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| Car Insurance Tips |
Wherever you live, if you want to drive a car you will need to
have the correct insurance. It's absolutely breaking the law to drive
without being properly protected by a car insurance policy, getting the
best insurance policy to suit your requirements is vital to ensure you
are adequately protected and not paying any more than you should be.
Car Insurance is normally based on a three main factors
- The Car
- The Driver
- Where you live
The Type of Car Let's take a
look at the car first, Most of us are happy to have any car that will
get us to the shops and back reliably and in reasonable comfort with
enough space to contain all the shopping that a busy family needs! Some
of us like to have speedy or highly modified vehicles that are more fun
to drive and tell everybody about us - a form of expression if you like.
Its the latter category that is likely to have the more expensive
insurance premiums. Generally, the higher the value of car the greater
the insurance costs. The higher the performance of the vehicle, the more
expensive the insurance will become. The more modified, the heavier the
insurance. It's always worth checking what the appropriate insurance is
going to be
before you buy a vehicle and this way you won't find
yourself in a awkward situation where you have spent your hard earned
money on the car, but then can't really afford the car insurance, who
has now got a red face? The Driver Now let's take a look at the driver.
This is usually based on previous experience.If you are a new
or young driver you are going to have to pay higher insurance rates. If
you have a bad track record and prior claims; then again you are likely
to be punished for this with a more expensive premium. You should also
consider any other driver you may want to insure on your car and their
prior experience. This will all affect the final charge you have to pay
annually. Where You Live Where you live is crucial for Insurance
companies as they can assess the likelihood of any damage or theft from
or of your vehicle, depending on your locality. In nutshell if you live
in an inner city, the chances are that, the premium will be higher,
because there is likely to be a general higher crime rate. If you live
in the suburbs then the cost is likely to be less except if that
particular area has social problems.
Once you get out into rural
areas; in most cases, that is where you will find the cheapest insurance
rates. Deciding on what Car Insurance you need There are dozens
different insurers out there, offering many alternative policies. You
should start by thinking what you need your policy to cover - do you
want it to cover damage to your auto or just somebody else's (third
party, which is the minimum you can have to be within the law), do you
need an agreed value for your car or a courtesy car whilst yours is
being repaired? Do you only drive a small amount so a limited mileage
policy would be suitable? Is your car a classic and can it be insured as
such? How much excess premium do you want to pay? This is the amount
you pay when claiming before the insurance payout, the higher the excess
the lower the premium. Finding the right company Once you have asked
yourselves these questions (and answered them!) get in touch with a few
companies and get different quotes. Don't be shy to say what quotes you
already have as they may be prepared to go lower.
Take note of
what advantages each policy brings you, some offer breakdown cover, or a
discount in your first year, see what you prefer. A lot of research can
be done online and some firms offer "online" discounts which can save
you more. Always ensure that your insurance company is properly
registered, its worth asking friends who they use and would recommend.
Price comparison sites are also very good but I have found that you need
to verify that that is the cheapest quote, don't forget they get a
commission too! I recently went direct to a company who were not the
cheapest on the comparison site, and they came up 10% lower than the
cheapest, so how does that happen? The moral here is simply doing your
own research. Although car insurance may seem highly priced, being
properly covered is vital. Don't risk not having proper insurance -
remember you will be committing an offense if you don't have car
insurance cover.