Best Car Insurance - How To Get The Cheapest Car Insurance: Ten Tips For Cheaper Car Cover
One
in three consumers pays over the odds for car insurance, according to the RAC,
and new EU rules are likely to make that worse as they are set to send young
women's premiums soaring having banned insurers from pricing on gender.
The
major crime most drivers commit against their personal finances is failing to
shop around for the best premium and simply accepting your insurer's renewal
quote, which is likely to be much higher.
Younger
drivers can also grab themselves potentially much cheaper car insurance by
opting for one of the new blackbox policies, these put a spy in your car to
monitor your driving and reward those who are careful and don't drive at
dangerous times.
Laura
Keely, right, opted to have a little black box put in under the dashboard of
her Vauxhall Corsa by Insurethebox. In 2011,she paid £1,800 for a comprehensive
policy. Twelve months on, her premiums have dropped to just £1,000 — a 44 per
cent fall.
Whether
you are male or female, old or young, follow our ten steps to lower premiums.
1.
Shop around for the best deals
Savings
of hundreds of pounds can be found if you shop around when you renew your
cover.
Be
careful though. When shopping around for car insurance, it's important to make
sure that you are comparing like-for-like cover. Some policies may seem
cheaper, but you may find you don't have the same level of cover when you have
to make a claim.
Use
an online comparison service to do the hard work for you. Put in your details
and check the prices that come up. You can alter the excess that you are
willing to pay and the mileage you will drive and get new quotes. Also check
the insurers that don't feature in comparison sites, the big two are Direct
Line and Aviva.
M&S cardholders looking for car insurance
cover could clock up 1,000 points by taking out a new policy (renewals don't
count). You also get European and legal coverage.
For
the environmentally-conscious, The Green Car Insurance deal not only plants
trees on your behalf, but throws 90 days free travel insurance and an 18 per
cent discount on your car cover into the deal.
Churchill
offers a 24-hour legal advice line, an uninsured drivers promise and a five
year servicing deal. Experienced, safe drivers could also get an 80 per cent
discount for cover of eight years or more.
Temp
Car insurance could be a good option if you are after cover for a short period
of time and Privilege gives a 10 per cent discount on its multi-car cover.
Provisional Marmalade have a decent offering exclusively structured for young
drivers.
2.
Don't put everyone on your policy
Ensure
that only regular drivers are named on the policy. You can always add someone
for a few days when they really need to drive the car.
3. Protect that no-claims bonus
A
long no-claims bonus is the single best way of cutting car insurance costs, so
protect it. This may increase the premium by a few pounds, but this fades into
insignificance against the potential loss of a 90% discount on a premium of
several hundred pounds.
But
the definition of a protected no-claims bonus can vary widely between insurers.
Though accidents caused by another driver will normally have no impact on such
a bonus, those caused by the insured could. The key is to always check the
policy carefully.
4.
Take a higher excess
Increase
your voluntary excess. Agreeing to pay more towards the cost of any accident
repairs will bring down premiums. If you are not at fault in an accident, the
excess can be recovered.Beware being tempted to allow it to rise too high,
however, especially if you have a lower value car.
5.
Secure your car
Fitting
an approved alarm, immobiliser or tracking device can attract a discount of
around 5%. Many newer cars will come with these as standard, so make sure you
check if you have them and then declare them.
FIVE STEPS THAT CAN CUT THE CAR INSURANCE
BURDEN
1.
Compare prices Use an online comparison service to do the hard work for you.
Put in your details and check the prices that come up. You can alter the excess
that you are willing to pay and the mileage you will drive and get new quotes.
Also check the insurers that don't feature in comparison sites, the big two are
Direct Line and Aviva. This is Money's car insurance search is powered by
MoneySupermarket and will search more than 130 insurers for you. Try it out
here.
2.
Haggle! The car insurance market is notoriously competitive. Once you've been
on This Is Money's comparison and found your cheapest price (below), get on the
phone and start bargaining!
3.
Avoid paying monthly charges Direct debit installments generally come
hand-in-hand with high interest rates. An alternative is to borrow the money on
a 0 per cent purchase credit card and then clear it within a year.
4.
Think outside the box An accelerated no-claims bonus, such as Admiral's Bonus
Accelerator, could give you a year's no claims bonus after just 10 months.
5.
Named drivers and friends and family If you have previously been insured as an
additional driver on another policy, see if you can transfer a no claims bonus
to your own insurance coverage. Some insurers do this, including Direct Line.
Try for a discount by insuring two or more vehicles between friends or family
members with the same firm.
6. Do less miles
The fewer miles the car covers, the greater
the saving. For example, a reduction in annual mileage of 5,000 miles could
save a typical 35-year-old female driver about £50 a year in premiums. A cut of
10,000 miles a year could save more than £100.
But
you must be honest about your annual mileage, as inaccuracy will jeopardise any
claim. Check your use cover - if you don't use your car to drive to work or for
business - both things that increase your premium - you may be able to get a
cheaper rate.
7. Think carefully about adding young drivers
Adding
a young, inexperienced driver to your policy can be a false economy, especially
if you have a large or higher powered vehicle. The premium will still be
affected by the youngest driver and he or she may not have a no-claims bonus.
Insurers have also been cracking down on fronting, where parents insure cars in
their name for children to cut costs, so make sure if you are the policyholder
on a car driven by your children that you are actually its main driver, or that
you declare otherwise.
8. Watch out for insurance trap cars
If you decide to change your car, check with
your insurer if the model will have a significant effect on the premium. Sporty
cars can attract a high premium and often a slightly different model or smaller
engine can make a big difference in your favour. It will also probably save you
on petrol too!
9.
Remember what the garage is for
If
your garage is full of junk, clear it out and use it for your car. Insurers
like cars kept in garages overnight and this can dramatically cut your premium.
Aside from the benefit of not having to scrape the ice off in winter, there is
a higher risk of theft by keeping the car on the road, so keeping it in the
garage will be reflected in your premium.
10.
Be a better driver and sign up to a blackbox
Blackbox
policies, where the insurer instals a system in your car to monitor your
driving, reward those who drive carefully. Officially called telematics, these
check your speed, your handling and how cautiously you drive, and also whether
you are on the road at perceived dangerous times - ie the early hours of the
morning.
They
can cut premiums substantially once you start proving you are a good driver.
The biggest win is for those whose premiums are high, especially young drivers.
{ 0 comments... read them below if any or add comment }
Post a Comment