Insurance jargon

Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) is designed to ensure that uninsured vehicles are kept off the roads in the UK. It’s the law, and failing to comply has serious consequences.

Short term is less “the shorter brother of annual car insurance” and more the Swiss-army knife of car insurance – always ready to sort you out in a pinch. If you’re new to the idea, taking a few short minutes to check out our pocket-sized guide which looks at “What is short term car insurance?” could save you a good few £.

Whether you think they’re just or unjust, a sound knowledge of driving penalty points in the UK is no bad thing – especially if you you’re a more recently qualified driver. They can stack up quickly, and the impact on car insurance can be significant.

On the face of it, temporary van insurance and annual van insurance are the same thing – just one is shorter. Sure – they share some common heritage, and some of the main policy covers achieve the same goal. But (there’s always a “but”) they are different creatures, and some of those differences are important. Fear not – in this easy to digest article we ask the question “What is the difference between temporary van insurance and annual van insurance“. Before you know it, you’ll be ready to wax lyrical to everyone in the pub.

A Statutory Off-Road Notification (SORN) competes with Driving Other Cars (DOC) as one of the more confusing areas of owning and running a car. Understanding SORN, when to make a SORN, and when you can not use it can help you save precious money, and save you making a costly mistake. Dive on in to How to Avoid a SORN fine. The water is lovely.

Road tax is one of those things that comes with owning and driving a car legally in the UK. Simple on the face of it, there is some complexity that lies beneath. Check out our Guide to Road Tax in the UK, and be in the know.

If you’ve never bought a new car, the concept of drive away insurance might be new. Whether you’ve about to buy your first or 21st car, having the right insurance in place to drive your car from a dealer or private seller is the law. Temporary car insurance gives you the cover you need to get home, and find the right annual policy. Can you use temporary car insurance to drive a car home? Yes – you can.

If you have the owner’s permission, the car is road legal, and your road legal, then with temporary car insurance you can usually drive someone else’s car. In this article we ask the question “Can I use temporary car insurance to drive someone else’s car?“, and we clear up some misconceptions about Driving Other Cars, and give you low down on making sure that you hit the road legally.

Temporary car insurance is short-term car insurance that provides cover for anything from an hour to a few weeks. Its’ fast, flexible and if you choose Zixty, it is kinder to the planet too. Here’s how temporary car insurance works.

There are some key differences between annual car insurance and short term car insurance, and it pays to know the difference. Our easy to digest read sets out what is short term car insurance and what does it cover. 

Short-term car insurance is ideal if you are driving for short periods of time, whereas annual car insurance might make sense if you are insuring your own car that you will be driving regularly. We’ve created a short term versus annual car insurance guide to help you make the right decision for your circumstance.

Temporary car insurance is short-term car insurance that can be used to insure a car from anything from an hour to a few weeks. Whether you are looking to test drive a car or get involved in the sharing economy, all you need to know is here get clued up with our guide to temporary car insurance here!

We have kept our Fees simple and transparent so that when you buy a Zixty policy, you know what you’re getting into. Annual car insurance can be a little different, so understanding all of the car insurance fees that can be charged could save you money in the long-run.

A No Claim Discount (NCD) is a way of saving money on car insurance through careful driving (and to some degree, luck). In our Guide to No Claim Discounts, we look at how they are earned, how they can be lost, and whether they apply to short term car insurance.

Day car insurance is ideal car insurance if you need to borrow a car. Short term car insurance cover like Zixty’s is perfect for when you need to borrow a set of wheels to run an errand, set off on a last minute road trip or for other purposes!

Short-term car insurance is ideal if you are driving for short periods of time, whereas annual car insurance might make sense if you are insuring your own car that you will be driving regularly. We’ve created a short-term car insurance versus annual car insurance guide to help you make the right decision for your circumstance.

If you’ve got a smartphone and a valid driver’s licence, there’s not many other reasons why you shouldn’t give app-based car insurance a try! App-based car insurance is here to simplify and speed up the process of getting a quote and buying a policy.

Perhaps your designated driver is tired and wants to swap duties mid-journey or maybe your car isn’t starting on the day of an interview. Yikes! These are typical “emergencies” where short-term car insurance can help you get out of a tricky situation and back on the move again. Here’s how short-term cover can be used as emergency car insurance.

Car insurance groups are used to classify cars into different categories based on their value and how powerful they are. We’ve summarised everything you need to know about car insurance groups to save you the hassle!

Driving Other Cars (DOC) cover is frequently misunderstood, and historically abused. As part of a car insurance policy that you have, it allows you to drive someone else’s car for a short-period time in specific circumstances that are normally emergencies. Our detailed Guide to Driving Other Cars insurance lifts the lid on this.

In general terms Driving Other Cars (DOC) cover cannot be used to drive someone else’s car for a short-period time except in specific circumstances that are normally emergencies. Read our Guide to Driving Other Cars insurance to learn more.

There’s a few different car insurance excesses, and they can make a big difference to your insurance. They can lower your premium, as well as coming into play in the event of a claim against your car insurance policy. If you’re comparing car insurance policies, you’ll want to read up on what is a car insurance excess and learn of the various types of excesses in order to pick the best deal for your situation.

If you need to take your car to an MOT appointment, you’ll need to be insured and there are not any exceptions. If you need to get cover for a trip to the garage, be sure to check out our guide to car insurance to get an MOT first.

The answer to this question is that if you own a car in the UK, unless you have made a SORN for this car, you are legally required to insure it. For a more detailed explanation, please have a read of our primer on do I need car insurance? 

If you add Excess Protect to your Zixty temporary car insurance policy then you’re insuring £150 of your excess. So, in the event of a claim against your Zixty short term car insurance policy, you can claim back £150 of your Excess. And, if you add Zixty Miles to your policy alongside Excess Protect, we’ll increase your Excess Protect by a further £100.

There are many types of black-box, or telematic, car insurance policies available in the UK. Initially designed to help younger and/ or less experienced drivers save money on their car insurance, their use has expanded significantly, allowing insurance companies to reward safe and environmentally considerate driving. While you can opted to add Zixty Miles to your Zixty policy for free, Zixty short term car insurance doesn’t apply any restrictions to when or how you drive. In this article we take a look in detail at what black-box policies are, and how you can benefit.

If you have a car that you will not be using for an extended period of time, and you don’t want to tax or insure it, then you have the option to declare a SORN. To make a Statutory Off-Road Notification (SORN) is something that needs to be thought through, so we have an in-depth article on What SORN is and when you can declare it.

Passing your test ushers in a new world of driving freedom, but it’s not a free pass to do what you want. The consequences of excitable driving can be greater for newly qualified drivers than those who have held their licence for a while. Find out what it means to be in your probationary period with our Guide to the Driving Licence probationary period.

In the world of car insurance you’ll come across various phrases including policyholder, main driver, named driver, and more besides. In this article about what it means to be a policyholder on an insurance policy we look at what it means to be a policyholder, what they can do that a named driver cannot do, and the benefits of being top dog.

A green card is a document that proves that you have the minimum compulsory insurance required by the law of the country you are visiting. You will need a green card if you are travelling outside of the Green Card Free Circulation Area. Use our article here to check if you need a Green Card to take your car abroad.

Fronting is a way by which insurance premiums can be lowered by making a declaration to an insurance company that is untrue. By stating that an older, or more experienced driver is the main driver, you may benefit from lower car insurance premiums. But fraud detection mechanisms are increasingly able to spot this, and you may suffer significant consequences that could leave you seriously out of pocket. In our detailed Guide to Fronting we look at what it is, why you shouldn’t do it, and the real consequences of being caught.

Breakdown cover is designed to keep you moving in the event that you break down. It’s an optional add-on available with every Zixty temporary car insurance policy, and is designed to give you additional reassurance – particularly if you’re driving someone else’s car, or a car that you’ve just bought. Check out the details of our Breakdown Cover.

A standard part of car insurance in the UK is the Excess, and there are many types including compulsory, driver specific excess, car specific excess, age specific excess, glass excess, and voluntary excess. Excesses are the amount, or amounts, that will be deducted from any payment made in the event of a valid claim against a car insurance policy in the UK. Excesses are generally cumulative, which is to say that in the event of a claim, the total amount withheld from a payment for a claim will be the sum of all applicable Excesses. The insurance company will generally apply the Excesses that it chooses to, while as a customer you can generally choose a voluntary excess – which is designed to lower your premium.

At Zixty we’ve kept it super simple, having just one Excess. If you add Excess Protect to your Zixty temporary car insurance policy then you’re insuring £150 of your excess. So, in the event of a claim against your Zixty short term car insurance policy, you can claim back £150 of your Excess. And, if you add Zixty Miles to your policy alongside Excess Protect we’ll increase your Excess Protect by a further £100.

The Motor Insurer’s Database (MID) is the central record of all insured vehicles in the UK. It’s managed by the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIS) and is used by the Police and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to enforce motor insurance laws. You can check to see whether your car is insured by visiting the Ask MID website.

Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) is a tax that was introduced by the government in the Finance Act 1994. It’s applied to most general insurance risks, such as temporary car insurance, in the UK. Insurance companies pass this money straight to the government.