| 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. |
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