Brightside Car Insurance Review

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Alexandre Desoutter updated on July 31, 2020

This is the ultimate review to guide you through Brightside car insurance.

You might already know that Brightside offers several car insurance policy options.
Some are great, others not so much.

So if you want to get:

  • Better value for money for your car insurance
  • Indicative quotes
  • Tips to lower your insurance premium, then you might love the following article.

Let’s dive right in.

Is Brightside the best car insurance provider?

Getting the best car insurance deal is not all about the price. Indeed, focusing on just getting the cheapest deal might be a bad calculation when it comes to getting a good payout if you ever have an accident.

We’ve studied in detail Brightside car policy terms and conditions and given our own ratings based on different criteria.

4 Safe overall rating for Brightside

Our ratingOur opinion
Customer service & satisfaction

Excellent customer service during application and registration process
Fast and effortless access to a quote online
High number of positive reviews on Trust Pilot
No live chat feature available

Cover provided

Wide coverage options available such as Car Insurance, Black Box Insurance, Horsebox Insurance, Bike Insurance, Van Insurance, GAP Insurance, etc
90 day European Cover as part of their Comprehensive Policy
Getting a black box installed is optional depending on the coverage of your choice
Wide range of additional covers available

Value for money

Fairly priced premiums
No renewal fee
High cancellation fee

Financial strength for pay out

Brightside Insurance has several insurance brands such as OneInsurance Solution, ProSport Insurance, AXA Specialist Risks and are also backed by their portfolio companies such as Aviva, Legal & General as well as other smaller specialist insurance in the market. This shows that the company has a high ability to pay out claims.

Technology

Use of telematics (black box) technology as well as telematics using mobile app
User friendly website
Fast and easy online application process
Effective online portal for current customers
No chatbot feature available

Safe rating for Brightside

Expert and customer reviews on Brightside

We compiled expert and customer reviews from independent institutions, to give you an overall idea of Brightside's reputation.

Review organisationConsumer satisfaction rates for Brightside
Defaqto expert rating for Brightside
defaqto 3 stars 1
TrustPilot
4,5/5 based on more than 7000 opinions
Consumer satisfaction rates on reviews for Brightside

To check if Brightside is the right car insurance for you, you can use our free comparison tool and finally compare coverage features, optional extras, excess, admin fees and customer rating without having to give any personal information.

Finally, compare best car insurance in less than 20 secs without giving your email.
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Our review on Brightside car insurance policy

Brightside is an all in one insurance company where you get a wide range of covers from car insurance to black box insurance to van insurance, to fleet insurance and so on.

They have excellent customer service which has been verified by the thousands of positive reviews left on Trust Pilot and their premiums are reasonably priced.

We recommend Brightside to anyone looking a good return for what they pay and a wide range of coverage.

What does Brightside car insurance policy cover?

Are TPO, TPFT and Comprehensive covers available at Brightside?

Car insurance policyAvailable at BrightsideCoverage in a nutshell
Third-Party Only
  • Passengers and third party covered
  • Policyholder is not covered for any injuries or damages
Third-Party Fire and Theft
  • Replacement of your car if stolen
  • Damages caused due to theft or fire
Comprehensive
  • Cover third-party fire and theft
  • Covers injuries to you and damages to your car
Car insurance level of cover available at Brightside

Keep in mind that you can always add optional extras to your policy.

Main guarantees at Brightside explained in details

Let's find out what does Brightside covers in its car insurance policy.

Breakdown cover at Brightside

Brightside Insurance offers 3 levels of Breakdown Cover that is provided by RAC (An automative repair service that they’ve partnered with to carry out their Breakdown Services to clients):

  • Roadside and Recovery Cover: This inlcudes roadside breakdown services within the UK a 1/4 mile from your home address, and local recovery of the vehicle and 8 passengers including the driver to a single destination.
  • Roadside, Recovery and At Home Cover: This covers the benefits you get with Roadside and Recover Cover along with Breakdown assistance if your car breaks down at your home address or within 1/4 miles from your home address.
  • Roaside, Recovery, At Home and Onward Travel: this covers all of the benefits that come with the Roadside, Recovery and At Home Cover as well as alternative transport or overnight accomodation should they not be able to repair your vehicle at the roadside.
  • Roadside, Recovery, At Home, Onward Travel and Europe: this cover consists of the benefits you get with the Roadside Recovery At Home and Onward Travel as well as breakdown assistance while traveling in Europe.

They can also make an exception and cover you for your travel abroad.

Keycare cover at Brightside

£1,500 for new locks, keys and locksmith charges.

Windscreen cover at Brightside

Windscreen cover is included as a standard if you take the Comprehensive Policy. If you did not take a Comprehensive Policy, you can get Windscreen Cover as an additional optional cover.
It covers damaged or broken windows and windscreen as well as bodywork damage caused by the glass breaking. Claims for Windscreen cover will not affect your NCB.

Motor legal protection at Brightside

Up to £100,000 of legal costs in case you are involved in an accident that is not your fault.

Personal policy injury available at Brightside

Up to £5000 if you or your spouse is injured, dead or lost a limb as well as total loss of sight in one or both eyes.

Coverage abroad at Brightside

Brightside Insurance offers abroad cover to EU countries for upto 90 days as a standard to customers who have the Comprehensive Policy. However, it is important to inform your insurer regarding your traveling plans ahead of time so that they can advise you on whether you’re going to need a Green Card as the UK is currently going through transition after leaving EU.

Apart from EU countries, the following countries are also covered: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France (including Monaco), Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy (including San Marino and the Vatican City), Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of I remand, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland (including Liechtenstein).

Gap insurance at Brightside

Brightside has 3 main Gap Insurance Covers:

  • Return to Invoice: this is where the Gap Insurance covers the difference between the settlement you got from your insurer and the original price at which you bought your vehicle.
  • Finance and Contract Hire: this is where your GAP Insurance will cover the debts you have left from when you purchased your vehicle. The insurer will directly pay the difference between the written off settlement and the original price of the vehicle to the financial body you got the loan from.
  • Agreed Value GAP Insurance:this covers the GAP left after a settlement between the worth of the vehicle at time of settlement and the original price you bought it at.

No-Claim Bonus (NCB) at Brightside

Your NCB will keep increasing every year provided you don’t get yourself involved in any incident that may require you to file for a claim or have a claim filed against you. You can also opt for an NCB protection cover at an additional charge.

If you’re involved in an accident that was your fault, your NCB will be affected. If the accident wasn’t your fault, your NCB will not be affected provided that Brightside is able to recover all costs from the responsible party.

Claims on the following will not affect your NCB:

  • Windscreen cover repair or replacement. (Note: Does not involve sunroofs or glassroofs)
  • Emergency treatment fees on road side in case of injury during an accident.

At Brightside, you can apply for the NCB protection. The NCB protection allows you to make a certain number of claims within a period without losing your No-Claim bonus.

Good to know

A No-Claim bonus is a reward that you get from driving during a long time (at least one year) without making any claim. The more years you drive without claims, the higher your NCB rate gets hence the higher the discount on your insurance premium.

Brightside car insurance terms and conditions

How much does Brightside car insurance cost?

You'll find below indicative car insurance quotes at Brightside:

Drivers'ageMonthly premium
18 years old
£112,32
40 years old
£46,32
60 years old
£34,15
Quotes above are for a comprehensive car insurance - eco car, clean record driver, Liverpool

Costs of Brightside insurance car policies vary widely based on different factors such as:

  • The driver’s age
  • The date on which they received their driving licence
  • The type of car
  • Expected repair costs if the car is damaged
  • The performance, safety and security of the car
  • The driver’s address and how busy the streets in the neighbourhood are
  • Who drives the car (any additional driver on the policy)
  • The driver's record of accidents and claims (number of injuries, No Claim Bonus etc.)
  • Insurance taxes.

Good to know

The higher risk you represent, the more expensive your policy will be.

Is there any promo codes or discounts available at Brightside?

There is no specific discount apart from the No-Claim Bonus available at Brightside Insurance

If you want to get a cheaper car insurance policy, another good way to do so is to never auto renew and always compare car insurance quotes.

Save more on your car insurance checking out our 13 tops tips to cut your insurance premiums!

Brightside car insurance policy summarized

Guarantees

At Brightside
NCB benefit
Yes
Uninsured driver NCB benefit
Yes
Loss or theft of keys
£500 as a standard
Personal belongings
£200
Audio equipment

Excess- Not Stated
Limit- £500

Medical expenses

Excess- Not Stated
Limit- £200

Liability limit for property damage
£20,000,000
Legal expense
£100,000
Courtesy car benefit

As standard

Courtesy car cover

Duration of repair of your car

Coverage abroad

90 days

Guarantees at Brightside

Excess

At Brightside
Fire excess
Excess- Not Stated
Limit- £300 for child car seat, £200 for personal belongings
Theft excess
Excess- Not Stated
Limit- £300 for Child car seat, £200 for personal belongings
Accidental damage excess
Not stated
Windscreen replacement excess
£60 - £100
Young driver excess

Not Stated

Excess at Brightside

Admin fees

At Brightside
Interest charged by payment installments

Not Stated

Renewal fees

£0

Cancellation fees

Cancellation fee within 14 days after purchase of policy (Cooling off Period): £25
Cancellation fee beyond 14 days (Cooling off Period): £60

Modification fees

Policy Change fee: £35

Admin fees at Brightside

Other car insurance policies available at Brightside

Brightside multi-car insurance

Brightside Insurance does not offer multi-car insurance for personal purpose but fleet insurance under their brand name, One Insurance Solution. You can get all three levels of cover with their fleet insurance: Third Party Only, Fire, Theft and Third Party as well as Comprehensive.

Their fleet insurance cover only covers vehicles used for businesses and not for social or personal use. A business fleet can include a number of different vehicles such as cars, vans and HGV’s or it can include a number of the same types of vehicles. Some of the benefits that come with this cover are Public Liability, Commercial Property (Buildings used for business), Insurance of goods in transit as well as Employer’s Liability.

Claims on the fleet insurance is registered across the entire policy instead of each vehicle having its own claim. This way, you get to minimize your risk by spreading it across all the vehicles.

Brightside black-box insurance

Aside from regular insurance covers, Brightside also offers Black Box Insurance for whoever would like to have it. The Black Box uses a telematics system that records speed, acceleration, braking and cornering and creates a report of each of them.

Your policy premium will be tailored according to your Black Box report. If you have good driving skills, your premium will be lowered.

Brightside business car insurance

Insurance for your business car is offered at Brightside Insurance. They offer fleet insurance under their brand name, One Insurance Solution. You can get all three levels of cover with their fleet insurance: Third Party Only, Fire, Theft and Third Party as well as Comprehensive. Their fleet insurance cover only covers vehicles used for businesses and not for social or personal use. A business fleet can include a number of different vehicles such as cars, vans and HGV’s or it can include a number of the same types of vehicles. Some of the benefits that come with this cover are Public Liability, Commercial Property (Buildings used for business), Insurance of goods in transit as well as Employer’s Liability.

Claims on the fleet insurance is registered across the entire policy instead of each vehicle having its own claim. This way, you get to minimize your risk by spreading it across all the vehicles.

Brightside van insurance

Brightside Insurance offers Van Insurance for personal, commercial or even for a fleet of vans.

You can still get a suitable cover is you’re a driver with previous motor convictions, have a refrigerated van, a modified van or are new to the UK.

The following benefits are available as standard when taking out a comprehensive level of cover:

  • Windscreen Cover
  • Audio and Entertainment Equipement Cover
  • Up to 90 days European Cover.

In addition to your policy, you can opt to increase your cover by choosing some or all of the following optional extra covers:

  • RAC Breakdown Cover
  • Replacement Vehicle Cover
  • Tool Cover
  • Motor Legal Expenses.

How to contact Brightside auto insurance?

Brightside phone numbers

You will find all important phone numbers to contact Brightside car insurance:

Contact numberOpening hours

Customer service

0344 902 8345

Monday to Friday: 9am-6pm
Saturday: 9am-1pm
Sunday: Closed

Claims

0330 333 7 888

Available 24/7

RAC Breakdown Assistance

0333 202 1867

Available 24/7

Public Liability

0333 222 1060

Monday to Thursday: 9am-7pm
Friday: 9am-5:30pm
Saturday: 10am-1pm
Sunday: Closed

Van Insurance Customer Service

0344 902 8342

Monday to Friday: 8am-6pm
Saturday: 9am-1pm
Sunday: 1Closed

Glass Repair

0800 316 8316

Not Stated

Contact numbers at Brightside

Brightside other contact details

You'll find below Brightside main contact details:

Contact details of Brightside
Email address

[email protected]

Customer account with Brightside login

My account

Social media
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn
Chatbot
No
Contact details at Brightside

You can also contact them by mail by writing to Brightside car insurance:

Brightside Insurance Services Ltd
Brightside Park
Severn Bridge
Aust
Bristol
BS35 4BL

How to cancel your car insurance at Brightside?

You can always cancel your car insurance policy at any time. However, some fees may apply especially if you cancel it after the 14 cooling-off period after your contract's anniversary date.

Since car insurance is a legal requirement, Brightside as well as other insurers will renew your policy automatically at the end of the policy period without any notification from your side. However, Brightside has the obligation to send you a renewal notice within 7 to 21 days before your contract comes to an end. You will therefore have 14 days - the cooling off period - to cancel your policy at reduced cancellation fees.

For the same reason, if you cancel your car insurance policy, you must sign up to a new one immediately. Find out more on car insurance legal requirement.

You would need to have various documents ready such as:

  • your policy number (right hand corner of your documents);
  • your bank details; and
  • your payment method in case there are cancellation fees.

Watch out!

Brightside could also refuse to cover your car any longer if you don't pay for your premiums within the time allocated, or if they find out that you omitted important information that was required by the company such as your driving experience or you if have committed a fraud of any kind. This act is known as ‘fronting’.

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Alexandre Desoutter
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Alexandre Desoutter has been working as editor-in-chief and head of press relations at HelloSafe since June 2020. A graduate of Sciences Po Grenoble, he worked as a journalist for several years in French media, and continues to collaborate as a as a contributor to several publications.

In this sense, his role leads him to carry out steering and support work with all HelloSafe editors and contributors so that the editorial line defined by the company is fully respected. and declined through the texts published daily on our platforms.

As such, Alexandre is responsible for implementing and maintaining the strictest journalistic standards within the HelloSafe editorial staff, in order to guarantee the most accurate, up-to-date information on our platforms. and expert as possible. Alexandre has in particular undertaken for two years now the implementation of a system of systematic double-checking of all the articles published within the HelloSafe ecosystem, able to guarantee the highest quality of information.