Author Topic: Scratch and Dent Insurance (Cosmetic/Minor Damage/SMART Repair), is it worth it?  (Read 6884 times)

guest6218

  • Guest
Hello everyone, I'm a friendly person in north London who has recently bought a Honda Jazz 1.4 EXL (2012).  I hope to get to know some of you in the coming weeks and months.

Main questions:

Scratch and Dent Car Insurance (Cosmetic / Minor Damage / SMART Repair Insurance) - is it worth it?
What are your experiences with claims?
Any recommended insurers?
Do you have to inform your main insurer of a claim?


I've recently bought a used Honda Jazz (2012) from a franchise main dealer. I live on a road - narrow but not super-narrow! - in north London where cars and vans sometimes hit my car and those of my neighbours, causing scrapes, scratches and minor dents.

- I'm considering buying Scratch and Dent Car Insurance (Cosmetic / Minor Damage / SMART Repair Insurance) and would love to know if you've bought similar cover? Is it worth it? If you had to make a claim, was it problem-free?

- Did you have to inform your main car insurer of such a claim? (I thought the whole point of Scratch and Dent Insurance is to avoid making a claim on your main car insurance policy and affect your no claims, premiums etc.)

- Can anyone kindly recommend a good Scratch and Dent Car Insurance company?

(Btw I've also considered GAP insurance but don't feel I need it; i.e. if the car is a write off, the insurance that covers the gap between what your insurance company would pay (market value of car at the time) and the invoice value of the car.)

Any and all advice and help is greatly appreciated - thanks so much in advance!  :)

guest1372

  • Topic Starter
  • Guest
Not heard of anyone using it myself, but £250 / 3 years / £15 excess seems OK, especially if you can save money by pushing up your normal insurance excess, although it's not going to pay for a new mirror.  The question is would you expect to spend £250 on SMART repairs after 3 years of roadside parking? Probably not.

Quite a rare version you've got there, one of only ~2300.
--
TG

guest6218

  • Topic Starter
  • Guest
TG - thanks so much for your reply and so sorry for my delay in replying, as I've had a difficult few weeks and haven't checked this forum.  Being disorganised as heck doesn't help either.

Your kind input was very helpful.  I agree with you that it's unlikely that I'd expect to spend £250 on SMART repairs after 3 years of roadside parking.  Always a risk of course, but weighing up the odds is what buying insurance is about I suppose.

I think I'm probably leaning away from buying Scratch and Dent insurance now and may decide to tackle repairs as and when they happen.  Partly because I'm not sure if all such dents would be covered and partly because I'm not sure if I have to inform my main car insurer of such claims.  In the meanwhile I'll do my best to prevent damage, though car parks etc still scare me.

Interesting that my car is apparently a pretty rare version!  Is it just the fact that it's an EXL and has leather?  Spotted by chance at a Honda dealer!

Thanks again for replying, TG, it was much appreciated.  I'll try to be more actively involved in this forum in future.  Cheers!  :)

olduser1

  • Approved Member
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  • Posts: 1748
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  • My Honda: Jazz EX 2015 CVT Elite Pack
You do have a limited  edition mainly due to the high Honda retail price when new , we have had Jazz's for over 10 years only ever seen 1 other EXL in that time.
Keep hold of it!

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