Courtesy car vs replacement vehicle — they're not the same thing
A courtesy car is a goodwill perk of your own policy or your repairer: usually the smallest car on the fleet, only while your car is physically in their bodyshop, and only "subject to availability". No availability, no car. Written off? Usually no car at all.
A replacement vehicle on a non-fault claim is a legal entitlement, not a perk. If someone else put you off the road, you're entitled to be kept mobile in a vehicle equivalent to your own — like-for-like — at the at-fault insurer's expense.
What "like-for-like" means in practice
Equivalent class and practicality: an estate for an estate, an automatic for an automatic, a 7-seater for the family that needs seven seats, a taxi-plated or commercial vehicle for people whose income depends on one. It arrives when you need it — usually same-day across Northern Ireland — and stays for the repair duration or until write-off settlement.
Through 4 Accident Management the replacement is arranged on your first call, delivered to your door anywhere in NI, with no hire charge, no deposit and no excess to you — the costs are recovered from the insurer of the driver who caused the accident.
The catches to watch for
Your duty is to be reasonable: take a broadly equivalent car rather than an upgrade, and don't drag out the hire period — which is why we actively manage the repair timeline, so hire duration is never a stick to beat your claim with.
Watch insurer "intervention" calls too: the at-fault insurer may ring offering their own hire car and a quick cheque. It's cheaper for them, and rarely better for you — no independent handling, and valuations that favour the payer. You're under no obligation to accept; get independent advice first.
Written off? You still stay mobile
The replacement doesn't vanish the day your car is declared a total loss. You're entitled to remain mobile for a reasonable period through to settlement — the very period when insurers hope pressure makes you accept a low valuation. Keeping you in a car removes their leverage, which is exactly why we do it.