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Brightside Insurance car insurance review
Find out about car insurance offered through Brightside Insurance to see if it could get you a good rate - even if you aren't a straightforward customer.
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Struggling to find the right cover for your modified car or tricky driving history? You’ll find not only standard cover through Brightside Insurance Services but, if you’ve got a high-performance or modified car, or a previous conviction, this broker claims it’ll still get you a decent rate.
Who is Brightside Insurance?
Brightside Insurance Services is an independent insurance broker that provides separate car, van and bike insurance as well as a range of other personal and commercial products such as taxi, pet and landlord insurance.
Brightside started out as a specialist van insurer in 2001, and has expanded over the years to offer a range of products through several different brands, including Brightside Insurance, Commercial Vehicle Direct, One Insurance Solution, Pro-Sport Insurance and AXA Specialist Risks.
What are Brightside Insurance’s levels of cover?
Third party
Third party cover is the minimum level of cover that Brightside offers. All drivers in the UK are legally obliged to have at least this insurance. If you are responsible for causing an accident, you’ll be covered for damage to third party vehicles or property. It won’t however, cover any damage to your own car.
Third party, fire and theft
This will give the same level of cover as third party but will also provide protection against any fire damage to your car or theft of your car.
Comprehensive
This gives the same protection as the other levels as well as insuring your vehicle against accidental damage and vandalism. It can be cheaper than third party, or TPFT, so it’s always worth checking.
What is covered under my policy?
Here’s a breakdown of the benefits and features to each level of cover offered by MCE
| Cover benefits | Third party | Third party, fire and theft | Comprehensive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liability to other people | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fire and theft | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| Personal accident cover | – | – | ✓ |
| 90-day European cover | – | – | ✓ |
| Courtesy car | – | – | ✓ |
Optional extras
In addition to the standard levels of cover, Brightside Insurance can also provide a range of additional protection to add to your policy, including:
- Courtesy car cover
- Key cover
- RAC Breakdown cover
- Legal Expenses cover
- Enhanced Personal Accident Cover
General exclusions
There are a few exclusions that Brightside Insurance has for its policies. Your cover is likely to become invalid if any of the following arises:
- Your car is being driven by an unnamed driver on your policy or by a person that does not have a valid driving licence.
- Your car is used for rallies, races or competitions.
- You are paid to carry passengers.
- You fail to pay for your premium.
- You change your car during the policy term to a car that the insurer cannot cover.
- You do not provide the correct documents to support your application.
- Check your policy for further details to confirm your cover is valid.
How to save on your car insurance policy through Brightside
- Having a secure location to park your car – cars kept in a garage or on a secure driveway are usually cheaper to insure.
- If you start working part-time or your long commute becomes much shorter, letting your insurer know about a reduction in your mileage could result in cheaper insurance.
- Agreeing to pay a bigger voluntary excess could make your overall premium cheaper. But remember that your insurer won’t pay out for a claim that costs less than your excess. So be careful about making it too high, as it could leave you out of pocket if damage occurs.
- Choosing to drive a small and safe car is likely to lower your premium.
What is my excess?
Your insurance excess is the amount of money you have agreed to pay towards a claim. Your insurer won’t pay out for a claim that costs less than your excess. A compulsory excess amount might vary depending on the age of your car and your driving experience.
A voluntary excess is normally an amount set by you when taking out a policy. You’ll have the option of adding or increasing a voluntary excess, which could in turn reduce your premium.
You’ll find details about any compulsory or voluntary excesses in your policy document.
What is the claims process for Brightside Insurance?
You should call the Brightside Insurance claims line on 0333 222 4548. This is a 24-hour claim line open seven days a week. You’ll need to provide:
- Your insurance policy number
- Your contact information
- Details about the incident
- Details of any third parties involved
- Eyewitness details
- Crime reference number, if applicable.
It’s vital that you let your insurer know about an incident as soon as possible, even if it’s not your fault. Failure to do this could result in a rejected claim.
Frequently asked questions
Please take reasonable care to answer all the questions honestly and to the best of your knowledge. If you don't answer the questions correctly, your policy may be cancelled, or your claim rejected or not fully paid. The offers compared on this page are chosen from a range of products we can track; we don't cover every product on the market...yet. Unless we've indicated otherwise, products are shown in no particular order or ranking. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations), aren't product ratings, although we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it; this is subject to our terms of use. When making a big financial decision, it's wise to consider getting independent financial advice, and always consider your own financial circumstances when comparing products so you get what's right for you.
*51% of consumers could save £200. Quote aggregator Seopa split the insurers on its comparison systems into different categories. It then selected quotes from the most popular providers as well as quotes from other providers which returned a price. It then selected providers, weighting them according to UK insurance market share (data from the Association of British Insurers), choosing the cheapest of either the most popular providers or other providers ("the cheapest selected quote"). Seopa then compared the cheapest quote on its system against this "cheapest selected" quote. The company then took the savings figure which 51% or over could have saved, using that formula. The savings you could achieve will depend on your individual circumstances and how you selected your current insurance supplier.
