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Find the cheap Car Insurance
How do I find the
cheap car insurance premiums?
Car insurance, like almost
every product, needs to be searched for, compared and contrasted
across the market before you actually part with your money - this
process will hopefully insure you get the cheap car insurance rates
.
The difference between the highest and lowest quotes that you
can get for exactly the same criteria (eg, car, personal details,
convictions) is sometimes astounding. You may find that your lowest
quote is half your highest quote. You should also always go back to
each company, because the company that gave you a quote that was too
high last year may give you a low quote this year as they could have
a marketing campaign aimed at people like you, or their claims the
year before were lower.
You can find car insurance providers
advertising in newspapers, magazines, on TV, radio and now on the
internet. Unlike many products however, you can't just look for a
price and then buy it, as each and every person will have a
different price to pay, even to be insured on the same car. No
matter which medium you use to find an insurance company, you will
have to answer a long series of questions.
Perhaps the most
important advance in the search for cheaper car insurance is the
onset of the internet. The internet allows you to find what you are
looking for, sometimes by visiting only one website and asking a set
of questions only once.
Previously, to get a quote for car
insurance, you would need to sit at home with the yellow pages and
call up about 10 insurance companies, answering the same questions
on numerous occasions, and still end up not sure if you had got the
best price for your circumstances. Or, you would have had to go to
an insurance broker and then rely on them to find the best deal for
you, which would have cost you money for the service, or you may
have gotten the deal which paid the broker the most commission.
With the internet, you can go to insurance comparison
websites, or broker websites, fill in some (admittedly quite long
and detailed) forms, and you can get quotes from many competing
insurance providers, with the lowest premiums highlighted. You can
then go ahead and apply for that insurance policy through the
broker, who will receive a commission from the insurance company for
arranging the insurance for you.
What you should think about
when looking at the quotes you are receiving for car insurance is
the actual cover you will be receiving for your premiums. Although
it's not entirely true that you get what you pay for with car
insurance, a company may put their premiums down but put the excess
you have to pay up, or provide you with less windscreen cover. Look
closely at your policy.
How can I lower my car insurance
premiums?
Almost every question that the insurer asks you when
you are getting a quote will go towards calculating the premiums for
your car insurance. The type of car you drive, your age and your
gender along with numerous other factors can greatly influence the
cost of your insurance. Some of these may be out of your control,
but there are factors under your control that could make a
difference.
Firstly, you can help yourself greatly by
advancing your driving skills. There are recognised institutes that
you can join such as the Royal Society for the Prevention of
Accidents and the Institute of Advanced Motorists which can earn you
large discounts on your car insurance premiums should you join and
pass their tests.
Another way of lowering your premiums is to
consolidate your policies. Should you own more than one vehicle you
should try and use the same insurance company for them. Should your
car insurance company offer home and life insurance as well you
should think about taking those from that company as well, as you
can obtain valuable discounts.
Your excess, the amount you
pay of a claim before your insurance company will pay the rest, can
be set higher to reduce your premiums, although you'll have to pay
more when you make a claim.
This isn't something that you can
change very easily should it not apply to you, but women benefit
from cheaper car insurance. Statistics prove that whilst women do
not have fewer accidents, theirs are less serious, so insurers can
offer ladies cheaper car insurance than for men. It's worth insuring
the car in the woman's name if you are a couple.
Where you
live can make a difference. There are more crashes in certain areas,
many of them urban, than in the countryside, and so in general the
quieter your area is, the cheaper your premiums will be.
You
can also lower your premiums should you drive less, as some insurers
offer low-mileage discounts. Getting a no claims bonus and
eventually paying a fee to your insurer to protect it can also be
helpful. Having a low-risk, sedentary job also helps.
Age is
an important factor, should you be over 50 you are helped by
statistics which prove that those over 50 are less likely to
claim.
Should you park your car in a locked garage overnight,
you can expect to pay lower premiums than should you park your car
out on the street.
Car security in general is vital when
setting premiums, so add an alarm and an immobliser should you not
have them.
Finally, a low profile, low maintenance vehicle
used only for private use will be cheaper to insure than an
expensive flashy motor used for business. | |
