Santander Car Insurance Review

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Nishadh Mohammed updated on July 31, 2020

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Our articles are written by experts in their fields (finance, trading, insurance etc.) whose signatures you will see at the beginning and at the end of each article. They are also systematically reviewed and corrected before each publication, and updated regularly.

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This is the ultimate review to guide you through Santander car insurance.

You might already know that Santander offers several car insurance policy options.
Some are great, others not so much.

So if you want to get:

  • Better value for money for your car insurance
  • Indicative quotes
  • Tips to lower your insurance premium, then you might love the following article.

Let’s dive right in.

Is Santander the best car insurance provider?

Getting the best car insurance deal is not all about the price. Indeed, focusing on just getting the cheapest deal might be a bad calculation when it comes to getting a good payout if you ever have an accident.

We’ve studied in detail Santander car policy terms and conditions and given our own ratings based on different criteria.

4 Safe overall rating for Santander

Our ratingOur opinion
Customer service & satisfaction

Quick and easy steps to go through to get a quote online
Website does not include detailed information
Low satisfaction rate on Trust Pilot but that is based on all of their products apart from their car insurance

Cover provided

Offer 3 levels of cover: Comprehensive, Fire, Theft & Third Party and Third Party only
Up to 60 days abroad travel across all levels of policies
Comprehensive cover comes with a lot of benefits at standard such as unlimited cover on audio and fitted entertainment equipement, stolen keys cover of up to £500, courtesy car, windscreen repair and replacement

Value for money

Faily priced premiums
NCB discount available

Financial strength for pay out

Santander’s car insurance is arranged and administered by BISL Limited (Budget Insurance), an insurance company that has works with leading insurers in the UK which proves the company’s financial strength to pay out claims.

Technology

Generation of quotes are done 100% online
Website lacks important details and information
No black box insurance cover offered

Safe rating for Santander

Expert and customer reviews on Santander

We compiled expert and customer reviews from independent institutions, to give you an overall idea of Santander's reputation.

Review organisationConsumer satisfaction rates for Santander
Defaqto expert rating for Santander
defaqto 3 stars 1
TrustPilot
1,5/5 based on more than 2000 opinions
Consumer satisfaction rates on reviews for Santander

To check if Santander is the right car insurance for you, you can use our free comparison tool and finally compare coverage features, optional extras, excess, admin fees and customer rating without having to give any personal information.

Finally, compare best car insurance in less than 20 secs without giving your email.
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Our review on Santander car insurance policy

Santander is large retail and commercial bank that offers various products some of them being car and van insurance.
There are 3 levels of cover available for their car insurance policy: Comprehensive, Thirdy Party, Fire & Theft and Third Party Only.

Regardless of the cover you choose, you get an inclusive EU travel cover that is equal to the cover you have in the UK.
Santander’s Car Insurance is administered by Budget Insurance, an insurance company thats offers car, van, life and home insurance covers.

We would advise you to request for detailed policy documents before you signing up with them so as to be aware of the things you should expect while being insured by them.

What does Santander car insurance policy cover?

Are TPO, TPFT and Comprehensive covers available at Santander?

Car insurance policyAvailable at SantanderCoverage in a nutshell
Third-Party Only
  • Passengers and third party covered
  • Policyholder is not covered for any injuries or damages
Third-Party Fire and Theft
  • Replacement of your car if stolen
  • Damages caused due to theft or fire
Comprehensive
  • Cover third-party fire and theft
  • Covers injuries to you and damages to your car
Car insurance level of cover available at Santander

Keep in mind that you can always add optional extras to your policy.

Main guarantees at Santander explained in details

Let's find out what does Santander covers in its car insurance policy.

Breakdown cover at Santander

Santander Insurance offers 5 levels of Breakdown Cover that is provided by RAC (An automative repair service that they’ve partnered with to carry out their Breakdown Services to clients):

  • Roadside Cover: this covers breakdown services within the UK more than 1/4 mile from your home address. They don’t charge you any call-out fee.
  • Roadside and Recovery Cover: this inlcudes roadside breakdown services within the UK a 1/4 mile from your home address, and local recovery of the vehicle and 8 passengers including the driver to a single destination.
  • Roadside, Recovery and At Home Cover: this covers the benefits you get with Roadside and Recover Cover along with Breakdown assistance if your car breaks down at your home address or within 1/4 miles from your home address.
  • Roaside, Recovery, At Home and Onward Travel: this covers all of the benefits that come with the Roadside, Recovery and At Home Cover as well as alternative transport or overnight accomodation should they not be able to repair your vehicle at the roadside.
    Roadside, Recovery, At Home, Onward Travel and Europe: this cover consists of the benefits you get with the Roadside Recovery At Home and Onward Travel as well as breakdown assistance while traveling in Europe.

Keycare cover at Santander

Up to £1000 for replacement of locks or keys in case of loss or theft of keys as well as reprogramming immobilisers.

Windscreen cover at Santander

  • Windscreen cover is included as a standard in the comprehensive policy and is not available as an optional extra addition.
  • It covers unlimited repair or replacement of windows, windscreen, rear window and standard roof provided that you get them fixed at Santander’s approved repairers. If not, then the limit would be £150.

Motor legal protection at Santander

Up to £100,000 to cover for legal costs and expenses when pursuing for compensation after an incident that wasn’t your fault.

Personal policy injury available at Santander

Up to £10,000 per incident.

Coverage abroad at Santander

  • You’ll be covered for 60 days travel to EU countries.
  • Level of cover will the same as the one you have in the UK.

No-Claim Bonus (NCB) at Santander

Your NCB will keep increasing every year provided you don’t get yourself involved in any incident that may require you to file for a claim or have a claim filed against you. You can also opt for an NCB protection cover at an additional charge.

If the incident caused was not your fault and Santander was able to recover all costs from the responsible party, your NCB will not be affected. However, if they’re not able to recover the costs of the incident, your NCB will be affected.

At Santander, you can apply for the NCB protection. The NCB protection allows you to make a certain number of claims within a period without losing your No-Claim bonus.

NCB Protection is available. More details will be available in your schedule.

Good to know

A No-Claim bonus is a reward that you get from driving during a long time (at least one year) without making any claim. The more years you drive without claims, the higher your NCB rate gets hence the higher the discount on your insurance premium.

Santander car insurance terms and conditions

How much does Santander car insurance cost?

You'll find below indicative car insurance quotes at Santander:

Drivers'ageMonthly premium
18 years old
£114,79
40 years old
£47,34
60 years old
£34,90
Quotes above are for a comprehensive car insurance - eco car, clean record driver, Liverpool

Costs of Santander insurance car policies vary widely based on different factors such as:

  • The driver’s age
  • The date on which they received their driving licence
  • The type of car
  • Expected repair costs if the car is damaged
  • The performance, safety and security of the car
  • The driver’s address and how busy the streets in the neighbourhood are
  • Who drives the car (any additional driver on the policy)
  • The driver's record of accidents and claims (number of injuries, No Claim Bonus etc.)
  • Insurance taxes.

Good to know

The higher risk you represent, the more expensive your policy will be.

Is there any promo codes or discounts available at Santander?

There is no specific discount apart from the No-Claim Bonus available at Santander Insurance.

If you want to get a cheaper car insurance policy, another good way to do so is to never auto renew and always compare car insurance quotes.

Save more on your car insurance checking out our 13 tops tips to cut your insurance premiums!

Santander car insurance policy summarized

Guarantees

At Santander
NCB benefit
Yes
Uninsured driver NCB benefit
no
Loss or theft of keys
Excess- Not stated
Limit- £500
Personal belongings
£100
Audio equipment

Excess- Not stated
Limit- Unlimited

Medical expenses

Excess- Not stated
Limit- £200

Liability limit for property damage
Not Stated
Legal expense
£100,000
Courtesy car benefit

As standard

Courtesy car cover

14 or28 days

Coverage abroad

60 days

Guarantees at Santander

Excess

At Santander
Fire excess
Excess- Not stated
Limit- Not stated
Theft excess
Excess- Not stated
Limit- Not stated
Accidental damage excess
Excess- Not stated
Limit- Not stated
Windscreen replacement excess
Not Stated
Young driver excess

Not Stated

Excess at Santander

Admin fees

At Santander
Interest charged by payment installments

Not Stated

Renewal fees

Not Stated

Cancellation fees

Not Stated

Modification fees

Not Stated

Admin fees at Santander

Other car insurance policies available at Santander

Santander van insurance

Santander offers Van Insurance that comes with an inclusive EU travel cover at no additional cost.
It also comes with an optional multiple driver cover as well as 3 levels of optional breakdown cover.

How to contact Santander auto insurance?

Santander phone numbers

You will find all important phone numbers to contact Santander car insurance:

Contact numberOpening hours

Customer service

0800 975 2623

Monday to Friday: 8am-9pm
Saturday: 9am-5pm
Sunday: 10am-4pm

Claims

0344 854 9823

Available 24/7

Windscreen

0330 018 4248

Available 24/7

Motor Legal Protection

0344 845 9823

Not Stated

Replacement Car

0344 854 9823

Not Stated

RAC Breakdown

0330 159 0352

Not Stated

Contact numbers at Santander

Santander other contact details

You'll find below Santander main contact details:

Contact details of Santander
Email address

[email protected]

Customer account with Santander login

My account

Social media
Twitter, Facebook
Chatbot
No
Contact details at Santander

You can also contact them by mail by writing to Santander car insurance:

Pegasus House, Bakewell Rd,
Orton Southgate,
Peterborough PE2 6YS,
United Kingdom

How to claim at Santander?

You can make a claim by calling Santander's claims department.

ServiceCar claim
Claim by phone

0344 854 9823

Claim process at Santander

How to cancel your car insurance at Santander?

You can always cancel your car insurance policy at any time. However, some fees may apply especially if you cancel it after the 14 cooling-off period after your contract's anniversary date.

Since car insurance is a legal requirement, Santander as well as other insurers will renew your policy automatically at the end of the policy period without any notification from your side. However, Santander has the obligation to send you a renewal notice within 7 to 21 days before your contract comes to an end. You will therefore have 14 days - the cooling off period - to cancel your policy at reduced cancellation fees.

For the same reason, if you cancel your car insurance policy, you must sign up to a new one immediately. Find out more on car insurance legal requirement.

You would need to have various documents ready such as:

  • your policy number (right hand corner of your documents);
  • your bank details; and
  • your payment method in case there are cancellation fees.

Santander could also refuse to cover your car any longer if you don't pay for your premiums within the time allocated, or if they find out that you omitted important information that was required by the company such as your driving experience or you if have committed a fraud of any kind. This act is known as ‘fronting’.

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Nishadh Mohammed
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Nishadh Mohammed is a seasoned news editor and financial writer, working with HelloSafe since May 2023. Nishadh has developed expertise in financial markets, insurance, and investment products, with a deep understanding of the Canadian financial landscape. He has honed his SEO skills and content marketing strategies while writing for Canadian publishing houses. Armed with a master's in Business Analytics and extensive journalistic experience, Nishadh uniquely combines data proficiency and thorough research to deliver comprehensive and accessible information.