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Scratch and Dent Insurance: Smart Care Insurance
What is Smart Care Insurance, and why is it better for money than standard levels of cosmetic repair insurance?
Scratch and dent insurance, or cosmetic repair insurance, as some people like to call it, covers the cost of minor cosmetic damage to your car's bodywork. It is a good policy that, most importantly, works.
Minor cosmetic damage, such as scuffs and dings, cannot only spoil your car's appearance but can also affect any part exchange value you may be given.
The benefit of a scratch and dent policy is that you do not have to pay for the repair or claim it on your fully comprehensive motor insurance. Please remember that claiming on your motor insurance could, in the long term, affect your no claims bonus when you renew.
A Gap Insurance 123 Scratch and Dent Insurance ( Cosmetic Repair Insurance) policy will cover
- Damage up to 30cm in length.
- The damage can be on two body panels.
- Stone Chips - Paint Chips up to 5mm in depth.
However, a scratch and dent policy will exclude certain areas.
This is because a scratch and dent policy (cosmetic repair insurance policy), just like a Smart care policy, is designed to be a mobile repair. It is designed to be repairable via medium area repair technology, sometimes called Smart repair. A technician will visit your home, place, or work to perform the smart repair. (For health and safety reasons, they will require somewhere off-road to be able to work.) They will then treat the area and complete a seamless, smart repair. Repairs carried out also come with a guarantee covering the quality of workmanship.
As a result, if the damage to your bodywork were on a flat surface, such as a scratch on your bonnet, the only way to get a factory repair would be to have a full bonnet respray.
Depending upon the colour of your car and where the damage was located, this may even involve bleeding the paint into the front bumper, perhaps the front wing, or even the door pillars. This is way beyond the capability of even the most experienced technician. As such, damage on any flat horizontal surface is excluded and must be taken for a body shop repair.
So what makes Smart Care insurance better than a scratch and dent insurance policy?
The answer is simple: it's better value for money!
Scratch and dent insurance covers your car's bodywork, which is fantastic, but what about your alloy wheels? What about the interior of your vehicle?
If you buy a scratch and dent policy, you must buy a second alloy wheel insurance policy. If you purchase a smart care insurance policy, you will have all the combined benefits at a much lower price.
Benefits of a Gap Insurance 123 Scratch and dent insurance policy.
- Cover for cars up to 8 years old with no more than 80,000 miles on the day of policy inception.
- Free-of-charge policy transfer is subject to eligibility for your replacement car.
- There is no policy excess or call-out charge when you make a claim.
- You can choose up to 6 claims per year.
- You can protect your new car with up to 4 years cover.
- If the damage falls within the parameters of your policy but a mobile repair is not feasible, you can take your car to a body shop with the claims team's authorisation. You can then claim up to £450 for damage on two panels or £250 for damage on one panel.
Benefits of a Smart Care insurance policy over and above a standard scratch and dent insurance policy.
( this includes all the benefits of a scratch and dent policy)
- Cover for Diamond cut alloy wheels
- Cover for laser cut and painted alloy wheels.
- Cover for up to 5cm of interior damage.
- If a mobile repair of your alloy wheel is impossible, use your local VAT-registered repairer with the claims team's consent and claim up to £250 per repair.
- If your alloy wheel is not repairable, for example, cracked, you can claim up to £150 as a goodwill gesture. This will not pay for a replacement alloy wheel; it is purely a goodwill gesture.
Cost differences between Smart Care and Scratch and Dent insurance up to 3 claims per year?
| Type of Policy | 1 Year | 2 Years | 3 Years | 4 Years |
| Smart Care Insurance | £173.15 | £214.73 | £249.45 | 310.81 |
| Scratch and dent insurance | Not Available | £210.59 | £255.39 | £310.72 |
Cost differences between Smart Care and Scratch and Dent insurance up to 6 claims per year?
| Type of policy | 1 Year | 2 Years | 3 Years | 4 Years |
| Smart care Insurance | £210.67 | £260.62 | £299.43 | £399.27 |
| Scratch and Dent Insurance | Not Available | £244.27 | £300.72 | £377.17 |
What other level of protection can you buy to keep your car showroom-ready?
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Costs are accurate as of October 2024.
Who do I contact when I need to make a scratch and dent claim?
To make a claim, please contact Acasta at 0345 040 5975 or email [email protected]. Like us, they are based in the UK and have a UK-based call centre. Again, like us, they are fully regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. FCA) and any policy buy is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. (FSCS).
What will your Scratch and Dent or Smart care policy not cover?
Just like any other level of coverage you buy, our policies will have terms and conditions. For example, we can not cover pre existing damage, so it is essential that you understand what your policy will and will not cover. We work hard with our underwriters to ensure our policies are all-inclusive and offer fair value within the FCA Consumer Duty guidelines. So before you buy any policy, please read the documents below, as they will list not only standard exclusions but also.
- How to make a complaint
- How to make a Claim
- Who is eligible to buy a policy
- How to cancel your policy
- What and who would be entitled to a pro-rata refund?
- How long do you have to change your mind?
- What legal and regulatory backup do you have when you buy a policy?
Smart Care Insurance IPIDs ( Key Facts ) Smart Care Insurance T&C's
Scratch and dent IPIDS ( Key Facts ) Scratch and Dent insurance T&C's
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Easy straight forward and good value.
Really easy to understand, good value, simple to set up
Very impressed with the help I received over the phone from **** explained my options very clearly and guided me through the process of applying for cover. I've used GapInsurance123 before and am very happy to do so again!
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Always easy to do business with and staff are very helpful and efficient
Thank you Jackie for your help. Highly appreciated for great service...!
Quick simple process, appreciate note about 12 month vehicle replacement may be covered on my insurance already, it was.
I called to clarify a couple of things before purchasing and spoke to a lady called Jackie, very pleasant and extremely helpful. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend GAP 123.
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easy site to used very pleased with price
VERY EASY TO USE AND COMPLETE. EXCELLANT PRICE HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
Very quick an easy, but the only slight disappointment is that is no where to get your existing customer discount on the web site. You have to phone for that and if you need the cover to start at the weekend you miss out. Shame.
good
Really easy to understand and follow.
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