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01 Mar 2024

RAC car insurance review

Name: RAC car insurance review
Item: RAC Insurance Policy
Rating: 52
Author: Maha Gadir

Read Which?'s expert review of RAC's car insurance. Find out how we rate its car insurance policies against 27 other providers

Maha GadirMarket analyst

In this article

What does RAC car insurance offer?
Does RAC offer the best car insurance?
How good are the RAC's car insurance policies?
How did customers rate RAC's car insurance?
How can you save money on RAC car insurance?
RAC: how can I claim?
Find out how RAC rates for other products

What does RAC car insurance offer?

You might know RAC for its breakdown cover, but it also offers car insurance.

RAC offers two comprehensive car insurance products: a standard and premium 'Plus' policy.

Its policies are underwritten by a panel including Ageas, Aviva, Axa, Axa Northern Ireland, Covea, LV, Sabre, West Bay and Somerset Bridge.

Find out more: how to find cheap car insurance

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Does RAC offer the best car insurance?

Here's how RAC scored in our latest survey:

64% customer score, placing it joint 14th out of 27 insurance firms rated
52% policy score on its standard policy, placing it 28th out of 28 providers we reviewed
68% claims score means it's 6th out of 25 providers we compared

See how this compares with the best car insurance.

We review a lot of policies - and our 'Best Buy' badge recognises the individual products that stood out as being the most comprehensive in our analysis. It doesn't reflect customer service. However, we won't give a provider a Best Buy badge where there's evidence - either from our surveys or from Financial Conduct Authority data - of poor service or a poorer-than-average record of paying claims.

Policies named as Best Buys must have a minimum policy score of 65%

Additionally, we look at how consistently good the cover is in policies. To make the cut, a policy needs to have scored at least three out of five points in two thirds of the areas we've rated.

Find out more: how we rate policies.

Lastly, all Best Buy policies must provide - either as standard or as an option - the following levels of cover as a minimum:

'Comprehensive' cover (meaning it covers third party claims, fire, theft and accidental damage to your car), a temporary courtesy car if yours is under repair or if it has been stolen or written off, a repairs guarantee period of at least 3 years, cover for damage to your windows or windscreen, legal expenses cover, liability cover of £20m or more and personal accident cover.

We analyse and rate 78 key elements of car insurance policies to come up with the overall policy score.

Initially, we score all of the product elements out of five, reflecting how competitive each provider is in this area compared with other insurers. We assess how important different policy elements are to drivers when choosing and using a car insurance, and weight different areas of cover accordingly to enhance/reduce their impact in the overall product score.

How good are the RAC's car insurance policies?

The 52% score for the RAC's standard policy saw it rank near the bottom of the 61 policies we rated ‒ and it was the lowest-scoring standard policy.

The policy didn't shine in many areas, but we liked its uninsured driver's promise ‒ which protects your no-claims discount if you're involved in an accident caused by an uninsured driver. The policy also includes 60 days cover for driving overseas as standard.

On the downside, there's no cover for child car seats, and a meagre £100 medical expenses cover that excludes prescription costs, physio treatment, dental treatment or optician's costs.

Choosing your own repairer

A plus point is RAC's policies don't apply additional excesses for using repairers of your choice for windscreen or window damage. With many policies, you'll have to contribute more towards your claim if you don't use a repairer from your insurer's approved list.

RAC Plus policy

The RAC also offers a plusher 'Plus' policy. This adds features such as onward travel (getting you to your destination) and hotel expenses if you're stranded following an accident, and some higher levels of cover. The policy scored 55% ‒ still below average in our analysis.

RAC: key cover areas rated

RAC car insurance key features

Comprehensive


Fire excess	Varies
Theft excess	Varies
Accidental damage excess	Varies
Windscreen replacement excess	£60
Is the policy holder's NCD affected if car is hit while parked	Yes - but can be reinstated
Windscreen damage - limit per claim	Market value / £185
Window damage - limit per claim	Market value / £185

Tables last updated February 2024. Next update January 2025. We recommend checking policies before buying.

How did customers rate RAC's car insurance?

We asked RAC customers who've recently made a claim how they felt about their car insurance.

When it came to overall satisfaction and likelihood to recommend, RAC's customers gave it a middling 64%. This was exactly average.

It fared slightly better ‒ scoring 68% and ranking 6th out of 25 ‒ in our table of scores focused on how it handled claims.

Here's how customers rated RAC in various areas of service:

Select a table:

Customer satisfaction


Application process	-
Clarity of policy
Dealing with queries
Ease of managing your policy online
Fair treatment of longstanding customers	-
Dealing with complaints
Value for money

Table last updated in February 2024. Next update in January 2025. A dash '-' indicates we had insufficient sample size (less than 30) to generate a star rating.

How can you save money on RAC car insurance?

RAC's policies are available directly and through the following price comparison websites:

Compare the market
Confused.com
Go Compare
MoneySuperMarket
Quotezone

According to RAC's website, its members pay 15% less on average when buying direct (based on sales data collected between January and June 2023). So if you find them on a comparison site, check if you can get a better price via their website.

There's also a 10% discount if you insure more than one car (known as multi-car insurance).

Above information correct as of February 2024.

Check you're getting a great deal and search for a new car insurance policy using the service provided by Confused.com. Get a quote now

RAC: how can I claim?

If you need to make a claim with RAC car insurance, call 0330 159 1062.

Find out more: is it worth claiming on your car insurance?

Find out how RAC rates for other products

RAC breakdown cover review

RAC car insurance review