Many French people can take a taxi for free thanks to their insurance but do not do so.
“Just one drink and then I’ll stop and drive.” Who has never said this sentence without keeping their word? It often happens that an aperitif, a meal or an evening goes on more than expected. Did you go there with your car and you don’t know how to get back, for fear of driving? A free and secure solution exists thanks to an option from two insurers, allowing you to return home with complete peace of mind, without taking the slightest risk on the road.
The “Joker” guarantee offers the possibility of calling a taxi one or more times a year when the driver is unable to return his vehicle. If, of course, the device is useful for preventing any accident linked to alcohol (or drugs), it can also be activated, for example, in the event of a physical or medical problem making driving impossible or dangerous. The loss of lenses or glasses is also cited as examples.
This home repatriation solution is offered by two large insurance companies: Axa and Crédit Mutuel. But be careful, this is not included in the home insurance but in the auto insurance you have taken out for your vehicle. If at Crédit Mutuel, any car policyholder can benefit from the “Taxi Joker”, at Axa, only young people up to 25 years old (or 30 years old in certain cases) with car insurance can use this solution.
The advantage of the system is that it only relies on declarative information. “If I am not able to return, I activate this guarantee”, without having to justify it, we explain at Axa, because “the challenge is to allow young people to return in the most secure way possible.” But not from anywhere: you must be at most 50km from your home and have come to the location with your personal car. Indeed, “in this service, there is the recovery of the vehicle which is included”, adds the insurer.
At Axa, a phone call to Axa Assistance can send a taxi. The operation can be repeated five times a year, without spending a cent. The trip is paid by the insurer. Crédit Mutuel customers must contact Mondial Assistance, but only once each year. And the price of the trip must not exceed €100. Otherwise, the excess is at their expense.
According to the latest definitive road safety data (2022), 27% of drivers checked in fatal accidents were between 18 and 24 years old. This age group is also the most represented in the data on those injured in road accidents. However, few people seem to use the Joker guarantee. “Not all people want to declare to their insurer that they have consumed alcohol,” explained Olivier Moustacakis, co-founder of Assurland, at Free Midday.