There are many ways to obtain cheaper car insurance apart from shopping around. Primarily though, we will want to find, as a basis to start, an insurance company known for offering competitive insurance quotations. We could, for instance, look to see what onesureinsurance.co.uk can offer us. They feature prominently in online searches. That is always a good sign. The most popular companies tend to be more visible.
Let us also focus our attention on just how we can reduce our insurance premium. We have gone to the trouble of seeking out an alternative quotation and so we ought to make the most of the opportunity by seeing how we can reduce the premium further. It would be so easy just to accept a quotation because it is cheaper and then not think about ways we could have reduced it further.
Shopping Around
As with any price, we can usually find it for less by shopping around and looking for an alternative provider of our product or service. Insurance is the same. Companies will compete to offer motorists the best price to attract their business. This can be achieved through simply better rates but also through discounts that are applied to policies when more detail is gone into. Also, through variations in cover. Be careful to make sure that you are obtaining at least a like-for-like cover. Remember, that if you plan to purchase your vehicle from a provider of budget-friendly used vehicles, the premium amount may differ (read: increase) from those for brand-new vehicles. However, since a used vehicle may be more suited to your needs and finances, you can definitely find insurance that provides the coverage you need for an affordable price.
Online is one of the best places to look for cheaper car insurance, as there are fewer and fewer insurance brokers down the high street and even fewer insurance companies in the provincial areas.
Discounts Applied to Motor Insurance Policies
The biggest discount that insurers will offer with motor insurance is the discount they give for claim-free years. This increases after 1 or 2 years of claim-free driving. In some cases, the discount can reach 65% off the basic premium for 5 years or more years of claim-free motoring.
This system of no claims bonuses awarded is unfortunately how young drivers end up penalised twice in a sense because they are without any no claims bonus, to begin with, and are also loaded premium-wise for their increased risk. This is a risk that is based on the history of claims and how young drivers will cause more accidents. It is important to mitigate the costs by thinking creatively about not making the insurance any more expensive than necessary because of vehicle choice and policy options. For example, agreeing to a higher excess, which we will discuss later.
Discounts for added security or anti-theft devices fitted to vehicles exist for both car and van insurance. As the no-claims bonus system is the same for all motor insurance policies, the amount of vehicle security is considered in the case of them all too. If you have a system fitted to your vehicle that is considered theft-proof, then you can enjoy a discount because of this. Check out the kinds of devices that are approved by insurers such as those that are Thatcham-approved. This is an industry-standard rating that speaks for itself in terms of a security system’s effectiveness and so is taken much notice of by insurance companies.
Also, Dashcams in some cases are attracting annual insurance discounts of 20%. Their footage will become the evidence in the event of an accident. Whose fault the accident is will make a significant difference to the insurers when it comes to which one must pay the claim. In the event that your insurer refuses to compensate you, you can seek help from a reputed law firm such as Powell Law Firm (https://www.plfirm.com/st-louis-personal-injury-lawyer) to file a lawsuit. Dashcam footage can also be helpful in that regard to provide sufficient evidence about the accident’s cause.
Flexibility of Excesses
Insurers will use excesses to control how high premiums become. They are often able to offer policies for less by applying them. Young drivers will tend to end up with higher compulsory excesses to make their policies affordable. They are seen to be a higher risk to insurance companies.
Not only can we accept a higher compulsory excess on a policy, but we can often, where the option exists, elect to further increase our excess. If, for instance, the policy comes with a 100 excess for damage, then we can where it is a possibility choose ourselves to add a 100 voluntary excess to it. A young driver may decide not to if their compulsory excess already stands at 200 or 300. It may make paying in the event of a claim unaffordable. Insurance companies are careful not to make excesses ridiculously high to make insurance pointless to some people.
Excesses are a way of making policyholders more careful as drivers when they must contribute to the cost of a claim. Another advantage is in the way they reduce premiums.
Think Carefully About Your Vehicle
Do you need to be driving a model that attracts higher insurance premiums? Many policyholders will choose a vehicle that looks attractive to them without thinking about the engine underneath and how that will impact insurance. Of course, if it is business vehicles we are talking about, then there would not be much wriggle room in terms of the attractive element, model, size, etc. If a business requires trucks that can carry heavy goods, then they would require a Quick and Easy HGV Insurance Cover to insure those vehicles. However, speaking of personal vehicles, a smaller car should keep costs down but not if a sporty model. Think seriously about keeping your engine size to a minimum when you are looking to buy a first, second, or subsequent vehicle. Another factor in deciding your insurance premium could be your experience as a driver. Whenever you’re buying your first car, for instance, it is helpful if you’ve had a driver’s licence for a while. However, it can be hard to find immediate slots for licences. What people generally tend to do in such cases is look for cancelled driving tests slots so they can get their licence faster. Once you have over 6 months on your Driver’s ID without any driving violations or accidents, your insurance risk goes down considerably.
How Am I Protecting My Car at Night?
In the daytime, we will tend to park our car in the open in a car park somewhere, but at night when it is at home, we can choose to have it undercover. This not only keeps the bodywork from rusting so easily in some cases but offers an advantage when it comes to insurance. Many insurance companies will discount vehicles kept in garages overnight. Often, taking your car off the road onto a driveway will have a negligible impact on premiums compared to taking that extra measure and locking it inside a garage. This keeps it away from thieves, certainly making it harder to steal.
If you are looking for cheaper car or vehicle insurance right now, then we hope that this article has guided you into the ways to achieve such a feat. It is not a feat that is difficult, just a combination of exploring insurers more online and knowing what factors can increase or decrease a motor insurance premium.
