eCar Insurance

Launched on 3rd April 2006, eCar is the third direct online sales site from Southern Rock Insurance Company Ltd.

The "e" sites provide revolutionary features for users, one of the more popular being that policyholders manage their policy entirely online. Mid term adjustments, adding drivers, changing vehicle details, etc are all managed online.

Southern Rock Insurance also provides products in the following areas:

• Private car insurance in Northern Ireland through Hughes and Co. - Northern Ireland's largest car insurance broker.
• Commercial vehicle policies through Commercial Vehicle Direct - the largest van insurance broker in the UK.
• Private car, specialising in prestige cars through the Insure elite and Radical Insurance companies.

A Letter from the MD

It's been very interesting reading the comments from visitors to www.ecarinsurance.co.uk. We're very pleased that most of you have had a positive experience when you've visited our site. In the main, we seem to have saved you some cash!

So how can we be so much cheaper than the competition? There are a number of things we do differently from the rest of the market - the most important difference is that we are direct. Much of our competition are actually brokers, not fellow insurers. We allow you to take the place of the broker by using our site yourself and saving the commission that would otherwise have gone to the broker.

We also save money after you've bought our product by allowing you to maintain the policy yourself. The site allows you to do most of the mid term adjustments that you would previously have asked your broker to do - no doubt you would also have paid them for their time. The down side is that you have to enter changes yourself, but you'll probably do that in half the time you'd otherwise have been sitting in a broker's telephone queue waiting to be charged for the privilege!

Another reason we save you money is that many of our included extras such as legal expenses, breakdown assistance (for comprehensive policies), and EU cover would generally be marked up by a broker and charged to you at a rate far in excess of what they paid the insurer.

The reality is that in many cases we receive a similar premium to your existing insurer, the only difference is you get to keep the bit you normally give to the broker!

Finally, a few comments about our service, particularly if you are unfortunate enough to have a claim. Those who have written stating eCar should be judged by those who've had a claim are quite right - that's the time when you really find out if you got value for money. So what should you expect? All eCar claims are reported via UK mainland phone numbers to our specialists who are available in the UK to provide 24hr support.

Depending on the level of cover you purchased, you can expect your vehicle recovered from the incident or home address. The vehicle may then be taken to an approved garage for repairs or valuation if it is a total loss. If you are involved in a non-fault accident then we may also be able to arrange a replacement car whilst yours is off the road. The legal expenses policy you receive will also provide assistance if you needed to claim for any injuries sustained in the incident.

I hope some of this information helps show our commitment to provide quality insurance cover to car owners via an insurance web site designed with you the driver in mind.

Michael Lee BA (Hons), ACII
Chartered Insurer

Managing Director
Southern Rock Insurance Company Ltd
Trading as eCar Insurance

About Southern Rock

Southern Rock is a member of the Financial Ombudsman Services (FOS), the body set up by UK law to settle individual disputes between consumers and financial firms.

Southern Rock is a member of the Association of British Insurers.

We are members of the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB) and like every other insurer who underwrites motor business in the UK must contribute to the fund available for victims of uninsured drivers.

As an insurer trading in the UK we also joined the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS is the UK's statutory fund of last resort for customers of authorised financial services firms. This means that the FSCS can pay compensation if a firm is unable, or likely to be unable, to pay claims against it. FSCS is an independent body, set up under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

Southern Rock is regulated in Gibraltar by the Financial Services Commission, and registered as an EEA state authorised insurer by the UK Financial Services Authority.

eCar Insurance is a trading arm of Southern Rock Insurance. Registered in Gibraltar No. 93137.