Insurance Repair Frequently Asked Questions

Can you help me with my claim?

Yes! Whilst we cannot do the whole process, we can help you throughout.

The first step is to reach out to your insurer to let them know about the claim; if you need to, you can pop in, and we can help speak to your insurer to confirm the damage and requirements and help you get a claim reference.

We can take all the correct photos to show the damage and send them to their claim team, along with an insurance repair estimate from an approved estimating system. Once we have done this, we can follow up regularly with the claims team to ensure your claim is processed as quickly as possible.

We will help you negotiate the repairs to ensure you get genuine parts for your vehicle rather than approved copy parts.

We can also often help you with courtesy car needs if this is included in your policy & if they are not for a small fee, we have loan cars available for hire to keep you mobile whilst we are repairing your vehicle.

Do I have to send my vehicle to my insurer’s recommended repairer?

You can repair your vehicle wherever you want; sometimes, the insurer will have a preferred garage they ask you to use. However, this could be quite a distance away from you, or somewhere you need to know the work quality. Your insurer cannot force you to use their repair centre.

Will my repair have a warranty?

Any repair carried out by any repairer must be of an appropriate standard. The warranty applied to a repair will vary depending on the repairer, not the insurance company.

We give a comprehensive two-year warranty with our repairs as standard.

Are Ace Car Care approved?

We are not an approved repairer; however, very few Body shops are these days. You do not need to be approved to do work for insurance companies, and as there are usually months of backlogs at approved garages, many repairs are outsourced by insurers. Due to these backlogs, there is no guarantee that if the insurer picks up your car, it will not be taken to an independent repairer.

We have had many calls from large insurance companies asking us to take on repairs for companies such as The AA, LV, and Tesco’s & Saga, to name a few.

How long does an insurance claim take?

Anything from a week to a few months. This will depend on the severity of the damage or how clear-cut a claim can be. The most extended waiting times are when your insurance company collects a vehicle and goes into a queue at every stage, first to be assessed, then to await approval, and finally to be worked on. By nominating your choice of repair centre, you will usually have a quicker turnaround time.

How much will my insurance increase after making a claim?

Anywhere between 20-50%. When you take out a policy, they ask, “Have you claimed in the last five years, regardless of who was at fault?” this determines the premium. This increase can also be for up to 5 years, so it’s worth doing the maths before you go ahead! Often, an insurer will advise your premium will not go up in the event of a claim; however, this tends to depend on you remaining loyal to them; however, if you look to change your insurer, then it is almost guaranteed it will impact your premium. With more significant repairs, these increases will still be cheaper than the repair.

How will it affect my no claims?

If you make a claim, you will lose your no-claims bonus. If you have protected no claims, you will retain the number of years’ bonus but often not be entitled to your maximum potential discount once you make a claim.

Numerous sources have told us that once you make a claim, you will not receive your total discount until you can say you “haven’t claimed in the last five years”.

**Every insurance policy is different, so there will be exceptions, but it is applicable in most cases.

If you have any further questions, please get in touch with one of the team members at 01743 466111.