Picnic

Picnic: online car insurance managed by the driver

Picnic is a car insurance provider that operates entirely online. Its offering is aimed at drivers who prefer to manage their policy themselves, without phone calls, from home or on the go. The company is part of 1st Central, which provides systems and processes backed by more than fifteen years of experience delivering insurance to 1.4 million customers.

Products and levels of cover

Picnic's range is organised into three types of policy: Comprehensive, Third Party, Fire & Theft, and Picnic Essentials, a lower-priced option. The company lets you filter products by cover type.

• Picnic Essentials: includes all standard benefits, vandalism cover, courtesy car, uninsured driver promise, hotel expenses and accidental damage. It does not cover sound equipment, medical expenses, windscreen cover, personal belongings or personal accident. It offers RAC breakdown cover and legal expenses as options.
• Picnic (standard): adds sound equipment cover, vandalism, courtesy car, uninsured driver promise, hotel expenses, accidental damage, windscreen, personal belongings and personal accident to the standard benefits. It does not include medical expenses. RAC and legal expenses options are also available.
• Third Party, Fire & Theft: covers damage to or loss of the vehicle caused by fire, explosion, theft or attempted theft, as well as liability to others, driving abroad and lost or stolen key cover.

Standard benefits on Comprehensive policies

Comprehensive policies include a set of common benefits: free courtesy car, lost or stolen key cover, 5-year repair guarantee, liability to others, driving abroad, accessory cover and accidental damage.

Specific covers and details

Vandalism cover protects against deliberate damage such as scratches, broken windows or slashed tyres. A courtesy car is usually provided if the vehicle is repaired at one of the approved repairers after a claim. Medical expenses cover up to £100 per person injured in an accident, while hotel expenses reach £500 on the standard policy and £200 on Picnic Essentials. Accidental damage cover repairs or replaces your car, its parts or accessories if they are damaged, lost or stolen. The 5-year repair guarantee applies to repairs carried out by approved repairers. Accessory cover includes equipment and spare parts in or on the vehicle, such as breakdown kits or removable extras. Driving abroad covers up to 90 days a year in EU countries, Norway, Switzerland and Iceland. Liability to others covers legal responsibility for injury, death or damage to third-party property caused by the insured vehicle.

Lost or stolen key cover (Key Assist) includes replacement of keys that are lost, stolen or accidentally damaged, as well as the immobiliser, infra-red handset or alarm if they cannot be reprogrammed; it also covers all the car, home and office keys on your keyring, locksmith charges and new locks if there is a security risk. If the car is immobilised, it covers up to three days of reasonable travel expenses at £50 per day while the keys are being replaced. It allows multiple claims over the policy up to a total of £1,500 per insurance period, and up to £100 if the keys are left inside a property or vehicle or break in the lock or ignition. If the driver is stranded due to lost, damaged or stolen keys, it covers up to £300 in alternative transport expenses. A key claim does not affect the no claims discount on the main policy.

Sound equipment cover, available on the standard policy, protects navigation equipment permanently installed in the car, as well as the radio and other audio and video equipment up to £1,000. The uninsured driver promise prevents loss of the no claims discount and payment of the excess if the accident is not the insured driver's fault and the other driver is uninsured; to do this, the make, model and registration number of the other vehicle are required, as well as the name and address of the other driver. Windscreen cover repairs or replaces damaged glass, including damage to paintwork caused by broken glass, without affecting the no claims discount. Personal belongings cover pays up to £200 for loss of or damage to belongings in or on the car caused by accidental damage, fire or theft. Personal accident cover pays up to £7,500 in the event of death, permanent loss of sight or loss of one or more limbs as a result of an accident involving the insured vehicle.

Breakdown assistance and claims

Picnic works with RAC to provide breakdown assistance and help drivers get moving again if the vehicle breaks down. The claims team is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from the moment a claim needs to be made, whether online or by phone.

Online management and phone support

The company keeps costs down by operating online and allowing the insured to manage their policy themselves, without needing to call. Through the personal account (Your Account) you can make changes, check documents and update cover at any time, from home or on the go. Phone support remains available for matters such as claims or payments. For those who prefer more extensive phone support, the company notes that 1st Central policies may be a better fit for that need.

Quality and experience

Picnic's car insurance products hold a 5-star rating awarded by Defaqto. The entity operates with the experience of 1st Central, which has more than fifteen years in the sector and serves 1.4 million customers.