Abbey Car Insurance Review: The Right Broker for You?
Abbey Car Insurance Review: The Right Broker for You?
Good for
- A local NI broker with 23 branches
- Young driver black box cover available
Bad for
- Potentially higher cancellation costs
- Add on for courtesy car for write off or theft available
The guidance on this site is based on our own analysis and is meant to help you identify options and narrow down your choices. We do not advise or tell you which product to buy; undertake your own due diligence before entering into any agreement. Read our full disclosure here.
Abbey Insurance has been around since 1973 and is one of Northern Ireland's largest insurance brokers. But does Abbey offer good value for money? Let’s take a look at what Abbey Insurance has to offer and learn what real customers have to say.
To compare Abbey to other popular car insurance brands such as RAC, Admiral and Hastings, click the blue "Get Quotes" button below—it takes about 2 minutes to see how much you can save.
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In This Review
- Abbey Car Insurance: Overall Review
- Customer Reviews and Ratings
- Cost Comparison and Discounts
- Cancellation Fees, Phone Numbers and Policy Documents
- FAQs
Abbey Car Insurance Overall Review
Is Abbey Insurance car insurance any good? Customer reviews are few and far between, and you can only tell what features you're getting once you get a quote—policy documents are not available on their website for us to review in detail since Abbey is a broker. Your policy details will vary depending on which insurer underwrites your policy.
But for those who want a local Northern Ireland broker complete with 23 brands scattered around NI, it's certainly worth getting a quote from Abbey. You can get a quote from Abbey by calling or going to their website or, if you want to compare their prices to the market, then go to our car insurance comparison partner QuoteZone.
Cancellation fees are roughly in line with average cancellation fees in the UK, but since they're a broker you'll have to pay a fee to them AND the underwriter of your policy so the cancellation costs can be a bit higher.
Abbey Insurance customer service and branches are generally open 6 days a week (they're closed Sunday), however opening times vary from branch to branch.
Features
The features you get on a car insurance plan arranged by Abbey will depend upon the insurer and what you require. In most cases, it seems that windscreen cover and a courtesy car (subject to availability) if your car is repairable after a covered accident are included, but you'll need to check your policy to be sure.
To get an idea of features to look for in a policy, check out of our other reviews for which we were able to do a full analysis of comprehensive features, such as Elephant car insurance. Here are the types of optional, add-on cover you can get from Abbey:
Abbey Car Insurance Optional Add-on Cover
- Protected No Claims Bonus
- Excess Protect: Claim back up the excess you have to pay up to £500. More information here
- Motor Legal Expenses: Up to £100,000 for a claim that's not your fault towards legal expenses for the recovery of uninsured losses. More information here.
- Breakdown Cover: Cover if your car is immobilised due to accident, mechanical breakdown, fire, theft (or attempted theft), including punctures; 24 hours a day, 365 days a year Emergency Helpline in Northern Ireland, mainland UK and Republic of Ireland. Full details here.
- 14 Day Replacement Car Cover: a replacement car for up to 14 days if your car is written off or stolen. More information here.
- Keycare Cover: Two types of cover on offer. First has up to £1,500 annual cover for lost and stolen keys, replacement locks and any call out charges. Second also includes a Bluetooth LE sensor fob for your keyring that helps to retrieve your keys through the SmartFob smartphone app (but it's not a GPS tracker).
- Gadget insurance: For £54, up to £1500 annual cover for gadgets like mobile phones including iPhones, tablets including iPads, GoPros, cameras, smartwatches, game consoles and laptops.
Abbey Car Insurance for Young Drivers
Young drivers aged 17-24 can save money with a telematics device, called ChilliDrive. There are no curfews or hidden fines with ChilliDrive, which uses GPS technology to track acceleration, braking, cornering, speeding, etc. Benefits include an upfront discount off your car insurance premium, monthly driving feedback, no curfew on when you drive and dedicated support from the ChilliDrive Team.
Abbey Car Insurance Customer Service Reviews and Ratings
There are very few online customer reviews for us to get a good overall picture of the typical customer experience with Abbey Insurance. However, we looked through the few that we could find to see what the complaints are, and why people think Abbey is good. Here's what we found.
Abbey Insurance Trustpilot
Abbey Insurance has pretty poor reviews on Trustpilot, averaging just 2.7 out of 5 stars. Only one review is an "Excellent" 5-star rating and the rest are 1-star "Bad" reviews. That said, it's really too small of a sample size to draw a reliable conclusion (20 reviews). At any rate, here is a sample of a few Abbey Insurance car insurance customer reviews from Trustpilot that you might find helpful:
"Very easy going, all was sorted in couple hours. And far far cheapest for taxi insurance. Recommended!!!"
"They charge you 17% to pay monthly..."
"I changed my car and they couldn't cover me. Tried to charge me £50 fee... then changed their minds. Agreed to refund me and now tell me it can take 6 to 8 weeks!"
"... Checked bank statement sure enough they tried to take a payment 2 days early..."
Abbey Car Insurance Quote Comparison
As a broker, Abbey will survey their panel of insurers to find you the best quote that they can. Since their panel doesn't include every insurer, you may be able to find a cheaper quote elsewhere.
Prices for car insurance can vary significantly from company to company depending on factors like your age, your driving experience, your postcode, your car and even when you buy your policy. If you want to compare Abbey Insurance to other brands, try our car insurance partner QuoteZone—who can supply quotes from Abbey and over 100 other insurance brands.
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Abbey Car Insurance Deals
According to a customer review from Trustpilot, Abbey charges 17% to pay monthly, so if you want to save money then avoid this. (This rate might be higher now.) There are 3 ways you can pay Abbey Insurance: In full upfront, over 2 instalments at no extra charge or over 3, 6, 10 or 12 months by direct debit. If you can pay annually or semi annually, you can avoid these extra charges.
If you're able to park your car in a safer location, such as a garage or even a private driveway, you are likely to save money on your car insurance versus leaving it on the street overnight. For other tips, see our research on how to get a car insurance discount.
It's always a good idea to compare the market also, especially when it comes time for renewal, to make sure you'll getting a good deal. Abbey Insurance is in the comparison panel provided by our car insurance partner QuoteZone, a comparison website that works with over 100 brands in the UK car insurance market—using them, you should be able to get a quote from Abbey as well as competitors to compare prices.
Abbey Cancellation Fees
Since Abbey is a broker, policyholders who makes mid-term changes or cancel their policy will typically owe an admin/cancellation fee to both Abbey and the underwriter. We can tell you about Abbey's fees as we understand them from their terms, but the additional underwriter fees will vary depending on which insurer holds your policy. Abbey charges an admin fee of £25 for arranging cover, mid-term changes, duplicate/replacement documents, confirmation of driving experience, missed or late payments, administration of refunds, etc. Their website says if you buy online then you're not charged an admin fee. Abbey charges a cancellation fee of £50.
How do these compare to the market? For reference, average car insurance cancellation fees in the UK are around £24 during the cooling off period and £55 afterwards.
In addition to the fees, remember that you are also charged for the cover you had. The way they calculate this is different during the cooling off period. During the first 14 days, you'll only be charged for services received up to the date of cancellation. This may be higher if you cancel after the first 14 days (e.g., on a scale instead of a pro-rata basis).
| Abbey Admin and Cancellation Fees | |
|---|---|
| Admin Fee (e.g., arrangement fee, change of address, job, etc.) | up to £30 |
| Cancellation Fee | £50 |
A "pro rata" amount of the premium is essentially a proportionate amount. So if you have cover for 10 days you should theoretically owe 10/365 of the premium. If the premium due at cancellation is calculated using a scale (not a pro rata basis), this basically means a higher charge to the customer. For example, if you cancel halfway into your policy a scale could mean you're responsible for 65% of the premium (this is not necessarily the scale used by Abbey, it's only an illustrative example).
Abbey Car Insurance Contact Numbers
Abbey telephone lines are open 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 3pm Saturday, but they're closed Sunday. The main enquiry line is 08000 66 55 44 and claims can be reached at 08000 28 28 70, which will connect you to local accident management company Customer Claims Assist (CCA), another NI-based company.
| Abbey Car Insurance Contact Numbers | |
|---|---|
| Quotes | 08000 66 55 44 |
| Customer Service | 08000 66 55 44 |
| Claims helpline | 08000 28 28 70 |
| Glass repairs | 08000 28 28 70 |
Abbey Insurance has 23 branches scattered throughout Northern Ireland. Here are the contact numbers and opening hours if you need to get in touch:
| Abbey Branches | Contact Number | Opening Times |
|---|---|---|
| Ballymena | 028 9332 5162 | Mon – Friday: 9.00 – 17.00, Saturday, Sunday: closed |
| Belfast (Boucher) | 028 9332 5236 | Mon – Thurs: 9.00 – 20.00, Friday: 9.00 – 18.30, Saturday, Sunday: closed |
| Belfast (Ormeau) | 028 9332 5167 | Mon – Friday: 9.00 – 17.00, Saturday, Sunday: closed |
| Carrickfergus | 028 9332 5163 | Mon – Friday: 9.00 – 17.00, Saturday, Sunday: closed |
| Coleraine | 028 9332 5902 | Mon – Friday: 9.00 – 17.00, Saturday, Sunday: closed |
| Downpatrick | 028 4483 8888 | Monday - Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday, Sunday: Closed |
| Enniskillen | 028 9332 5909 | Mon – Friday: 9.00 – 17.00, Saturday, Sunday: closed |
| Londonderry (The Diamond) | 028 9332 5165 | Mon – Friday: 9.00 – 20.00, Saturday, Sunday: Closed |
| Londonderry (Spencer Road) | 028 9332 5905 | Mon – Friday: 9.00 – 17.00, Saturday, Sunday: Closed |
| Lisburn | 028 9332 5170 | Mon – Friday: 9.00 – 17.00, Saturday, Sunday: Closed |
| Lurgan | 028 9332 5171 | Mon – Friday: 9.00 – 17.00, Saturday, Sunday: Closed |
| Magherafelt | 028 9332 5906 | Mon – Friday: 9.00 – 17.00, Saturday, Sunday: Closed |
| Newtownabbey | 028 9332 5160 | Mon – Friday: 9.00 – 17.00, Saturday, Sunday: Closed |
| Newtownards | 028 9332 5907 | Mon – Friday: 9.00 – 17.00, Saturday, Sunday: Closed |
| Newry | 028 9332 5172 | Mon – Friday: 9.00 – 17.00, Saturday, Sunday: Closed |
FAQs
Policy Documents
As Abbey is a broker, the car insurance they arrange for you can be from a number of different insurers. Your policy documents will be sent to you shortly after you sign up for cover.
Other Car Insurance Reviews
If you'd like to compare Abbey to other car insurance companies, see some of our list of car insurance reviews. Some popular car insurance company reviews are listed below: