Whats the catch?

[phil1975]

Apologies if this is a repost, has anybody had any experience of this    https://www.insurewithvolkswagen.co.uk/Products/Ensurance/
I know its available with new cars, my car is nearly 2 years old, bought from vw used, not insured with vw, I can't see any reason not to sign up anybody got any opinions?

Regards  Phil

[Booth11]

My first thought too. I received email from vw yesterday offering Ensurance.  Mine is just over a year old, bought new, not insured with vw.  Interested to hear views from others too.  The email states that is available on both new and older models.  This is what it said:

No-one likes to think about their Volkswagen being damaged in an accident.

But if it was, you'd no doubt want it repaired to Volkswagen standards, by a Volkswagen trained technician using only Volkswagen genuine parts. Would your motor insurance provider guarantee to do that? We didn't think so...

That's why we came up with Ensurance – Volkswagen's free accident and repair cover.

Ensurance works alongside your existing comprehensive motor insurance policy, no matter who you are insured with, to help get your car back on the road as smoothly as possible. Better still, it's free for three years and is available on both new and older models. To activate your cover, simply click the button below.

 
Your free Ensurance cover includes:
 
•   Guaranteed use of a Volkswagen approved repairer, Volkswagen trained technicians and the use of genuine Volkswagen parts and paints
•   A dedicated Claims Manager available 24-hours a day
•   Help to recover any uninsured losses with our Legal Expenses Cover
•   Online claims tracking
 
To benefit from Ensurance you’ll need to activate your free cover which takes less than a minute - simply click here to get covered now.
 

[dubber36]

The problem that I would have is that the experiences that myself and many others have had with VW so called Approved Bodyshops, is that many are crap. They may be good enough for most people, but I'm sure people on car forums are a little fussier.

Yes, they may use only genuine parts, but they still have to do the job the a tight price, so attention to detail is not always the best. I had problems with my previous Passat when it went in for corrosion issues. Normally I would use the one and only Body Shop local to me that I 100% trust, but as this was warranty work, I had no option but to use VW.

With this insurance you are over a barrel. I would prefer to pay a little bit more, but have the option of at least been able to stand a chance of arguing with my insurers to let them use my own people should the worst happen.

[Booth11]

I hear what you are saying. 

Interested how this supposedly works alongside existing motor insurance policy, as stated by vw.  As it stands, despite insurers recommending the use of a particular or vw approved body shop, the customer retains the right to choose their own (should they wish to), though the work done may not have the same guarantees etc.

Does having Ensurance actually remove the 'choice' element or could you just bypass it if necessary, and deal only with your normal insurer, if you are set on using a trusted body shop.

[dubber36]

Of course it removes the 'choice' element. VW are stepping in between you and your insurer to make sure that they get the job.

[Booth11]

Last time I had a repair done, I chose the body shop (which did happen to be vw approved one) and the standard of work was excellent.  So could say that it wouldn't make much difference either way to me as I would use them again.  However as a matter of principle I want to be able to choose, so will give it a miss.

[GolfTi]

Sounds good to me.

I've signed up for it.

[Snoopy]

I have had the email twice now I was never sure if it was a real or dodgy email.

[joe6]

Chose my current insurer with some care and read all the small print about repairs. The current insurer, unlike some popular ones who do not guarantee to use genuine parts, gives me the choice of which bodyshop I use without any excess and because of the VW body corrosion warranty will only use VW parts. Premium was very competitive as well. Seems to make this 'policy' a bit redundant.

[Buck]

Of course it removes the 'choice' element. VW are stepping in between you and your insurer to make sure that they get the job.

I got the email offering it for free too.

You can choose which body shop your car goes to - it doesn't have to go to a VW one but you 'lose' the financial support that VW offer to ensure genuine parts are used etc.  some insurance companies won't guarantee to do this so insisting can lead to extra cost on the insured.

Interesting that they used to charge for the service and now it's free.....