Car insurance is there to give you financial protection in the event of an accident whether or not you are responsible for it. It is a mandatory and necessary expense if you own or drive a motor vehicle. If you have an accident in your car, you will be glad that you invested in good car insurance for the financial protection that this will give you.
Unfortunately, not all policies will cover damage to your car, or protect you against liability, legal fees or property damage. Bolt-on niche insurance products such as inconvenience cover, gap insurance and even legal protection insurance can prove to be invaluable additions to your comprehensive car insurance to ensure an accident does not end up costing you more than you can afford should the worst happen.
Choosing the right car insurance will protect not only you, but your vehicle, and third parties in the long run. If you want to drive a vehicle in the UK, you must prove that you have a valid car insurance policy. There are different levels of cover which are determined by the type of car insurance policy you choose to take out.
WHY YOU SHOULD SHOP AROUND FOR NEW CAR INSURANCE
Shopping around for car insurance is very important for several reasons:
• You may find better quotes
• Depreciation will affect the value of your car
• Your circumstances may have changed
• Financing could place your car in a greater risk banding
• You could find a policy which includes cover for loss of personal items
• You may find a policy which includes breakdown cover
• You could find a policy which includes legal cover
• It may be possible for an insurer to also cover a second car
• You may be offered an introductory discount
Just because you have used the same insurance company or insurance broker for several years, does not mean you are getting the best deal. It really only means just that – you have used the same insurance company or insurance broker for the past several years.
A good insurance broker is most likely to get you the best coverage if they manage your full insurance portfolio as they then know your history and needs. They may be able to consolidate those demands and needs into a package which often will only be available via a broker.
Car depreciation occurs as a result of the age and usage of a vehicle. Car depreciation starts as soon as you drive it away from the car dealership. Your car’s value will decrease every year. Make sure that your insurance policy reflects this reduction in value. This makes perfect sense. So always ask your broker to check the value of your car against its blue book value, rather than the purchase price. The reason is that even fully comprehensive car insurance policies do not cover a vehicle to the purchase price, but rather the blue book value. It is therefore important that this is what you declare the car’s value as. The more expensive a car is the more it can cost to insure. In rare cases the insurance company may offer a replacement car of the exact model or spec after an accident. There is however an insurance product called Vehicle Replacement Insurance which does just that! Finding out more about vehicle replacement insurance is easy, just click on the link.
Your car insurance could be affected if your circumstances have changed since your last renewal. Perhaps you do not drive as far or often as you did, or perhaps your children have grown and want the keys to the car. Get insured according to any changes in circumstances – no matter how small you think they are. Insurance companies lower their prices for low mileage drivers and discounts can be significantYou can add additional drivers to your policy for relatively little expense, especially if you wait until it’s time to renew. By waiting until renewal time you may be able to avoid the administration costs of adding extra drivers.
WHICH LEVEL OF CAR INSURANCE IS THE BEST CHOICE?
Insurance cover in the UK falls into three different categories.
1. In many countries including the UK, Third Party Insurance is mandatory. If you are involved in an accident, this type of cover will protect you financially against damage to the other vehicle or its occupants. This type of insurance covers your liabilities in the event of damage to another vehicle or person in an accident. Third party insurance will not cover any damage inflicted on your own car or to your person. This type of insurance will not cover repairs to your vehicle.
2. Third Party, Fire and Theft Insurance will cover the benefits of third party insurance and includes any financial loss to the insured vehicle caused by fire or theft. The average driver may find this the best type of cover, especially for a vehicle which doesn’t have a very high market value. If you are leasing a vehicle or have acquired it via a finance company, then you will need to provide fully comprehensive insurance for the vehicle.
3. The widest coverage is provided by a Fully Comprehensive insurance policy – or “fully comp”.It provides the basic insurance of third party, fire and theft and covers damage to the insured vehicle and any bodily injury suffered by the policyholder in an auto accident. If your car is worth more than you could afford to replace it, then you should opt for a fully comprehensive insurance policy. Search on-line for products like Vehicle Replacement Gap insurance or Finance Gap – these will close the gap between what your payout would be and the cost of buying a new car in the event of an insurance write-off.
There are lots of factors affecting car insurance and most insurers offer secondary products which can meet any specialised needs of the policyholder.
FACTORS AFFECTING CAR INSURANCE
1. The Policyholder
• Age of the policyholder
• Insurance companies favour woman policy holders
• Marital status
• The area you live in
• Engine and car size
• The cost of replacing the vehicle
• Any modifications that have been made to the vehicle by its owner
A younger less experienced driver will pay a higher insurance premium than someone with several years driving experience.
A married person is considered more responsible for their actions than a person is with no commitments. It stands to reason that married men with kids have more responsibilities than single men and the insurance companies therefore consider married men a lower risk category.
Where a person lives also affects the insurance cost. Rural areas that have less traffic and areas with a lower crime rate will mostly likely get a better premium than towns or high crime areas.
A powerful car is more likely to lose control at the hands of younger drivers: expensive Cars cost a lot to replace if scrapped and should they simply require repairs the sum of the replacement parts often costs more than the used car’s value, making more powerful Cars very expensive to ensure.
Modifications are more likely to alter the vehicles safety; performance is improved, and handling may be compromised making the vehicle more unpredictable. The insurance company therefore sees these factors as an increased risk and will increase their premiums as a result.
2. Driver History
• Years of driving experience
• Claims made in previous years
• History of driving convictions
• Annual mileage
The number of years a person has been driving suggests their understanding of the rules of the road, shows the driver has built up experience of driving under varied driving conditions and has attained a certain level of confidence while behind the wheel. Insurance companies base these assumptions on the policyholder’s claims history over the last five years. Most driving convictions negatively affect motor insurance premiums for drivers. Parking offenses do not push up your premiums unless you incurred points.
Your annual mileage is a factor too. The more a vehicle is on the road, the higher the risk for an accident.
3. Vehicle History
• Current vehicle value
• Owned, leased or financed
• Car make and model
• Performance level and size of engine
• Modifications to the vehicle
If the vehicle has a low book value, it may not seem to be cost effective to pay for comprehensive insurance; however this is not necessarily the case. If the named driver has several years no claims then fully comprehensive insurance could actually cost the same as third party fire and theft cover, but with additional perks such as windscreen cover and legal assistance etc. When buying on-line you may find that additional benefits can be included at little increased cost to you. It is mandatory for a leased or financed vehicles to have fully comprehensive insurance. The leasing or finance company will require reimbursement from the policyholder for damage to the car. This will be covered if you have fully comprehensive insurance.
There may be other benefits included in your car insurance policy, which are not always necessary but sometimes advisable:
• Breakdown insurance
• A courtesy car could be offered while yours is being repaired
• Breakdown assistance
• Help with legal fees and advice
• Windscreen cover – repair or replace
• No Claims protection
• Compulsory or voluntary deductible amount
Choosing the correct insurance and getting the best quote can be daunting as there are so many variables to consider. If a website was built properly its users will find it easy to get a great price quickly and easily. It is a good idea to consider using an insurance aggregator website to get started. The average insurance buyer finds aggregator websites easy to use. As the buyer you only need to answer the questions once and they will search the insurance market for you. Once they have collected all the quotes, you will be able to compare insurance policies against each other, save and email your quote to your personal email address, go back and change your options to include or reduce the benefits you may be considering and – when you’re happy – buy on-line. Before you commit to a purchase it’s a good idea to first tell your broker the results of your search to see if he can get you a better deal. It’s important to remember that you should compare like-for-like quotes when looking at different insurers. It is not always a quick and easy task. Good luck on finding your ideal car insurance.