What if my car is damaged during the cruise?

The vast majority of cruise parking bookings end with the car returned exactly as it was handed over. A small percentage of bookings involve some kind of damage during the cruise window. This page covers how our process works when damage is discovered.

The standard return process

When the ship docks, you text or call us. We bring the car to the cruise terminal short-stay car park (Meet & Greet) or you arrive at our compound via the shuttle (Park & Ride).

The return walk-around is the key step. The driver does the same body-cammed walk-around as at handover, checking the car's current condition against the original recording from drop-off.

You inspect the car alongside the driver. If everything matches the original recording, the return is straightforward and you take the keys.

When new damage is found

If the return walk-around finds damage that was not on the original recording, three steps:

Document the damage on camera. The driver records the new damage on the body cam, with audio confirmation that this is new vs original-recording damage.

Confirm on camera with you. You and the driver confirm on the body cam what is new and what was already there.

Record the booking reference and details. The damage is logged against the booking record for the claims process.

You then take the keys and drive home (or arrange not to, if the damage is undriveable). The damage report flows to our claims process.

The claims process

After damage is reported at return, the standard process:

We notify our insurer within one working day.

Our insurer assigns the claim and contacts you for any additional details (typically just the booking reference, the contact information, and any specifics you can add).

The insurer arranges an inspection. For minor damage, this is sometimes a desk-based review using the body-cam footage. For more significant damage, a physical inspection is arranged.

The repair is authorised. Approved repairs are typically completed within 1 to 4 weeks depending on the nature of the damage and the parts availability.

You either get the repair done at an approved repairer and the bill is settled with our insurer, or the insurer agrees a cash settlement and you arrange the repair yourself.

The whole process from incident notification to repair completion is typically 2 to 6 weeks.

What you do not need to worry about

A few things our process handles automatically:

Proving the damage is new. The body-cam footage from drop-off and return makes the timing clear. You do not need to prove anything separately.

Negotiating with our insurer. Our team handles the claim notification and the insurer's process. You provide the contact information; we handle the rest.

Paying upfront for the repair. The standard process settles the bill with the approved repairer; you do not pay upfront and claim later.

What we will not do

A few things that are honest limits:

Cover damage that was already on the original body-cam recording. The recording is the record of pre-existing damage; that damage is your responsibility, not ours.

Cover items left inside the car. Personal property is not insured under our public liability cover.

Pay for inconvenience or consequential losses. The insurance covers the repair to the vehicle. It does not cover taxis or car hire while the vehicle is being repaired, or other downstream costs.

Authorise repairs you arrange independently without insurer approval. Repairs need to go through the insurer's process; bills you incur before the claim is approved may not be reimbursed.

What if there is a dispute

A small number of damage situations are contested. The customer believes the damage is new; the driver and the original recording suggest it was already there.

In these cases:

The body-cam footage is the primary evidence. The footage from drop-off shows the car in the state it was on arrival. If a mark is visible in that footage, it was there before the cruise.

If the footage from drop-off is unclear (rare), we resolve in favour of the customer. Our process is built to err on the side of customer trust when there is any ambiguity.

The compound's CCTV provides additional context. If the damage was caused by an incident in the compound (rare; the compound has strict access controls and overnight lockdown), the CCTV captures it.

What you should do if you discover damage later

If you drive home and discover damage after the return walk-around (rare; the walk-around at the terminal is designed to catch this at the time), contact us as soon as practical.

The further from the return time the discovery happens, the harder the claim is to evidence. The body-cam footage is the record that establishes the car's state at the moment of return.

Damage reported within 24 hours of return is straightforwardly handled. Damage reported a week later is harder; the question becomes whether the damage happened during the cruise window or after collection.

For best results, do the return walk-around carefully at the terminal and flag anything you notice at that time.

Booking

The quote returns the price for your cruise. The £2 million public liability cover applies to every booking. The body-cammed handover and return are part of every standard booking, no add-on required.