In these days of rising premiums it makes a lot of sense to get the best deal when buying motor insurance. Although car owners must have insurance by law, that doesn’t mean to say you necessarily have to spend a fortune on it.
Here are some useful tips to help cut back on how much you end up spending on your motor insurance. Although some factors are out of your control, such as your age, male or female (though EU regulations mean this is likely to alter soon), length of time you have held a full driving licence etc, you will have a number of options which can make a big difference on the cost of your motor insurance premium.
Mileage: The more miles you do the greater the risk of you having an accident. So, carefully calculate how many miles you realistically are likely to do over the coming 12 months. Generally the lower the better, but do be careful not to underestimate your mileage.
Type of Policy:
Third Party
Third Party, Fire and Theft
Comprehensive
Third party will only protect someone else if you are the cause of the accident. This is often the cheapest, but most limited kind of motor insurance.
Third Party, Fire and Theft will also cover you for damage caused by fire in your vehicle, and theft of the car.
Comprehensive is what it says. So, if you are the cause of an accident the third party and you are covered. Extras such as free windscreen repairs are often included with this type of cover.
Owners of cheap older cars will sometimes go for one of the first two types, whereas cars costing more are usually covered by comprehensive. But, don’t always think that comprehensive will cost a lot more than the other types, it isn’t always the case. Buying non-comprehensive insurance can be false economy in the long run.
Optional Extras:The more that insurance companies sell to you the better it is for them. Although some policies have some benefits as standard, others charge extra for them. These may include such things as legal expenses, and courtesy cars if your car is off the road. Think about which, if any, extra benefits you need on your policy. Extra benefits mean additional costs to your premium.
No Claims Discount: The length of your no claims discount is a vital piece of information that an insurer looks at to determine the cost of your premium. Naturally, the bigger the discount the less you will pay.
Your Occupation: Again, this is something you will have little control over, but make sure when you get your quote that the insurer has your occupation in the right category. Some professions are higher risk, whilst a retired person is in a lower risk category and should pay less for motor insurance.
Vehicle Value: Be honest with this. If your car is worth £8,500 and you say it is worth £12,000 you could end up paying a higher premium for no benefit. That’s because in the event of a claim the insurance company will only pay out up to the current market value of a vehicle, whatever you tell them it is worth.
Voluntary Excess: This is different to a compulsory excess which, as the name implies, you have no choice with, and is often applied to younger drivers.
If you agree to paying the first so much of a claim you will get a lower premium. The more you are prepared to pay in the event of a claim, called the excess, the lower your premium. Consider though how much of a risk you want to take though, as it’s very nice paying lower premiums, but not so pleasant if faced with a bill for £400 rather than say £50 to get your car back after repair.
Security Features: Manufacturer approved car alarms, immobilisers and tracking devices all help to keep your insurance down. On very expensive cars a tracking device might be obligatory before an insurance company will quote you.
Where your Vehicle is Kept: Ideally your car is stored in a locked garage overnight. Next best is a private driveway, or other allocated off road parking.
Buy online: Insurance companies make savings when you buy online. They will usually pass on some of those savings to their customers. Checking premiums offered by various insurance companies by using an online comparison website is also a good idea.
