BWhen purchasing car insurance, it’s usually purchased out of a necessity rather than any other reasons.
Buying motor insurance for a new car, a second-hand car or just looking for another option, there is one main reason we all purchase the car insurance we have – and that reason is the price or otherwise known as the premium.
By instinct, we always want value for money, but at the end of the day, it’s about the cost. I’m Joel Reyes of Reliance Partners Insurance Brokers and these are the 4 main areas to consider when purchasing car insurance.
1. Nominate a driver
This may be an option for you. Nominating a driver may help in reducing your premium. An example of this, if you buy a new prestige vehicle worth a lot of money then you wouldn’t want your children behind the wheel. By informing the insurance company that only experienced drivers nominated on the policy will look more favourable. Understandably this will not be a viable option on a family car which is driven by multiple people.
2. Be precise on the vehicle model
People often say, “My friend has the same car, but his is cheaper”. In today’s motor market, you will often notice different variants on a model. Sure, it may be a Toyota Corolla, but the difference from a standard model to a top of the range model with leather seats and modern extras could have a different market value. A vehicle with a lower market value as opposed to a higher value will have an impact on the premium.
3. Excess
The excess is the amount you must contribute for a claim. It’s the amount needed to pay the insurance company to have the claim processed. It may seem like the insurance companies are just wanting more money but should a claim cost to repair a new $50,000 vehicle, then a couple hundred on an excess is not that bad. Also, the excess is to eliminate those small scratch and dent incidents.
Taking a lower excess will increase the premium. Taking a higher excess ill decrease the premium. When Comparing policies, look at the difference in excess. Usually the main pricing difference is in the excess.
4. The Insurance company itself
Our TVs are saturated with cheap car Insurance, but cheap doesn’t necessarily mean the best. Understanding why they are cheap could sometimes mean their coverage is not as good. You get what you paid for.
If you buy cheap insurance, at the time of a claim you will most likely get cheap claims service. Another reason why they may be cheap can be their restrictions on cover. An example is imposing the use of the insurance company’s preferred repairers rather than using your local repairers which you trust.
Making an informed decision on your Car Insurance should not be intimidating. Being informed on comparing excess, asking if you can nominate drivers, being clear about your car model and asking the insurance companies of any hidden exclusions will help you.
