Whatever is on your shopping list be it a new car, vacation or some new clothes, value for money is the top of the list for most people. So what tips are there for buying quality, reasonably priced car insurance? Read on to find out.
It’s a good idea to get insurance quotes from various insurance companies or alternatively use one of the many price comparison websites that can be found online. The variation in prices for very similar insurance policies can be surprising.
Never be frightened to change your current insurance company if you do find a better deal. There’s usually no obligation to remain with your current supplier for the whole term, so if you find a superior price switch and start saving – some insurance companies may charge a fee for cancelling the policy mid-term so it’s worth checking with them.
There are three types of Car Insurance:
- Third Party Insurance
This type of insurance covers any legal liability that may arise if you happen to damage another person’s car or other physical property such as walls or home, that occurred due to a motoring accident. - Third party, Fire and Theft
This kind of provides third party cover with two additional pieces of cover, fire also covers you should your car be stolen. This type of cover also protects you against any damage that may be caused during the theft or attempted theft of your vehicle. - Fully Comprehensive Insurance
This type of cover includes Third Party, Fire and Theft and also should you have an accident it will pay for any damage to your own car in the event of an accident regardless of fault. You will usually be covered third party to drive other peoples cars on your own insurance as long as the car you are driving is insured.
There are numerous factors that in the eyes of insurance companies increase your potential risk and can have an impact on the cost of your insurance premiums, some of these being:
- Your age: Young drivers normally pay significantly more for their insurance; the same can sometimes be said for elderly drivers.
- Your job: Certain jobs are seen as riskier than others. Someone who works in the music industry for example will usually pay considerably more than someone who works in a bank.
- Your driving record: This is the most obvious factor to impact the cost of your insurance. Driving convictions such as speeding or if you’ve had any motoring accidents in the past can increase your premiums.
- The type of car you drive: High performance cars cost much more to insure than standard family cars. The higher the value of your car also increases initial and renewal costs.
- The Cars overnight location: A person who lives in a low crime area such as a quiet village and parks their car in their garage will pay a lot less than someone who lives in a high crime city centre and leaves it parked up overnight on the street.
- Excess: This is the amount of money you commit to paying towards the cost of a claim. The higher the amount of excess you’re willing to pay, the lower the cost of your insurance.
- Security Features: If your car has any additional security characteristics such as trackers or high security alarms or locks, then you can expect the premium to be less.
Car Usage: The more you mileage you drive the car, the more the cost to insure. And what you do with the car whilst you’re driving it is important. This is broken down into the following categories;
- Social, Domestic & Pleasure This covers you for normal everyday usage such as shopping etc.
- Commuting This is when you use your car to travel to work in addition to social, domestic & pleasure.
- Business Use If you also use your car to travel to see customers or meetings whilst at work you need this cover.
- Commercial Travelling If you use your car for any commercial activity then this is possibly the type of insurance you should be looking for.
Another thing worth mentioning is to always be truthful when applying for insurance. These companies are experts at finding out any lies you may have initially told to try and reduce your costs. And if they do find out, your policy will be null and void which could cost you significantly more in the long run.
So in summary don’t accept the first quote you receive when buying car insurance, shop around. And if you can, try and take note of some of the considerations listed above and what you do pay for your insurance premium should be even cheaper.