certificate safe, since it's proof that you've taken out insurance for your car, etc. You might need to show it when you're taxing your car.
Claim
If you have an accident in your car or it gets damaged, you'll need to check it's covered by your policy, and then make a claim. If it's all in order, then your elephant insurance will pay for a repair or replacement.
Comprehensive cover
The highest level of car insurance you can have. It not only covers you for fire, theft and damage to a Third Party or their property, but also for damage to your own vehicle. With elephant Comprehensive insurance, there are other bonuses too. You'll find out more at what insurance should I have?
Concealment
If you deliberately don't tell us something - for example if your car has a non-standard, high performance engine - then there's a strong chance your insurance won't pay out if you make a claim. It's best to be honest!
Condition
A policy rule you need to follow to make sure your insurance is valid. For example, the condition might be that no one under 21 can drive your sports car.
Direct
elephant sells insurance direct from our website or over the phone, instead of through high street shops. It helps us keep our costs down, which means your premiums are lower too.
elephant.co.uk's garage network
A great way to be assured of great value car servicing to high standards. If you don't like dealing with garages, elephant.co.uk's garage network does it for you! To find out more, go to our servicing your car page.
Endorsement
An extra, written change to your insurance policy. For example, it might say your insurance doesn't cover your car for business purposes (i.e. as a taxi). The endorsement will be shown on your certificate or schedule of insurance.
European cover
Your elephant insurance includes cover for driving in all the EU countries plus Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Croatia. For more information see our driving abroad page.
Excess
The amount of money you have to pay towards a claim, for example the first £50. We explain it in full, in what's an excess?
Fault claim
This is any claim you make on your insurance, where we can't get back 100% of the claim costs from the other party. Even if you only accept 20% blame or fault, it still counts as a fault claim.
Financial Ombudsman Service
We hope you never need to use it, but the Financial Ombudsman Service is there in case you and we have tried everything to settle a disagreement between us, and still can't sort it out. The Financial Ombudsman Service is independent. We have to go along with its final decision, but if you're still not happy you can take the dispute to court.
Fire & Theft
Insurance that covers your car, bike or van for damage by fire or if it's stolen. It's one step up from Third Party Only insurance, but doesn't give you as much protection as Comprehensive. To help you choose what level you want, look at what insurance should I have?
FSA - Financial Services Authority
This is another independent organisation, which regulates our services, making sure everything we do at elephant is legal and above board. You can find out more about the FSA here.
Green card
If you're driving abroad, you need to take this document to prove you have insurance cover. You don't need it for most of the countries in Europe, but a few still expect it. We have some advice on driving abroad, and you can find out more about the Green Card system here.
Insurance Premium Tax
A tax the government imposes on most insurance policies. When we quote you an insurance price, it will always include Insurance Premium Tax, so there are no nasty surprises.
Key features
When we insure your car, bike, van or whatever, the law says we have to provide a document showing the key features of our insurance. It's something we'd do anyway, because we like to make everything clear and helpful.
Knock for knock
You might have heard of this practice, where each insurance company paid for the damage to its policyholder's car (as long as they had Comprehensive insurance), regardless of who was to blame. It wasn't fair on careful drivers, who could lose their No Claims Bonus , so the practice was stopped.
Lapse
If you forget to renew your insurance, it lapses and no longer covers your car, bike or whatever was insured. That shouldn't happen with elephant, because we give you plenty of notice and reminders when your insurance is due for renewal.
Legal expenses insurance
Your elephant policy does include this, and it's worth having, because it covers the cost of solicitors and other legal expenses (up to the limit shown in your policy) if a claim has to go to court.
Liability
The legal term for being responsible for injuring someone or damaging their property.
Loss
Sometimes used instead of claim.
Loss assessor
Someone who decides the amount of a claim. For example, if your car is damaged in an accident, the loss assessor will have a look at it and work out how much it would cost to repair, which then becomes the amount of the claim.
Loxodonta Africana
Not an insurance term at all, but we thought you might like to know it's the Latin name for an African elephant!
Market value
What your car, bike, van or house would be worth if it was sold today. For example, if your car has been damaged, we assess its market value as what it was worth immediately before the accident - not what it's worth with all the dents and scrapes!
Material fact
An important fact that would affect our decision to cover you, and how much the premium would be. For example, if you had an SP50, that would be a material fact and you'd need to tell us about it.
Motor policies
An easy way for people like us in the business to talk about insurance for cars, vans, bikes and so on.
Motor insurance anti-fraud and theft register
A register that every motor insurance company, like us, contributes to when there's a claim for a vehicle that's stolen or a write-off. It means we can check that no one's claimed twice or more for the same vehicle, which is against the law.
Named driver
Anyone named on your policy who isn't the main driver.
No Claims Bonus
Your reward for being careful and not making a claim. Once you've been insured with us (or another company) for one year without making a claim, you're entitled to a No Claims Bonus , which reduces your premium.
Non-disclosure
Similar to concealment, where you forget - accidentally or on purpose - to tell us a material fact that could affect your insurance. Unfortunately, it could mean your insurance isn't valid, so please remember to tell us everything relevant.
Non-fault claim
Any claim you make where we can recover 100% of the claim costs from the other party's insurers.
Policy
The document that gives full details of your insurance - so keep it safe! You can see the sort of information it contains by looking at our policy details page.
Policyholder
That's you, when you take out our insurance.
Premium
The amount you pay for the insurance. You can pay by direct debit or credit card.
Proposal form
The document you complete so you can apply for insurance. With elephant, you can fill it in online or if you call us, we'll fill it in for you, over the phone.
Quote
The price we say your insurance will cost. As long as you've told us all the details, what we quote is what you'll pay.
Renewal notice
A reminder that your insurance will run out soon, and that you need to renew it. Don't worry, elephant never forgets when it's time for renewal.
Schedule
The document that describes the specific terms of your insurance. The policy tells you the general terms, while the schedule shows the details that are unique to you, such as any extra excess or conditions.
Third Party
Someone involved in a claim who isn't you, the policyholder or us, the insurer.
Third Party Only
By law, this is the minimum insurance you can have for your car, bike or van. It just covers you against injuring someone or damaging their property. There are more details at what insurance should I have?
Total loss
The same as a write-off: when your car, bike or van is so badly damaged it would cost more to repair than it's worth (its market value), it's described as a total loss. Rather than pay to fix the unfixable, we'll give you a cheque instead.
Underwriter
A person (or usually a company) who decides if they're going to take on an insurance risk, and what it will cost to insure.
Warranty
A very handy thing to have. It's really another sort of insurance, which covers your car against mechanical breakdown. With labour and parts costs being so high, the premiums can be very good value - especially if you choose elephant's car warranty.
Write-off
Another way of saying total loss: your car, bike or van is so badly damaged it would cost more to repair than it's worth. |
