LV offers motor policy refund amid COVID-19

Car and motorcycle insurer LV is giving its policyholders the chance to claim a refund of between £20 and £50 during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Unlike Admiral's recent flat-rate refund to customers, the LV refund will only for customers who have been seriously affected by the coronavirus in specific ways.

The firm states that it is making £30m available for the rebate during this time as the firm is experiencing a reduced number of claims due to restrictions on non-essential travel.

Customers will be eligible for a COVID-19 refund if:

• You've been made unemployed at any point since 1 March 2020.
• You've been furloughed but haven't yet received money through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
• You're self-employed and unable to work or trade because of coronavirus and haven't yet received money via the Self-employment Income Support Scheme.

LV is asking customers to call (0800 085 5608) to request a refund, although the insurer is advising all customers to first check the above criteria before calling.

For those not eligible for a refund because of your financial situation, it says you can temporarily change the cover to try and reduce the cost of your premium. Some good ways to reduce the cost include reducing mileage or changing the cover to fire and theft if you don't intend to use your car at this time – to reduce your premium. You can also do this by ringing LV.

The move from LV comes just a week after Admiral announced a similar scheme although that was just for home, car and van customers – Admiral don’t insure motorcycles. Now the first motorcycle insurance company has taken the plunge, the motorcycle specific insurers are likely to follow suit.