|
Running a car is becoming more expensive day by day, what with insurance, tax, petrol and the congestion charge for Londoners, many drivers feel like the cost is driving them off the road. Insurance can be costly, especially for young drivers, men or those with expensive cars, one in ten people lie to keep their policy prices down, this is illegal and very dangerous. If you are found to be lying your insurance policy will be invalid, luckily there are some safe and legal measures you can take to keep the cost of your insurance policy to a minimum.
Find out how your premium is set
How does your car affect your premium?
How you can reduce your risks?
Choosing your insurer.
Paying your premium.
Honesty is crucial.
The most important part of keeping the cost of car insurance down is to understand how Only Finance set your premium in the first place. The main three points taken into consideration are the level of cover, perceived risk and your who your insurer is.
Each insurer will offer a different rate, this will vary depending on the level of cover required.
Only Insurance will consider your car when your premium is set, when purchasing a car it is important to take into consideration the price of insurance for your vehicle.
Choose carefully. Engine size and cost of your vehicle will both influence your policy price, so if you haven’t purchased a vehicle yet keep in mind that sporty cars or large cars with powerful engines will push up your policy price.
It might seem like a good idea to improve and update your car but from an insurance point of view this is not always sensible. Your premium will reflect any modifications or upgrades you complete on your vehicle.
Cover needed. Covering yourself for less may initially appeal as you will see savings, but it also involves risking your security.
The minimum level of cover the law requires protects you from the liability of any damage caused by you to other people and their property. Upgrading to comprehensive cover will see an increase in the price of your policy, but will mean you are covered for any repairs to your car or medical treatment you need.
The level of cover will often depend on the vehicle you are insuring, an old and cheap car would be cheaper for you to pay for repairs yourself that purchasing comprehensive car insurance.
How much can you pay? A valuable tip for keeping the price of your insurance policy down is to pay for small claims yourself. If you claim on your policy for small expenses your premium price will increase unnecessarily.
Secure your vehicle. If you seriously want to reduce the cost of your insurance premium you can improve the security features on your vehicle. In part the price of your premium will be based on the results the model of car in question, got in a security test by Thatcham. This involved testing the doors, alarm, ignition lock and immobiliser and grading the make and model of vehicle.
However a low grade can be improved upon by upgrading the security of your vehicle yourself. Storing your car in a garage or driveway will lower your insurance premium, higher risk cars naturally carry a higher premium price.
Drive safely. Good driving will lower your risk from the insurer’s point of view, additional driving courses and a good driving record will keep your insurance costs to a minimum. The less mileage you have on your car and the less you drive day-to-day will also help keep your costs down.
No claims bonus. A no claims discount or bonus is offered by most insurers, if you haven’t made any insurance claims in previous years you can sometimes receive as much as a 70% discount. If the claims that have been counted against you are no-fault claims your no claims bonus is not affected.
Higher voluntary excess. A higher voluntary excess should you make a claim will keep your policy price as low as possible.
Using Only Insurance. Only Insurance can search 95% of the insurance market to offer customers the best policy, rates and package for the insurance deal they are searching for.
Specialist insurers. Specialist insurance for certain groups of people are offered by a number of insurers, if you fall into a special group such as elderly, women or young people you could save money with a specially tailored policy to suit you.
Renewals. When renewing your car insurance you can often get a cheaper price by reapplied for a new quote than renewing with the same insurer. Only Insurance can help by searching the marker to find the cheapest renewal price.
Your policy. To encourage insurance providers to trust you and lower the cost it can often be beneficial to take out the policy in someone else’s name if you live in a house with a number of people. The person with the best driving record will get the best policy price from insurers.
Your premium will fall if you limit the number of people covered in your policy to those specifically listed, rather than anyone you let drive your car.
New policy types. The latest policy being offered by insurers is Pay as you Drive. This will see your car fitted with a tracking device which records how many miles you travel and at what time of the day. These policies charge you according to the rate you travel and can substantially cut insurance prices for some people, driving during the night is statistically more dangerous, insurance companies will charge a lower rate for those who drive during safer hours.
You can either pay your insurance premium in a one-off upfront payment, or through monthly direct debits. The cheapest way is a one-off payment as you will be charged interest on the amount you owe if you pay monthly. In the short-term it might seem easier to pay off your policy monthly, but this will be more costly to you in the long run.
If you really cannot afford to pay off your insurance in one lump sum, you could consider a credit card with a 0% interest rate, this will enable you to pay your insurance policy off in one go and pay off the credit card monthly, avoiding paying any interest.
Many people find it tempting to lie to their insurer in order to keep the cost of their policy down, this is illegal and expensive in the long term. If you are involved in an accident and your insurer finds out you were dishonest when taking out the policy your insurance may be invalid, making you liable for any costs.
|