LV car insurance review | The Independent (2024)

LV offers two main policies: third party, fire and theft cover, and comprehensive car insurance.

Third party, fire and theft

With LV’s third party, fire and theft insurance, you’ll be covered for:

• Injuries to other people: if you injure a third party in an accident, your LV car insurance will cover the costs
• Damage to other people’s property: if you damage someone else’s property in an accident, LV will cover up to £20 million in costs
• Fire damage: if your car is damaged in a fire, you can make a claim
• Theft: if your car is stolen or damaged in an attempted theft, you can make a claim with LV
• Manufacturer-fitted in-car equipment: if any equipment fitted in your car at the time it was made is damaged in a fire or attempted theft, or is stolen, you can get it replaced
• Aftermarket in-car equipment: if any equipment fitted after your car was made is stolen or damaged in a fire or attempted theft, you can claim up to £1,000
• European cover: you’ll have the same level of cover you’ve taken out while driving in Europe for up to 180 days
• Driving other cars: if you are eligible, you can drive other cars with third party cover only

Comprehensive

With LV’s comprehensive car insurance, you’ll be covered for everything included with third party, fire and theft, as well as:

• Accidental damage to your car: if you’re in an accident, you can make a claim with LV comprehensive insurance
• Manufacturer-fitted in-car equipment: as well as in the event of fire or theft, you can claim for any in-car equipment fitted when your vehicle was made if it is damaged in an accident
• Aftermarket in-car equipment: you can claim for any in-car equipment fitted after your vehicle was made if it is damaged in an accident, as well as fire and theft, up to £1,000
• New car replacement: if you car is written off, and it’s less than 12 months old, then LV will provide you with a like-for-like replacement
• Medical expenses: you can claim up to £250 per injured person following an accident
• Personal accident: as standard, you have personal accident cover up to £10,000 with LV comprehensive car insurance
• Road rage: if you, your partner, or any other named drivers are assaulted following a car accident, you can claim up to £500
• Aggravated theft: if you, your partner, or any other named drivers are assaulted during an aggravated car theft, you can claim up to £500
• Misfuelling: if you use the wrong fuel in your car, you can claim for it to be drained and flushed, alongside any required engine repairs
• Windscreen repair: you can claim for both your windscreens and window glass if they need to be repaired
• Personal belongings: you can claim up to £300 for any personal belongings lost or damaged due to an insured event
• Onward travel: if you can’t drive your car after an insured event, are more than 25 miles from where you started, and need overnight accommodation, you can claim up to £500 in hotel expenses or alternative transport costs
• Key cover: you can claim for associated costs if your keys are lost or stolen, as long as they weren’t in your car or the immediate proximity of your vehicle
• Child car seats: if your car is in an insured event, you can get a replacement child car seat, even if it looks undamaged
• Uninsured driver promise: if you’re in an accident with an uninsured driver, and it’s not your fault, you won’t have to pay your excess and your no-claims bonus won’t be affected
• Vandalism promise: if your car is vandalised, you won’t lose your no-claims bonus as long as you report it to the police and provide LV with a crime reference number

Alongside its main policies, LV also offers the following:

• Multi-car insurance: with LV’s multi-car insurance, you’ll save 12.5 per cent on every car you add to your policy
• Electric car insurance: LV’s comprehensive electric car policy includes recovery if you run out of charge, cover for your charging cable, wall boxes, adaptors and battery in the event of an accident, fire, or theft, and electric charger liability cover in case your cable causes an accident
• Learner driver insurance: you can add learner driver cover to an existing LV car insurance policy

There are a number of optional extras you can add onto your LV car insurance policy, including:

• Motor legal protection: for £26.99 a year, you can add cover for up to £100,000 in motor legal costs for dealing with an accident that wasn’t your fault
• Guaranteed hire car cover: with this cover you can get a hire car if your vehicle is at an approved repairer following an accident. For £19.90 a year you can get a small three-door hatchback, while for £29.90 a year you can get a medium family-sized car
• Extended personal accident cover: you can up your personal accident cover to £100,000 with this add-on
• Breakdown cover: you can choose from five levels of breakdown cover, starting at £26 a year
• Protected no-claim discount: if you have four or more years’ worth of no-claims bonus, you can protect your discount, allowing you to make an unlimited number of claims without affecting your bonus

If you need to make a car insurance claim through LV, you should follow these steps:

• Make sure everyone is okay: this involves checking that you and any passengers are safe and secure, as well as any third parties involved
• Exchange details and take notes: if a third party was involved, you’ll need to exchange details, including your car insurance policy numbers. You should also make a note of any other relevant details, such as time, location, and weather conditions, and take pictures of any damage
• Contact LV as soon as possible: you can call 0330 678 5550 (from the UK) or +44 1689 898603 (from outside the UK) to make a claim. Even if you don’t want to make a claim, you should inform LV of the incident, otherwise you may invalidate your insurance
• LV will decide the next steps: once you’ve told LV about the incident and what type of claim you want to make, the provider will inform you of the next steps

You will need to contact LV to cancel your car insurance. You can call the provider on 0330 678 5111.

When cancelling, you’ll have to pay the following fees:

If you need to contact LV about anything that isn’t a claim, you can do so via the following:

• Live chat
• Phone: 0330 678 5222

Both options are available from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday; 9am to 5pm on Saturdays and Bank Holidays; and 10am to 4pm on Sundays.

If you want to make a complaint, meanwhile, you can:

• Phone: 0330 678 5111 (sales and service complaints) or 0330 678 5578 (claims complaints)
• Email carservice.complaints@lv.co.uk (for sales and service complaints) or carclaimscomplaints@lv.co.uk (for claims complaints)

LV has an ‘Excellent’ Trustpilot rating of 4.5 out of five, based on more than 68,400 reviews.

It’s important to note, however, that these reviews are for the LV brand as a whole, and not just its car insurance products.

Of its five-star reviews – which make up 80 per cent of its total ratings – the ones that mention car insurance praise LV for the simplicity of its sign-up process, the competitive nature of its quotes for new customers, and the clarity of its policy documents. There was further praise for its customer service, and the manner in which it deals with claims.

However, as is the case for most car insurance providers at the moment, Trustpilot is full of customers complaining about how much more expensive their car insurance renewal quote is.

On top of its ‘Excellent’ Trustpilot rating, LV also has the following review scores on Defaqto:

• Third party, fire and theft: ★★★
• Comprehensive: ★★★★★

There’s not a huge amount of choice when it comes to LV car insurance. Yet, with a five-star rating for its comprehensive cover from Defaqto, and the best Trustpilot score of the UK’s biggest providers, this simplicity has potentially worked in its favour.

This relatively limited array of polices does mean, however, that none come with benefits such as breakdown cover or motor legal protection as standard. They can only be added as optional extras.

You can also receive a 10 per cent discount if you combine your car insurance with LV home insurance, and a 12.5 per cent discount per vehicle with its multi-car policy.