If the accident wasn’t your fault, your own insurer will usually give you a courtesy car only if your policy includes one, and it’s normally a small car for the repair period. Because someone else caused the crash, you can also claim a replacement car from the at-fault driver’s insurer, matched to your own and kept until yours is repaired or the write-off is settled, if you need one. National Accident Support Line arranges that replacement and pursues the cost.
Most drivers only read the courtesy car section of their policy the day after the crash, on the phone to their insurer, which is when they hear “subject to availability” and “approved repairer only”. Below are straight answers to what people ask us: whether you’ll get one, how fast, what size, for how long, and what to do when the answer is no.
No excess to pay if the accident wasn’t your fault. Fill in our form and we’ll call you back within 2 minutes.
Do you get a courtesy car if it’s not your fault?
Fault doesn’t decide whether you get a courtesy car. Your policy does. A courtesy car is a benefit of your own insurance, so you get one when you claim on your policy and the policy includes it, whoever caused the accident. Most comprehensive policies include a basic one while your car is with the insurer’s approved repairer; third party policies usually don’t, and some insurers sell it only as an add-on.
What fault does change is that you have a second route. When another driver caused the accident, the loss of your car is one of the costs they’re responsible for, so a replacement vehicle can be claimed from their insurer whether or not your own policy has any courtesy car cover at all. That claim depends on need: the replacement has to be genuinely needed while your car is off the road. If you’re still at the stage of dealing with the other driver and the insurers, our page on the steps to take after a crash that wasn’t your fault covers the claim from the roadside.
Who provides the car, and who pays for it
There are three usual routes, each paid for differently. A courtesy car from your own insurer is supplied by the approved repairer or the insurer’s hire partner under your policy. Your excess applies to the repair claim, though on a non-fault claim your insurer will usually try to recover it, along with its own costs, from the other side. Until it does, the claim can stay open on your record.
The at-fault driver’s insurer may ring you directly and offer to arrange a car itself. You don’t have to accept, but if the car offered is suitable and you turn it down, that can affect what can be recovered for any other hire, so ask what you’d be getting, for how long, and whether it carries on if your car is written off.
A replacement arranged through credit hire, which is how NASL does it, is supplied by a hire company, with the charges claimed from the at-fault driver’s insurer at the end of the claim rather than paid by you up front.
One thing to watch: some insurers offer a “non-fault service” on the phone that sounds like a courtesy car but is a credit hire agreement with a separate company. They’re different things, and you should be told which one you’re agreeing to.
How long it takes to get a courtesy car
A standard courtesy car comes from the repairer’s own stock when your car goes in for repair. If your car is still drivable, that means waiting for a repair slot, which can be weeks if parts are slow, while you keep driving your own. If it isn’t drivable, some insurers arrange a car quickly, others not until it has been assessed, and if the repairer has nothing free you wait. Paid-for hire car add-ons tend to come quicker.
With NASL, we check the accident wasn’t your fault first, then aim to have a replacement with you within 48 hours where your car can’t be driven. If yours is still safe to drive, the replacement is booked for the day it goes in for repair. What slows things down most is missing information, so have the other driver’s details and insurer, photos of the damage and your driving licence ready when you call.
What a class A courtesy car is
Class A, sometimes called group A, is the smallest category of hire car: typically a 1.0 litre city car, often three doors, usually petrol and manual. Standard courtesy cover rarely lets you choose the model, the fuel or the gearbox. For one driver doing short trips for a few days, that’s fine.
It stops being fine when the car you’ve lost does a job a city car can’t. Two child seats and a buggy. A licence restricted to automatics. A tow bar for a trailer. A wheelchair in the boot. A daily commute of 80 miles. After a non-fault accident, the replacement you can claim from the at-fault insurer should be equivalent to your own in size, seats and gearbox, and suited to how you actually use it. Tell us all of that on the call.
How long you keep it
A courtesy car lasts for the repair period at most. Some policies cap it at a set number of days, hire car add-ons are commonly limited to 14 to 28 days, and most standard cover ends once the car is declared a total loss, often before any settlement has been paid. Our guide to what happens when a car is declared a total loss covers the valuation side.
A replacement claimed from the at-fault insurer runs for as long as your own car is off the road because of the accident: while it’s assessed, while parts arrive and while it’s repaired, or until the write-off settlement is paid. The period has to be reasonable, though. Respond to a valuation promptly, collect your car once it’s ready, and tell us if you no longer need the replacement, because the other insurer can challenge days that weren’t needed.
When your policy has no courtesy car, or it isn’t enough
Check the courtesy car or hire car section of your policy. The wording usually tells you exactly where your cover stops.
| What your policy says | What it means after a non-fault accident |
|---|---|
| “Subject to availability” | You may wait, or get nothing, if the repairer has no car free |
| “Only when repaired by our approved repairer” | Choosing your own garage usually means no courtesy car |
| “Not provided if the vehicle is a total loss or stolen” | The car goes back once a write-off is confirmed |
| “Class A” or “small hatchback” | A 1.0 litre city car, whatever you normally drive |
| “Hire car cover up to 21 days” | A fixed limit, even if the repair takes longer |
| No courtesy car section, or third party cover only | Nothing from your own policy, but a replacement can still be claimed from the at-fault insurer if you need one |
If you already have a courtesy car that suits you and the repair is short, keeping it is often sensible, and tell us about it on the call, because a suitable car you already have affects whether a second one is needed. If there’s nothing, or it doesn’t fit your life, a replacement from the at-fault side is usually the answer. If you’d like to see how the two options line up against each other, we’ve covered that separately.
Getting a like-for-like car from the at-fault driver’s insurer
When you contact us, we confirm the accident wasn’t your fault and that you need a vehicle, before anything is delivered. We then arrange a replacement equivalent to your own, from a partner network of over 4,000 vehicles across 300-plus models, including automatics, larger family cars, hybrids and electric cars. We manage the repair or pursue the write-off value, and our in-house recovery team deals with the at-fault insurer, arguing liability on the evidence if they dispute it.
The hire is arranged on a credit hire agreement. The charges are claimed from the at-fault driver’s insurer rather than from you, but it’s still a credit agreement, so read it before you sign. Ask what you’d owe if liability were disputed or the hire were challenged, check whether there’s an excess if the hire car is damaged, and expect to pay for your own fuel, any fines and any late return. Our explainer on how credit hire works and what you sign goes through the agreement in more detail, and the full service is on our replacement vehicle service page.
Situations drivers describe to us
“The courtesy car can’t come until they have a repair slot”
That’s normal for a drivable car under standard cover, and you’d keep using your own until then either way. If it isn’t safe to drive, tell us: a replacement doesn’t depend on the repairer having a car free.
“My car’s a write-off and the courtesy car goes back on Friday”
This is where most courtesy cover runs out. The settlement can take weeks to agree and pay, and you still need to get to work in the meantime. A replacement claimed from the at-fault insurer can carry on until the write-off is paid.
“The other driver’s insurer has already given me a car”
Tell us what it is and how long it’s for. If it’s equivalent to yours and lasts until your car is back, you may not need anything else. If it’s smaller, ends on a set date or stops on a write-off, keep a note of what was offered.
Frequently asked questions
Do you get a courtesy car if it’s not your fault?
From your own insurer, only if your policy includes one and you claim through it, whoever was at fault. Separately, because someone else caused the accident, you can claim a replacement car from their insurer if you need one, even when your policy has no courtesy car cover.
Who pays for a courtesy car after an accident?
A courtesy car from your own insurer is part of your policy, and your insurer tries to recover its costs from the at-fault side afterwards. A car arranged by the at-fault insurer is paid for by them directly. With credit hire, the charges are claimed from the at-fault driver’s insurer under the agreement you sign.
How long does it take to get a courtesy car?
Usually when your car goes in to the approved repairer, and only if the repairer has one free. Where the car can’t be driven, some insurers arrange one quickly and others wait until it has been assessed. NASL aims to have a replacement with you within 48 hours when your car can’t be driven and the accident is confirmed as not your fault.
What is a class A courtesy car?
The smallest hire car category, usually a 1.0 litre city car with three or five doors and a manual gearbox. It’s the standard courtesy car on many policies, whatever size of car you drive.
What happens if I have an accident in a courtesy car?
The courtesy car has its own insurance through the garage or hire company, often with an excess. Report it to the provider straight away. If someone else caused it, the costs can be claimed from their insurer in the same way.
Will a courtesy car affect my no-claims discount?
A courtesy car comes with a claim on your own policy, so your discount can be held back until your insurer recovers its costs from the other side. A replacement claimed from the at-fault driver’s insurer doesn’t use your policy. Either way, you still have to tell your insurer about the accident, and insurers ask about every accident at renewal, so your premium can still be affected.
Can I get a replacement car if my policy has no courtesy car?
Yes, if the accident wasn’t your fault and you need a car. The replacement is a cost of the accident, claimed from the at-fault driver’s insurer, so it doesn’t depend on what your own policy includes.
No excess to pay if the accident wasn’t your fault. Fill in our form and we’ll call you back within 2 minutes.