Vavista car insurance review

Get the lowdown on car insurance offered through Vavista to decide if it's a match for your needs.

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Vavista

Vavista is a car insurance broker that offers the usual types of car insurance policies to suit a range of budgets. Its car cover comes with a 5-star Defaqto rating and has options to suit unconventional insurance needs, including modified cars.

What’s more, Vavista policyholders can benefit from a health and wellbeing program made up of six learning videos around sleeping, thinking, eating and drinking better and more. Here’s what else we think you should know.

What is Vavista?

Vavista offers a variety of car and life insurance policies. It can also arrange cover for motorbikes, vans and the home.

Vavista is a trading style of Eldon Insurance Services Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

What are Vavista’s levels of cover?

Third party.
Third party cover is the minimum level of cover that is offered by Vavista. All drivers in the UK are legally required to have at least this level of car insurance. If you are at fault for causing an accident, you’ll be protected for damage to third-party vehicles or property, but it won’t cover any damage to your own car.
Third party, fire and theft.
You’ll get the same level of cover as third party, but this will also provide protection against any fire damage or the theft of your car.
Comprehensive.
This is the highest level of cover on offer through Vavista and will give the same protection as the other levels as well as insure your vehicle against accidental damage and vandalism. It’s always worth checking the cost of comprehensive as it can be cheaper than third party.

What’s covered under my policy?

Cover benefitsThird partyThird party, fire and theftComprehensive
Liability to other people and property
Fire and theft
Accidental damage

Beyond the standard cover benefits above, any other benefits to your insurance policy will vary depending on the insurer that is able to provide the cover through Vavista.

Check your policy details carefully to ensure you have the right cover for your needs.

Optional extras

Vavista offers a range of additional protection to enhance your policy, including the following:

What policy exclusions are there?

Any cover offered through Vavista is likely to become invalid if any of the following arises:

  • You fail to pay your premium.
  • You change your car during the policy term to a car that the insurer cannot cover.
  • You change the use of your car from its original use. For example, changing from social domestic and pleasure to business use.
  • Your car is being driven by an unnamed driver on your policy or by a person that does not have a valid driving licence.
  • You use your car at rallies, races or competitions.
  • You are paid to carry passengers.
  • You do not provide the correct documents to support your application.

The insurer that offers you the policy through Vavista may also have its own set of exclusions. Check your policy for further details to confirm your cover is valid at all times.

How do I make a claim?

Call the Vavista claims line on 0344 8409 537 to register a claim.

You will also be able to log your claim online via the Vavista website’s online claims form.

You will need to provide the following information in order to make a claim:

  • Your details and personal contact details
  • Details about the incident such as date and time
  • Details about the damage to your car and whether it is driveable
  • Details of all third parties and their passengers involved in the incident
  • Details of all passengers in your car and any witnesses of the incident
  • Crime reference number, if relevant

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 later on.

What is my excess?

Your insurance excess is the amount of money you will need to pay towards a claim. Your insurer won’t pay out for a claim that costs less than this amount. A compulsory excess amount might vary depending on the age of your car and your driving experience.

A voluntary excess is usually in addition to a compulsory excess and tends to be set by you when taking out a policy. You’ll have the option of adding or increasing a voluntary excess – which should lower your premium.

You’ll find details about any compulsory or voluntary excesses in your policy document.

Vavista customer reviews

Vavista has well over 900 reviews on the platform Trustpilot and overall, it scores 4 out of 5 stars. Vavista took over Debenhams insurance customers, and some reviews in 2021 cite issues concerning communication and renewal prices connected with this changeover. (Last updated: July 2021.)

Vavista pros and cons

Pros

  • 5-star Defaqto rating
  • A range of optional extras to enhance cover
  • Cover for a range of budgets
  • Unconventional cover options
  • Policy holders can take advantage of a health and wellbeing programme

Cons

  • Your no claim bonus may still be affected even if you are not at fault
  • You will be charged to cancel your policy during the 14-day cooling off period, which more than doubles after this period
  • You will be charged an administration fee to pay by direct debit

Our verdict

Vavista offers third party, third party fire and theft and comprehensive cover options, plus optional extras like RAC breakdown cover, key cover and excess protection. With policy options to cover a range of budgets and specialised vehicle needs, like modified cars, Vavista could be particularly suited to someone needing a specialised policy.

If you have read this review and decided that Vavista car insurance is not for you, you can also compare other car insurance policies on the market.

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. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables has the source: Moneyfacts Group PLC. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.
*Based on data provided by Consumer Intelligence Ltd, www.consumerintelligence.com (July ’24). 51% of car insurance customers could save £523.17
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Writer

Helen Champion was an associate editor at Finder. She has worked in communications for over 16 years and currently writes on a range of topics including insurance and money transfers in the hope of empowering people to make better financial decisions. During her broadcast career, she helped to produce hundreds of news and breaking news reports for Associated Press TV and ITV News. And in public relations, she managed several high-profile public relations campaigns for Macmillan Cancer Support, the General Medical Council and overseas for Qatar Foundation on behalf of BLJ Worldwide. Helen has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Lincoln, a passion for practising karate in the dojo and a deep love of making mischief with her sons. See full bio

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