Car insurance jargon buster R-Z
R
Rating Factors
Rating factors are used by Underwriters to work out the price you pay for your car insurance. They use claims experience to determine the effect a factor, such as age, will have on the likelihood of you making a claim. The higher the likelihood, the higher your premium.
See also Risk.
Registered Keeper
See Owner and Registered Keeper
Registration Numbers
All cars must have a registration number which is shown on your car registration number plate. These can be personalised plates, DVLA number plates or private number plates. The DVLA keeps a register of all registration number plates, the vehicle to which they applied and the registered keeper, enabling them to trace a car back to an individual.
Reinsurance
Reinsurance is the arrangement where one insurer takes out insurance with another insurer for risks above a certain value.
Renewal Date
This is the date your Insurance Policy expires, which means it’s the end of your Period of Cover. Should you have a Sheilas’ Wheels policy, before the renewal date Sheilas’ Wheels will send you a Renewal Notice.
Renewal Notice
This is to let you know that your policy is due to expire and to give you sufficient notice to renew your policy.
To renew your Sheilas’ Wheels policy contact us on 0845 604 3553.
Repair Guarantee
Some insurers will offer a guarantee for repairs following an accident.
Sheilas’ Wheels offer a 5 year guarantee on all repair work undertaken by our recommended repairers.
Risk
All car insurance in the UK is offered by assessing a proposer's risk. Insurers do this by looking at the details provided and determining how likely the driver is to make a claim, and how much such a claim would cost to settle. This is usually worked out by an Underwriter in conjunction with actuarial tables. They use their knowledge of claims to calculate the level of risk and to decide what premium you should pay.
See also Risk Factors, Hazard and Actuary.
Risk Factors
Many factors affect the price you pay for your car insurance. Each of these has a different level of risk for an insurance company. If you’re considered high risk, meaning you’re more likely to make a claim or that claim would be costly to pay, then you’ll pay more for your insurance cover. Risk factors include, among other things; age, your vehicle and the number of miles you drive each year.
Roadside Rescue
See Breakdown Assistance.
Road Tax
See Car Tax.
Road Traffic Act (RTA)
This Act governs all car insurance in the UK.
S
Schedule
Your Schedule is one of your Policy documents. You'll see an illustration of your Schedule during the quote process before you buy. When you buy a policy with Sheilas’ Wheels, you will receive your Schedule in the post.
Security
See Thatcham.
Settlement
This is the amount you are paid for a Claim. Settlement happens when an insurer pays a claim and the claim is effectively closed. The Settlement will usually be the amount agreed, less any Excesses.
Short Period Rates
Occasionally when a policy is cancelled, the driver may be charged a short period rate, because the total period of cover is less than the usual 12 months. This means the Policyholder is charged an additional amount over and above the Pro Rata Rates. These rates are usually worked out on a percentage basis.
Sheilas’ Wheels does not charge short period rates.
Social, Domestic & Pleasure
See Class of Use.
Statutory Off-Road Notification (SORN)
If you keep your vehicle off the road and don’t tax it, you must tell the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) by making a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN).
To make a SORN, you must be registered as the keeper of your vehicle.
See also Certificate of Registration and Laid-up Policy.
Subrogation
This is the substitution of one claim for another, for example an insurer who has indemnified a policyholder can take over any legal rights the policyholder may have had in respect of that particular claim.
Sum Insured
This is the maximum an insurance company will pay for a claim.
T
Temporary Additional Driver
This is when you add an additional driver to your policy on a short-term basis. A temporary additional driver can be added to your Sheilas’ Wheels car insurance policy at any time.
Temporary Additional Vehicle
This is when you add an additional vehicle to your policy for a short period of time.
Contact Sheilas’ Wheels now on 0845 604 3550 to add a temporary additional driver or vehicle to your policy.
Thatcham
The Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre, or Thatcham as it is known, carries out research for the motor insurance industry on the cost of car repairs and vehicle security.
Thatcham research data is used as the basis for the Car Insurance Group Rating Panel's car insurance group recommendations.
Thatcham Vehicle Security Categories
This categorises the level of security you have on your car. There are five categories:
Category 1: Electronic Alarm and Immobiliser
Category 2: Electronic/Electromechanical Immobiliser
Category 2-1: Electronic Alarm Upgrade [General Application]
Category 3: Mechanical Immobiliser
Category 4: Wheel Locking Devices
Category 5: After-Theft Systems for Vehicle Recovery
Third Party
A person involved in a claim, but who isn’t the Policyholder or the Insurance Company.
Third Party Fire and Theft Cover (TPFT)
This covers your car against loss or damage caused by fire and theft and provides third party liability cover for injury or damage you may cause to others or their property.
Third Party Only (TPO)
Third party cover is the minimum level of car insurance cover required by law. It doesn’t include any cover for damage to your vehicle.
Total Loss
If your car is said to be a total loss it’s a Write-Off.
Tracking Device
A tracking device is an electronic device that emits a signal so a law enforcement agency can find your car in the UK if it’s been stolen. This security device is usually fitted as an accessory after you’ve bought your car.
See also Thatcham Vehicle Security Categories.
U
Underwriter
An underwriter is the person who decides whether to accept a Risk (i.e. whether to insure you) and also works out what Premium you should pay.
Uninsured Loss
These are any losses that you’re not able to recover under your policy. For example these could be loss of earnings after an accident. See Motoring Legal Protection.
Uninsured Loss Recovery (ULR cover)
This is when your insurer gives you cover to help you recover your uninsured losses from a Third Party, where an accident is the third party's fault. This covers the cost of legal proceedings and is defined in the policy. This is also referred to as Motoring Legal Protection.
See our online Policy Booklet for more information about MLP cover from Sheilas’ Wheels.
Use or Use Type
See Class of Use.
Utmost Good Faith
This refers to a principle of insurance. It means that insurance relies on the fact that anyone who applies for insurance gives all relevant information to the insurer. See also Material Facts and Duty of Disclosure.
V
Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA)
The VCA is the UK Vehicle Type Approval authority. Their role is to test and certify vehicles, their systems and components.
Vehicle Registration Documents
See Certificate of Registration.
Vehicle Type
See Vehicle Certification Agency.
Vehicle Type Approval
Most countries lay down a set of environmental and safety standards, often referred to as type approval. All vehicles need a certificate to show they’ve been tested and conform to these standards.
See also Vehicle Certification Agency.
Voluntary Excess
Some insurance companies let you pay an additional amount, which is the amount of any claim which you wish to pay yourself. The amount of your Voluntary Excess is reduced from the claim payment which you receive. Excesses are cumulative, which means that the amount paid for any claim will be the total of your Compulsory Excess and any Voluntary Excess. Generally speaking, the higher your Voluntary Excess, the lower your premium will be, however you should not choose a level higher than you are able or prepared to pay.
See also Compulsory Excess and Excess.
W
Windscreen Cover
This is exactly what it says on the tin, this is cover for damage to your windscreen.
Sheilas’ Wheels comprehensive car insurance covers you for windscreen damage. This refers to accidental breakage of your windscreen or any other car window and any scratches to the bodywork caused solely and directly by the breakage (an excess applies for replacement).
Your Sheilas’ Wheels policy gives you acces to a 24-hour windscreen repair helpline 0800 032 9083.
Witness
This is someone who sees or hears an incident and gives evidence about it. It is also someone who signs a document to show that a signature is genuine.
Write-Off
This means your car is damaged to such an extent that it can’t be repaired, or it’ll cost more to repair the car than it’s actually worth.
X
Can you think of something related to car insurance that begins with the letters X, Y or Z? We’ve struggled to think of anything!
If you would be kind enough to suggest something, we’ll do our best to include it in this section. Contact us now with your suggestions and write “Jargon Buster Suggestion” in the subject line.
Y
Yearly Premium
See Annual Premium.
