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Tips for winter driving
Drive safely and avoid breakdowns during winter by following these handy tips.
Cover you can count on from Halifax
With darker days and chillier conditions, driving during the winter can be more challenging.
It should be reassuring to know you’ve got the right level of car insurance. We offer three levels of cover to suit different needs, as well as optional extras – including RAC Breakdown Cover.
Halifax Car Insurance is underwritten by a panel of insurers and is arranged and administered by BISL Limited. When getting a quote online you’ll be taken to BISL Limited’s online site with a new privacy and cookie policy.
Caring for your car
Basic car maintenance
To prepare your car for colder weather, complete the following checks.
Make sure you’re ready for anything
Why choose Halifax car insurance?
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Our standard cover gives you: |
With comprehensive cover, you’ll also get: |
Plus, you can boost your cover with: |
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Our standard cover gives you:
Third party and third party, fire and theft provides a basic level of cover. |
With comprehensive cover, you’ll also get:
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Plus, you can boost your cover with: |
Important information: terms, conditions and exclusions apply to all benefits. In the event of a claim normal excess applies and your no claims discount may be affected.
For more information please refer to the relevant insurance information document:
Comprehensive (PDF, 118KB)
Third Party (PDF, 209KB)
Third Party, Fire & Theft (PDF, 113KB)
Get a car insurance quote
Frequently asked questions
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Your insurer will award you with a no claims discount for every claim-free year of motoring. These can accumulate over the years, and could potentially earn you a discount on your future insurance premium costs. This is also known as a no claims bonus.
Even after a single year you could save up to 25%. After 5 years, you could save as much as 39%.
*Source: BISL Limited annual average as at March 2022.You can take your no claims discount with you if you switch to another insurer. Your new car insurance provider is likely to ask for proof of your no claims, which you can usually get from your previous insurer.
How to give us your proof of no claims
Drivers named on your insurance policy can also earn a no claims discount. This could help to reduce their car insurance costs in future.
If you have an accident:
- you’re likely to lose some or all of your no claims discount if the accident was your fault
- your no claims discount might be unaffected if another driver was at fault and the cost of repairs can be recovered from their insurer
- your no claims discount might be protected if you have comprehensive car insurance and it’s clear that you weren’t at fault. That could apply, even if the other driver is uninsured
For an extra charge, most insurers offer the option to protect your no claims discount, even if you needed to claim.
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Car insurance excess is the amount you'll need to pay towards a claim against your policy. An insurer will pay any remaining costs covered by an insurance policy.
Here’s a really simple example. Imagine you’ve had an accident, causing £2,500 worth of damage to your vehicle. Your car insurance policy requires you to pay an excess of £250, which means your insurer will cover the remaining amount of £2,250.
There are a few types of excess, and more than one could apply to each claim, depending on the terms of your car insurance policy. The most common are:
- standard or compulsory excess – as the name suggests, this is the standard amount you’ll need to pay towards any car insurance claim and is set by your insurer
- voluntary excess – many insurers will allow you to set a higher excess amount. Although this could reduce your annual car insurance premium, you’ll need to pay more if you need to make a claim. Make sure you’re realistic about what you could afford if you had an accident
- age excess – younger drivers could be offered car insurance with a higher excess amount, based on their level of driving experience and insurer insight about accident statistics
- glass or windscreen excess – some policies include a separate excess amount covering glass claims
Excess costs can vary, depending on the policy features you choose. Generally:
- increasing your excess amount could reduce your annual premium
- reducing your excess might increase your car insurance premium
Check the terms of your car insurance policy carefully, so you understand any excess costs associated with making a claim.
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In addition to the level of cover you choose, there are several things which can affect the cost of your car insurance premium:
- Your estimated annual mileage
- Any existing no-claims discount
- The group, age and value of your vehicle
- Security features or vehicle modifications
- Any amount of voluntary excess you choose
- Whether you live near a crime or accident hot spot
- Any named drivers who will also be using your vehicle
- What you generally use your car for. For example, travelling for work
- Where you usually park overnight. For example, off-road or in a garage
- Optional extras, such as enhanced legal assistance, guaranteed replacement car cover, breakdown cover etc
When shopping around for car insurance, make sure you check the terms and conditions carefully. Price is a factor, but also make sure you’re getting the level of cover you’re most comfortable with.
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The Financial Conduct Authority have made some amendments to their General Insurance Pricing Practices (GIPP). New rules were introduced on 1 January 2022, meaning insurers must offer the same price to both new and existing customers.
Previously, existing customers could face an increase in their premium costs when they received a renewal quote, sometimes referred to as a ‘loyalty penalty’.
These new rules could result in lower renewal prices for existing car insurance customers. But, as insurers have a short-fall to make up, costs for new customers could be higher than they have been in recent years.
It’s worth remembering that other factors could affect your car insurance renewal costs, including moving house, making a claim or changing your level of cover.
If you’re an existing Halifax car insurance customer, you can access and manage your policy online at any time using the My Account service. This includes the option to manage policy renewals.
If you’d prefer to chat to us by phone, call: 0344 209 0471
Speak to a representative Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat 8am-6pm, or 10am-4pm on Sun and bank holidays.
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Regardless of who was at fault, making a car insurance claim can lead to an increase in your premium costs. This usually accounts for a perceived increase in risk.
Claims can also have an impact on your no claims discount (NCD), depending on:
- the type of claim you’re making
- whether you’ve chosen to protect your NCD
Non-fault claims
This is where the fault lies completely with someone else. For example, if your car is securely parked and another driver reverses into it, any damage caused would be their fault.
As long as your insurer can recover the repair costs from another driver’s insurance company, or from the individual themselves, the claim will be recorded as a non-fault claim on your insurance history.
In this situation, it’s unlikely to affect your NCD.
Fault claims
If you’ve caused an accident, that will be recorded on your insurance claims history.
This could also be the case in situations where the blame sits elsewhere, but your insurer can’t recover funds from elsewhere. For example, if your car is vandalised and the offender can’t be found.
In this situation, you could lose some or all of your NCD.
If you’re hit by an uninsured driver
If you have comprehensive car insurance, although the process will be more complicated, you should still be able to make a claim. However, you could lose some or all of your NCD.
If you only have third party or third-party fire and theft cover, you might be able to make a claim through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB). An excess charge might apply.
If you’re not around when an accident or incident takes place, and the person at fault leaves no information for you to follow up on, they’d be classed as an untraceable driver.
In this situation, although it’s still important to contact your insurer, your first phone call should be to the Police. They might be able to gather evidence in support of a future claim.
The Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) handle untraceable driver claims made within nine months of the event. Again, an excess charge might apply.
In claims where funds can’t be recovered, your NCD will be reduced, regardless of who was at fault:
- five or more years of NCD will be reduced to three years
- less than five years of NCD will be reduced by two years
If you’ve chosen to protect your NCD with Halifax, you can make two claims in any three-year period without any impact or reduction. However, any further claims will affect your NCD.
Halifax is a division of Bank of Scotland plc. Registered in Scotland No. SC327000. Registered Office: The Mound, Edinburgh EH1 1YZ. Bank of Scotland plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number 169628.