Chosing The Best Motor Insurance Cover

Car insurance is there to give you financial protection in the event of an accident whether or not you are responsible for it. In the UK, car insurance is a compulsory as well as a necessary expense. 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.

Repairs to your own car after an accident, legal fees and liability for property will often not be covered by a bog-standard car insurance policy. 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. Your insurance company will cover you at a level determined by the type of policy you choose.

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 • You may have a change in circumstances • Financing could place your car in a greater risk banding • Personal effects loss may be covered by some insurers • A different insurer may include breakdown cover in your policy • You may find inclusive legal cover offered by some insurers • 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 doesn’t always follow that the same company or broker can offer you the best deal for your insurance.

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. This is also the case with car insurance as they can often consolidate your insurance needs into an all inclusive package which most insurance companies only make available to brokers.

Your car will depreciate in value according to both age and usage. No sooner than you have driven your new car off the showroom floor the car begins to depreciate. Your car’s value will decrease every year. You should get a reduction in your premium to reflect this. This is logical but often people can overlook the obvious. Check the value of your car against its blue book value rather than the price you paid – your broker can do this for you. 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. It’s possible that your insurance company may offer you a like-for-like replacement after an accident – but this is uncommon. There is however an insurance product called Vehicle Replacement Insurance which does just that! Click on the link to find out how it works in more detail.

Your circumstances may have changed since you last renewed your car insurance. You may have switched jobs and not drive as many miles per year or have paved the front lawn and turned it into off-street parking. Change your insurance details to reflect these changes in circumstance. You can get a significant discount from your insurer if you are a low mileage driver.Adding additional drivers is not as expensive as you would think; a great tip here is to wait until renewal time if possible. Insurers may charge you an administration cost for adding additional drivers, but if you wait until it’s time to renew you may not incur this fee.

SO WHICH IS THE BEST CHOICE OF CAR INSURANCE COVER?

Insurance cover in the UK falls into three different categories.

 1. Basic Third Party Insurance is mandatory in many countries, including the UK. This type of cover insures a vehicle and driver against damage to another person’s car, driver or passengers if involved in an accident. 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. Third party insurance will not cover any necessary repairs made to your car.

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. This type of cover can offer the best value for a policyholder if the car does not have a 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. A Fully Comprehensive policy will give you the widest range of cover. Damage to your car, and personal injury caused by an accident, as well as the basics of third party, fire and theft, are covered by a comprehensive car insurance policy. If the vehicle value is higher than the insured can afford to pay to replace it, then fully comprehensive is the preferred choice. There are specialised insurance products like Finance Gap or Vehicle Replacement Gap which can top up the gap between what your insurance company will pay out and the cost of getting a new car – you can find out more online by doing a simple search.

Many factors affect car insurance and most insurance companies offer a range of secondary covers to meet the varied and specialized needs of the policyholder.

FACTORS AFFECTING CAR INSURANCE

1. The Policyholder• Age of the policyholder • Insurance companies favour woman policy holders • Are you married or single • The area you live in • The size of the car and engine • 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. Car modifications therefore equate to increased risk for insurance companies, and will result in increased premiums.

2. Driver History • Years of driving experience • Claims made in previous years • If you have points on your licence • 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. Certain assumptions and associated levels of risk are made according to the number of claims made in the previous five years. Driving convictions such as speeding, hazardous driving or driving while intoxicated will affect the premium. This does not include parking violations.

Annual mileage is a factor too. The risk of having an accident increases the longer a vehicle is on the road.

3. Vehicle History • Current vehicle value • Whether you own the car or if it is leased or financed • Car make and model • Engine size and performance • 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. Many online insurance buyers find that for just a small premium increase, many additional benefits can be included. Leased or financed vehicles require comprehensive insurance. This is so that they can be reimbursed for any damage caused to the car by the policyholder. 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 • Courtesy car included • Roadside and/or breakdown insurance cover • Specialist legal advice/assistance with legal fees • Windscreen cover – repair or replace • NCD 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. The right car insurance price is easy to find when you’re on a great website. An insurance aggregator website is a good place to get you started. Aggregator websites are easy to use. They will search the insurance market for you and show you the products which best match you needs based on the answers to some initial questions. 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 online. 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. When comparing quotes online, remember to do so on a like-for-like basis. This is more difficult than you may initially think. Good luck.