Motorists duped by free courtesy car, reveals insurance company

Thu, 04 May 2006

Many drivers end up paying their insurance company for a courtesy car they thought would be free, reveals an insurance provider.

Most insurance companies promote courtesy cars as free of charge, but according to Tesco Car Insurance the expense is likely to be incorporated into their claims costs. The insurance companies then often use these costs to calculate the overall insurance premium charged.

Tesco's survey revealed that the majority of drivers do not consider how the free courtesy car is paid for, with almost three-quarters believing they were not paying anything towards it.

"Many insurers cleverly position a courtesy car as a free service, but in reality someone has to pay for it and that someone is ultimately going to be the customer," explained Allan Burns from the insurance company.

Courtesy cars are a source of further problems for consumers, with Tesco also revealing that over a quarter of motorists did not even get a courtesy car for all or at least some of the time when they were unable to use their own vehicle.

The insurance company reminds motorists that most insurance companies are not contractually obliged to provide a courtesy car, often only allowing one if the driver has had an accident but not when a car is written off completely.

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