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Types of Car Insurance in the UK. There are three key types - 1/ Third Party Insurance (The minimum legal cover) This covers 1/ Liabilities for injuries to other people, including passengers. 2/ Liability for damage to other people's property. 3/ Liability of passengers for accidents caused by them. 4/ Liability arising from the use of a caravan or trailer, while attached to the car (but tell your Insurer if you are going to tow) 2/ Third Party Fire & Theft Insurance. As above but including fire and theft but some Insurers do not cover theft if the car is not kept off road or will charge extra. Be careful when selling a car - Insurers will not cover for theft by deception. 3/ Fully Comprehensive Insurance. As above plus 1/ Accidental damage to your own car excluding any excess. 2/ A personal accident benefit. 3/ Medical expenses up to a stated limit. 4/ Loss or damage to personal effects in the car, up to a stated limit. + UK LAW. The Road Traffic Act requires ALL motorists to be insured against their liability for injuries to others (including passengers) and for damage to other people's property resulting from use of a vehicle on the road. It is an offence to drive your car or allow others to drive it without insurance. + Shop Around. This is a very competitive and ever changing market so you just cannot do too much research. Look for promotions and special offers. You are not being serious about saving money unless you obtain at least three quotes - the more the merrier. On average shopping around will save you over £200. + Price Comparisons. It is vital that you compare like with like when you are reviewing quotes. Make sure you know and state your requirements to ensure that you are comparing like for like - items such as excess charges, no-claims bonuses, loan cars, etc. - no alternative I'm afraid to reading the small print. + Doing the Deal. Don't be afraid to negotiate (for tips on this go to our negotiation page).Pay annually if you can - paying monthly costs more in the long run. + Honesty. Do not be tempted to bend the truth to save money when completing your application. You may live to regret it because everyone knows that insurance companies are expert at finding ways of not paying out on claims. Worse still you could be sued by the other party in an accident situation. + Insurance Brokers? They know the business better than you therefore they should be able to find the best deals, so you should obtain at least one quote from a broker. On the other hand however they need to take a cut for themselves and may therefore push companies who give them a higher commission. + Reputable Insurance Companies. If your insurance company goes bust you may lose the remainder of your premium and will be uninsured, so be careful. Chose a reputable well-established company who have a good track record. For instance you may chose not to use a new organisation that only seems to do business on-line, because they may not have much in the way of assets to back up their business. + Paperwork. Check all quotations and policies from car insurance companies very carefully, especially before you sign anyting, reading the small print is absolutely essential if only to ensure that you are comparing like with like. This a buyer beware area! + No Claims Bonus. The longer you drive without an accident the bigger you no-claims discount. It should amount to around 65% after six years and is transferable between insurers. When you have built it up and have a minor shunt it is worth considering paying for the repairs yourself rather than losing your no claims discount. Or some insurers will allow you to protect your no claims discount if you pay an extra premium. + Compulsory Excess. This is the first part of a claim you must pay yourself and it will vary between companies - so something to consider when comparing quotes. + Voluntary excess. This is an additional excess (on top of the Compulsory excess) that you may to chose to pay to reduce your insurance costs (premium). This can be a difficult decision to weigh up as to whether a cheaper policy is worth the cost of a shunt costing you a bomb. + Jobs. They have quite an effect on cost - a disc-jockey will pay a lot more than a dentist. + Bands. Insurers rate cars on a scale of 1 to 12 depending on several factors such as purchase price, ease of repair, likelihood of being stolen, engine size, cost of parts etc. A Fiat Panda would be insurance group 1 whilst a Porsche would be group 12. The differences in premium between bands are large and are worth considering when changing your car. + Age. Under 25 or over 70 may have a problem and will certainly pay more. Brokers can often help because they have specialist knowledge. Under 25's may wish to sweet talk their parents into being a named driver on their policy - though some companies will not wear this one. Over 70's try SAGA www.saga.co.uk If you are a newly qualified driver consider taking the Pass Plus qualification it will usually give you a discount on your car insurance. + Other Drivers.The more people that drive your car the more expensive the premium, so stick to only named other drivers on the policy e.g. your partner. + Car crime. If you drive a model that is more attractive to thieves and joy-riders expect to pay more. + Location. Insurers partly catalogue risk by postcode so if you live in a city or high crime area you will pay more. The postcode categorisation is arbitrary and sometimes unfair because a few yards and a different postcode may make a big difference. + Mileage. Insurerers like motorists who do not clock up many miles every year. Doing less than 6,000 miles a year should save you a further 5%. + Security. A car alarm and immobiliser will lower your premium, but it must be factory or professionally fitted and be approved by the Insurer. Always lock your car even if only left for a short time, say on a garage forecourt when you go to pay for petrol. If not and it is stolen the Insurer probably will not pay up! + Parking. Keeping a car off the road, preferably locked in a locked garage, will lower the premium. + Marketing. When applying think carefully about all the good points that an Insurer may like and make sure you tell them about them. e.g. you may have been a company car driver for 12 years and have just left with an unblemished record and are now seeking what may seem to the Insurer a first time driver; unless you tell them about it. On the downside you must also tell them the bad points e.g endorsement points, previous accidents etc. Fibs will not pay in the long run and anyway will invalidate your policy. + More information. Our page only aims to give a summary of the most salient points. For more detail go to the Association of British Insurers excellent website - http://www.abi.org.uk/public/consumer/motor/ and click on Motor Insurance. Also see our Driving Abroad page. CAR INSURANCE FOR OLDER DRIVERS Over the age of 65 the choice becomes much reduced because many companies have upper age limits, for instance above the age of 75 more than one in five insurers will nor take on new customers - at any price. Less choice inevitably means greatly increased premiums and reluctance to even quote - especially over the age of 70. Companies that do not have an upper age limit include SAGA, Age Concern and Help the Aged. Other insurers that have high end age limits include Sheila's Wheels, and the Post Office. the AA insurance panel can also arrange insurance for drivers up to the age of ninety. TOP TIPS FOR OLDER DRIVERS TO SAVE MONEY SORRY but we do not have the resources at the moment to advise on individual insurance problems
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