How to buy car insurance ?

When buying car insurance, it's important to select the right type of cover. Here is a checklist to help you find the best policy...

Decide on the level of car insurance cover

• The cheapest car insurance cover is third party. This protects you from liability if you injure someone and pays to replace or repair their car, but does not cover damage to your car.
• A slightly more expensive option is third party, fire and theft. In addition to third party cover, it pays for repair or replacement of your car if it's stolen or damaged, or destroyed by fire.
• The most expensive car insurance is comprehensive. These policies also cover damage to your car if you are involved in an accident.

Things to look out for in car insurance cover

• Check that you're covered if personal belongings are stolen from your car.
• Check for upper limits, i.e. what the policy will pay out on individual items—for example, expensive in-car audio equipment.
• Check for legal protection cover, which is essential if you're involved in a legal action as a result of a car insurance claim.
• Ask about any excess, i.e. the amount you have to pay on each claim.

How to cut the cost of car insurance cover

• Shop around—buying online can be up to 10 per cent cheaper than a phone quote.
• Check to see if you're entitled to any no-claims discount. These vary widely between insurers, but if you've driven without making a claim on your car insurance for a year, typically you can save 30 per cent on your car insurance premium and up to 70 per cent after four years without a claim.
• Are you a woman driver? If so, you could be in line for cheaper car insurance. Some insurers look more favourably on female drivers as, statistically, women's claims are for relatively minor accidents.
• Keep your mileage low—if you do fewer than 12,000 miles a year, you could save money on your car insurance.
• Fit extra security. Installing an alarm or immobiliser can cut car insurance premiums, as can off-street parking or keeping your car in a garage.

If you're under 25

Statistically, young drivers are more likely to have an accident and claim on their car insurance, so premiums can be very high. To help reduce these:

• Buy a car deemed by insurers to be in a low-risk group.
• Enrol in the Driving Standards Agency Pass Plus scheme.
• Shop around for a specialist policy aimed at young drivers.

Tip

If a young person occasionally uses their parents' car, they can be added to their parents' car insurance policy as a named driver. Don't do this if the child is the main driver, however—it's illegal and car insurance companies are clamping down on the practice.

All guides on Yell.com are provided for general guidance only, do not constitute legal or professional advice and are not intended to be exhaustive.

Auto Insurance Payouts

According to the Financial Ombudsman Service there has been a 70% increase in motor insurance complaints over the past six months.

With the value of cars rising, motor insurers are choosing to repair cars as appose to writing them off. This has resulted in the majority of disputes between consumers and insurers being based on bad quality repairs and valuations.

Repair costs for cars that are worth £30,000 to £40,000 can easily be in the region of £15,000. Because of this, many insurance companies prefer to have the repairs conducted at one of their garages, whereas the consumer may prefer their vehicle be repaired at a specialist garage.

Consumers that find themselves in this situation do not have to accept repairs at the garage their insurer offers. They can choose exactly where they would like their vehicle to be repaired.

Moreover, the vehicle should leave the garage in perfect condition. Any dissatisfaction regarding the quality of repairs and the insurer should commission a report from an independent engineer report.

Another big problem the ombudsman found is that there has been an increase in the number of consumers that have been denied payouts when their car has been stolen.

“The typical scenario is you get up one morning and your car has gone. The insurer somehow blames you for it, and refuses to pay up on the grounds that it can’t be stolen,” Robert Short, lead motor insurance ombudsman.

Insurance companies justify this move by saying that many of today’s cars are fitted with sophisticated security systems, and that the only way the car could have been stolen is down to consumer carelessness.

Tips for getting the best car insurance quote

If you are looking for a great car insurance quote, it's important that you take the time to do some comparing. After all, if you want a great deal, you are going to have to do a bit of work to get one, but in the long run, it will be well worth it in terms of the money you can save. When you go about getting a quote on car insurance, there are several things to keep in mind. So, here are a few tips to remember that will help you get the best possible deal.

Compare Carefully

First of all, when you are looking for a good car insurance quote, comparing is imperative. However, when you are making comparisons, it's important that you only compare "apples to apples." Essentially this means that you need to only compare quotes that are similar. You can't compare two different quotes that include different types of coverage or different deductible amounts. Make sure that when you are making comparisons of quotes that the two policies you're comparing are exactly the same. This way you truly get the best deal.

Consider the Type of Coverage

When you are trying to get a quote, you need to consider the type of coverage that you want. The coverage that you choose will make a difference in the quote that you are going to get. A quote for liability insurance on your vehicle is going to be a lot cheaper than one for comprehensive coverage. In the same way, getting a quote that includes collision damage on a car that is barely worth $500 is usually a waste of money. So, when you get a car insurance quote, remember that the coverage you want is going to influence the price.

Deductibles Influence Your Quote

You'll also find that the amount of deductible that you choose influences the amount of your quote as well. The higher the deductible amount you choose, the lower your premium will end up being. However, while this may seem like a great idea at first, if you don't have the money to pay the deductible, it's not going to be a great deal for you. In some cases, going with a lower deductible may be a better choice for you.

Be Aware of Your Credit Score

It's important that you are aware of your credit score as well. In fact, you'll find that your credit score can definitely affect the car insurance quote that you end up getting. The worse your credit score is, the higher the your premium will end up being. However, great credit will get you a much better quote on your car insurance. While it may not seem fair, car insurance companies allegedly have statistics that shows that people with lower credit scores make more claims, so be sure your credit score is as good as it can be. It may seem like a waste of time while you are going through that process, but that is something that you should do anyway for more reasons than just car insurance, so this may help you to get it done now.