Car insurance is a legal requirement to everyone who wants to drive a car on the UK roads. There is a vast array of complexities, issues and details that define what price you get for your car insurance. Such are the oddities of the car insurance world that you could potentially end up paying more for third party cover than for fully comprehensive cover, so given that you must shop around and cover all angles.
Payments - when planning on what insurance to buy, you need to also consider the type of payment you are opting for. Many companies offer pay monthly options which allow you spread the cost of the premium over a period of time. However, these payment options are usually offered by insurance companies because they can whack a healthy interest on top as they essentially loan you the money and expect you to pay them back. So if you can afford to pay the premium at once, it is strongly advised that you do. If you can't afford it, try to put it on a credit card which has a lower APR rate and spread the payment out that way.
Risk - insurers use the criteria that you provide them to calculate how much of a risk you are and depending on their own judgements, your premiums will rise and fall by these criteria. The obvious one risk is your experience. There are various tools on websites such as Confused.com that provides tools where you can enter details and it then suggests quotes based on you and your experience.
Apart from your experience critical to your insurance quote are a number of other factors such as:
- Where is the car kept overnight
- If the car is fitted with any alarms or immobilisers
- The voluntary excess
- The car itself - age, engine size, type
Though hybrid cars are less powerful, their insurance might be even more expensive than a conventional car, as their prices are higher and hybrid cars need special parts and servicing. But the good news is that this type of cars is more common compared with electric cars and insurance cost is getting lower with the time.
Comparison sites have become the most popular way of trying to obtain cheap insurance quotes in recent years. They've exploded into many different guises and forms, however, in order to achieve the best possible spread of quotes you should choose the top sites such as Confused.com, GoCompare.com, BeWiser.co.uk, that way you cover as much as possible without it becoming an incomprehensible minefield whilst still having the opportunity to grab a bargain.
There are two very competitive insurers who refuse to be included so it very worthwhile checking them out individually. Aviva and Direct Line actively refuse to be included in the comparison searches because they have to pay a commission to the comparison companies, and they say it keeps costs, and therefore quotes down for customers. They also provide a niche for themselves as the only one's not found on the sites.
Once you're happy that you've found the cheapest quote possible, double check them and go over all the policy details with a fine tooth comb to make sure you're policy doesn't have any small details that could come back and take a sizeable chunk out of your wallet at a later date.
Alternatively, you could go to an independent broker and get advice directly on how to get a cheaper quote. The advantage being they know the game and can tailor their searches much more effectively than you can.
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