People like you are helping to save lives by staying at home. In recognition of this, we’re pleased to be refunding £110 million of insurance premiums to our car and van customers while committing millions of pounds more to reducing prices and supporting our customers, NHS staff and the local community
We’re pleased to be giving back £110 million to our car and van insurance customers in recognition of you staying at home and driving less during the UK-wide Coronavirus lockdown.
A £25 refund of premium will be automatically given to all customers in the coming weeks for each car and van which was covered by us on 20 April 2020, a total of 4.4m vehicles.
We’re giving our customers the refund to reflect that there have been fewer cars on the road during the lockdown and our customers are driving less, which we expect to result in fewer insurance claims.
You don’t have to take any action to get the refund, we aim to automatically credit it to you by the end of May. We’ll contact you over the coming weeks to explain how you’ll get the payment.
The refund and other initiatives pass on the savings from reduced claims we may otherwise have benefitted from during the lockdown. It isn’t our intention to benefit from the lockdown and we’re returning our best estimate of the savings to our customers.
You don’t need to contact us or do anything at all at this stage, we’ll be in touch between now and the end of May with more details about the refund.
Your questions answered
About the refund
Why are you refunding me?
People are driving significantly less than before the lockdown, and this has led to a fall in the number of claims we’re seeing and therefore, the level of risk we are covering. We want to do our bit too so we're giving a £25 refund of premium for every car and van on cover with us on 20 April 2020.
This is to recognise our customers for following government advice and staying home as much as possible during the UK-wide lockdown, when we’re all working together to slow the spread of Coronavirus.
Why isn't the refund a percentage of my premium?
We wanted to make this fair and considered a number of options. We considered this the best solution to give something back to our customers as soon as we could, while making sure all customers had an equal share in the savings made from the expected reduction in claims.
Everyone's lives have changed as a result of Coronavirus; key workers still need to drive to work, people still need to drive to the supermarket and some people aren't driving at all.
We're all in this together and wanted to give our customers an equal share of these savings. A flat sum of money was the simplest and quickest way to get money back to our customers.
What do I need to do to get my refund?
Nothing – You don't need to contact us or do anything at all at this stage. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, we have less staff than usual answering the phones so you may experience longer than usual wait time. We'll be in touch between now and the end of May with more details about the refund.
When will I get the money?
We aim to issue all refunds by 31 May. There's no need to contact us as we'll be in touch over the coming weeks to confirm when you can expect payment.
How will I get the money?
Your refund will return to the payment method we hold on file.
If you pay by card it'll go back to the card that you paid most of your premium with, and for Direct Debit it will be returned to the account you used to pay most of your premium from.
Unfortunately, we can't take new payment details for this refund due to Money Laundering and Fraud rules. If you used a third-party payer to pay for your cover, the money will go onto their card.
Anyone can fall victim to fraud, we'll never call, text or e-mail you asking you for your bank account details for this refund to be processed.
What if the card I used to pay you has expired?
In most cases where a card has expired the payment processors will still be able to ensure the payment reaches you, especially if you continue to have an account with them.
In a small number of cases the payment will fail and be returned to us and in that situation we'll issue a cheque to you. We'll be in touch if necessary and there's no need to contact us around this point.
Refund eligibility
Am I eligible for the refund?
All annual car customers will get the refund as long as your cover is active on 20 April 2020.
Will I get a refund for all the vehicles on my policy?
Yes – a refund of £25 will be made for each car on cover with us on 20 April 2020.
Am I still eligible if I still need to use my car?
Yes - the refund has been calculated based on the lower driving frequency we're seeing, so all policyholders are eligible, including those who still need their car.
I cancelled my policy before 20 April 2020 – will I still get the £25?
You'll get the refund if your policy was still active at any point on 20 April 2020. You won't get the refund if your policy was cancelled or ended before this date.
If I cancel my policy after 20 April 2020 but before the refund is issued, will I still get the full refund amount?
Yes - providing you have insurance on 20 April 2020, you'll get the £25 refund.
General queries
I have motor insurance 'add-ons' included on my policy, are these refunded separately?
No – the £25 refund per vehicle includes add-ons such as Motor Legal Protection or Breakdown Cover.
My renewal is due soon – do I have to renew with you to get the £25?
No – We'll issue the refund regardless of your decision to renew, as long as your cover was active on 20 April 2020.
Can you take the £25 off my renewal offer?
As this is being done for all our motor customers, we need to process this as an independent payment so cannot be included in the renewal offer.
If the lockdown continues past May will I get a further refund
In calculating our refund amount we didn't anticipate a return to business as usual in May. It's too soon to say what will happen if the lockdown continues, and we don't know how long it will continue and in what format however Ford Insure has always been committed to doing the right thing for its customers and we do not intend to benefit from reduced driving due to the lockdown.
We also want to further reward customers who choose to renew or join Ford Insure and will also continue to reflect changes to claims rates in our prices.
Will this refund impact my price in the future?
No. This refund will not directly impact your future price.
If I have made a claim, do I still get a refund?
Yes, all customers with active car insurance on 20 April 2020 will get a refund. It doesn't matter if you've made a claim.
I have recently cancelled my Direct Debit mandate; will I still get the refund?
Yes, we'll process the payment via BACS credit where there's no active mandate.
I'm a Direct Debit customer and the first instalment is yet to be taken; how will you refund me?
As the refund will be made in May, it's likely the first Direct Debit instalment will have been received. If so, we'll issue the refund to your bank account. If we still haven't received this instalment, we'll issue the refund to the card details used to make the first payment.