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Best known for its bright orange breakdown services, RAC (or the Royal Automobile Club) was founded all the way back in 1897.
Alongside breakdown cover, it offers a number of car insurance policies, as well as other motor services, including RAC approved MOTs and dealerships.
RAC acts as an insurance intermediary, meaning that your policy will be underwritten by a different provider from the company’s panel of insurers.
Read on for our RAC car insurance review, including what cover it offers, whether you get breakdown cover as standard, and how it compares to its competitors.
RAC offers four main levels of cover: Third party only, Third party, fire and theft, Comprehensive, and Comprehensive Plus.
With RAC’s third party car insurance, you’ll be covered for the following:
RAC’s Third party, fire and theft insurance includes everything found in the Third party policy, as well as:
RAC’s standard comprehensive car insurance includes everything from Third party and Third party, fire and theft, as well as:
Finally, RAC’s Car Insurance Plus policy includes everything mentioned above, as well as:
On top of its basic policies, RAC also offers the following specialist cover:
Third party | Third party, fire and theft | Standard Car Insurance | Car Insurance Plus | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Age range | All | All | All | All |
Level of cover | Third party | Third party, fire and theft | Comprehensive | Comprehensive |
Injuries to other people | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Damage to other people’s property | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Theft | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Fire damage | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Repairs to your own car following accident | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Motor legal protection | Optional | Optional | Optional | Optional |
Your medical expenses | No | No | Up to £100 per injured person; up to £5,000 personal accident cover | Up to £250 per injured person; up to £10,000 personal accident cover |
Driving other cars | Yes (if eligible) | Yes (if eligible, third party only) | Yes (if eligible, third party only) | Yes (if eligible, third party only) |
Breakdown cover | Optional | Optional | Optional | Optional |
Courtesy car cover | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Hire car cover | Optional | Optional | Optional | Optional |
Windscreen replacement | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Personal belongings | No | No | Up to £150 | Up to £250 |
Replacement locks and keys | Optional | Optional | Yes | Yes |
Protected no-claims bonus | Optional | Optional | Optional | Optional |
Cancellation fee | £25 arrangement fee (within 14-day cooling-off period); £55 (after 14 days) | £25 arrangement fee (within 14-day cooling-off period); £55 (after 14 days) | £25 arrangement fee (within 14-day cooling-off period); £55 (after 14 days) | £25 arrangement fee (within 14-day cooling-off period); £55 (after 14 days) |
Depending on what is already included with you cover, you can add the following optional extras to your RAC car insurance policy:
If you need to make a car insurance claim through RAC, you should take the following steps:
If you want to cancel your RAC car insurance, you will need to contact the provider.
When cancelling, as long as you haven’t make a claim, you will get a refund for the time left on the policy, minus the following fees:
Cancellation period | Fee |
---|---|
Within 14 days of your policy start date | £25 arrangement fee |
After 14 days, or if RAC needs to cancel your policy | £55 |
If you need to contact RAC about your car insurance, and it isn’t related to a claim, you can phone: 0330 159 1031. The line is open 8am to 7pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 4pm on weekends and bank holidays.
You can also amend your policy details 24/7 using your online account.
RAC has a ‘Great’ Trustpilot rating of 3.9 out of five, based on more than 108,900 reviews.
However, it is important to note that this score is based on reviews of RAC as a whole, and not just its car insurance products. This is especially true for RAC, where most reviews are focused on its breakdown services.
Of those five-star reviews that do explicitly mention car insurance, RAC is praised for the quality of its call centre service. The more negative reviews, meanwhile, complain about a sharp spike in renewal quotes – a familiar gripe about most insurance providers in the last 12 months.
“I have car insurance with the RAC and owing to a family issue needed to discuss my policy with them. I called the service centre and [I] have to say the service I was given by the operator was exceptional, offering me far more than I thought. Quick, simple and friendly service was brilliant. I couldn’t fault it so it’s definitely five stars from me.”
“I have just spoken to RAC Car Insurance and what an excellent service. The lovely lady I spoke to was completely understanding and explained everything in a clear and concise way! I was a bit blown over to be honest as I have never had such amazing customer service. They were offering to renew at a higher cost but now that I have spoken to them they offered a great renewal price and I am very happy to stay with them. I would definitely recommend RAC Car Insurance.”
“The cost was [three times] what I have paid with you before [and I] couldn’t get close to any other comparisons. I didn’t want to leave RAC as I’ve always been happy. I would have been happy to pay more just to stay with you but not [three times] more. Was very disappointed being a loyal customer for car insurance [and] joint RAC cover.”
Alongside a ‘Great’ Trustpilot score, RAC has the following star ratings from Defaqto:
Provider name | Trustpilot score | Defaqto score |
---|---|---|
RAC | 3.9 stars | 5 stars (3 stars for third party, fire and theft, and standard comprehensive cover) |
Direct Line | 3.7 stars | 5 stars (3 stars for Third party, fire and theft and Essentials) |
People’s Choice | 1.4 stars | 5 stars (4 stars for third party, fire and theft) |
Hastings Direct | 4.1 stars | 5 stars (4 stars for Third party, fire and theft, 3 stars for Telematics, 2 stars for Essential) |
Admiral Insurance | 4.4 stars | 5 stars (4 stars for Telematics, 3 stars for Essential) |
Aviva | 4.0 stars | 5 stars (3 stars for Third party, fire and theft) |
Axa | 4.3 stars | 4 stars (5 stars for Plus) |
LV | 4.5 stars | 5 stars (3 stars for Third party, fire and theft) |
esure | 3.1 stars | 5 stars (4 stars for Third party, fire and theft) |
Ageas | 4.1 stars | 5 stars (3 stars for Essentials, and Telematics) |
NFU Mutual | 4.4 stars | 5 stars |
Aside from its five-star Defaqto-rated Car Insurance Plus cover, many of RAC’s car insurance policies appear a bit stingy. This is especially true of its standard comprehensive car insurance policy when compared to the Plus tier – a fact reflected in Defaqto only giving the former three stars.
However, it does have a wide range of optional extras to boost your overall cover, including its flagship breakdown services.
And there are also a number of specialist policies, such as black box insurance, temporary car insurance, and classic car insurance, that may be preferable to – and cheaper than – a standard motor insurance policy if you have the right driving profile.
There is no set discount on car insurance if you are an existing RAC member. However, your membership status may be considered by one of RAC’s panel of insurers when you get a quote.
RAC car insurance does not come with breakdown cover as standard. However, you can add it on as an optional extra, starting at £24.99 a year.
Connor Campbell is an experienced personal and business finance writer who has been producing online content for almost a decade.
Connor is the personal finance expert for Independent Advisor, guiding readers through everything they need to know about car insurance and home insurance. From how much it costs to the best insurance providers in the UK, he’s here to help you find the right policy for your needs.
In his capacity as writer and spokesperson at NerdWallet, Connor explored a number of topics close to his heart, such as the impact of our increasingly cashless society, and the hardships and heroics of British entrepreneurs. His commentary was featured in sites such as The Mirror, the Daily Express and Business Insider.
At financial trading firm Spreadex, meanwhile, his market commentary was featured in outlets such as The Guardian, BBC, Reuters and the Evening Standard.
Connor is a voracious reader with an MA in English, and is dedicated to making life’s financial decisions a little bit easier by doing away with jargon and needless complexity.
Amy is a seasoned writer and editor with a special interest in home design, sustainable technology and green building methods.
She has interviewed hundreds of self-builders, extenders and renovators about their journeys towards individual, well-considered homes, as well as architects and industry experts during her five years working as Assistant Editor at Homebuilding & Renovating, part of Future plc.
The Independent Advisor brand is operated by 3S Media International Limited. 3S Media International Ltd is an introducer appointed representative of Moneysupermarket.com Financial Group Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA FRN 303190).