Debt Help - Car Insurance

For some people, insuring their car can be the most expensive aspect of running one. For the young or accident-prone, insurance can even cost more than the car itself! Whatever your driving history, with car insurance at an all time high, making sure you’re getting the best deal could make a huge difference to streamlining your outgoings and, ultimately, reducing your debt.

Even if your car insurance isn’t due yet, there are examples of such huge savings being made that it can make sense to cancel, pay a small charge and switch. The great thing is that getting the best deal can be done during a coffee break!

The first point is essential – make sure you’re getting quoted for the right level of cover;

If you’re either under 25 or have zero no-claims bonus and drive a low value car (i.e. under £1000), then third party or third party fire and theft might make sense. This is the minimum legal requirement for driving a car in the UK and only covers damage to other cars or your passengers.

Fully comprehensive cover offers the most cover and covers accidental damage or vandalism of your car, as well as paying for damage to your car, even if it was your fault. If you have a valuable car, you should seriously consider fully comprehensive insurance. Some insurers will only offer fully comprehensive for higher-value cars anyway.

Insurance premiums vary depending on who insures you, which level of cover you choose and what level of risk the insurer deems you to be. It makes sense, therefore, to ensure you choose the most appropriate level of cover and do everything you can to lower your perceived risk as a driver.

Wherever possible, once you have your quote, try to avoid paying in monthly installments – this usually inflates the price, as you’re effectively receiving a loan from the insurer.

Make sure that when obtaining quotes, you’re accurate with your job title. Insurers factor in the number of claims per occupation in their prices, so be as accurate as possible. Choosing a blatantly incorrect job title could also invalidate your cover, leaving you in serious legal trouble. If you can’t find a suitable suggestion, always check with the insurer before buying to make sure.

Your next step should be to use an online comparison site, which search hundreds of potential insurers, using your details, in order to find the lowest price. Most brokers simply cannot compete with the lower overheads and volume of enquiries on the internet.

Sterling Trust recommends www.comparethemarket.com (click here to obtain your quotes and help support Sterling Trust) – they compare hundreds of prices and guarantee that you wont get a cheaper deal by going direct to the insurers. Getting your quote usually takes less than 5 minutes, whether you’re looking for cover for a car, van or motorbike. They also have a free automatic renewal reminder service.

Once you get the quotes back, do a quick double-check to ensure that no assumptions have been made about your circumstances. Also bear in mind that extras (such as windscreen cover, free car hire etc) vary from policy to policy – if you have a specific requirement, be sure it’s included.

Ok – so by now you should have obtained your quote and know which insurer has the best deal for you. But in some circumstances, it’s possible to make even further savings, via ‘Cashback Sites’.

Cashback sites are basically specialist sites that carry specific links to various retail or service-providing companies. If you click via their links to a company any make a purchase, they receive commission. However, in order to incentivise people like you to buy something via their links so they get paid, they also offer you a cut of their commission.

Once you have your quote, check out our ‘Cashback Sites’ page and see if the insurer is included. We’d never suggest buying a policy purely on the basis of getting cashback, but if the cheapest policy provider for you is listed, you may as well take advantage!

Cashback offers on insurance can be huge, even if the policy cost isn’t, so it’s worth checking out. However, always clear your computers ‘cookies’ before buying via a cashback site, or it may not track your purchase and give you the money back. Cookies are small files that are saved onto your computer by most websites you visit, for tracking reasons. Clearing cookies is easy and takes seconds – Internet Explorer 7 users should click on the ‘Tools’ button (top right hand side of the browser), then click on ‘Delete Browsing History / Delete Cookies’.

We’re currently running an informal competition to see who can get the cheapest quote. What’s your best overall premium? Let us know.

And lastly, be sure to make a note in a calendar or diary a few weeks before your renewal date for next year. This will give you time to search again for the cheapest quote. Most insurance policies will increase year on year, so don’t leave it to the last minute!

If this technique was useful for you, check out our Home Insurance section.

See also;

Travel Insurance

Breakdown Cover

Mobile Phone Insurance