Car Basics - Car insurance tips
Here are a few bits of insurance terminology you should know
before buying your car insurance
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article at - www.carbasics.co.uk
NCB - No claims bonus, you get one years no claims for every
year that you do not claim off your motor insurance. Also referred to as a 'No
Claims Discount', typically if you build up 5 years NCB this can reduce your
insurance premium by 60-75% dependant on the insurance company.
Many insurers offer 'protected' no claims bonus, it will cost
you a little extra but in the event of an accident your NCB will be protected.
So it can be worth the extra as the savings from your NCB can far outweigh the
cost of the extra on your premium.
Excess - This is the amount
of money that you will pay in the event of a claim. Voluntary Excess allows you
to top up this amount and the higher the
voluntary excess the cheaper the insurance premium will be.
Fully Comprehensive - This
is the highest level of insurance cover. It includes what is covered under TPFT
(see below), but in the event of an accident which was your fault (even if
no-one else was involved) the insurance company will pay to repair or replace
your own car.
TPO - Third Party only -
The insurance policy will only pay out to repair the other persons car in
the event of an accident that was your fault. It will not pay out for repairing
or replacing your vehicle. This policy does not cover you for fire or theft of
the car. This is the cheapest type of insurance policy available.
TPFT- Third Party, Fire and
Theft - This is the same as TPO above, but will cover your car for fire and
theft.
Here are some tips for helping keep your car insurance down
1. Shop around (read more about this below), those companies with the biggest
and flashiest websites and adverts may not be the cheapest.
2. Drive a cheap car with a small engine. This is important especially if
you are a young driver and perhaps it is your first car. It is tempting to
buy a nippy motor and stretch yourself to afford the insurance, but it is better
in the long run if you get yourself a car with a small engine and has a low
insurance group. The insurance will be lower and you will be able to build up
your no-claims bonus.
3. If you have recently passed your driving test, look into whether it's worth
going through the Pass Plus training
programme to qualify for car insurance discounts. Not all insurers give
discounts for Pass Plus drivers, but the number that do is increasing all the
time.
4. Consider using the internet to get quotes and buy your insurance online. Most
companies offer a 10% discount for buying online instead of over the telephone.
5. Choose to pay a higher excess in the event of an insurance claim. This is the
amount that you will agree to pay in the event of an accident i.e. an insurance
policy with a £500 excess will be less than with a £100 excess, however if you
have an accident that is your fault then you will have to pay the first £500 of
the claim.
6. If your vehicle is not fitted with an
approved
alarm or immobiliser, compare car
insurance quotes with and without one fitted. It may be cost-effective to have
one installed.
Approved alarms and immobilisers that are recognised by the insurance
industry are those that have been tested to 'Thatcham' standards are will be
sold as 'Thatcham Approved', typically category 1 (alarms) and category 2
(immobilisers). Having one of these fitted will help reduce your insurance
premium. In addition, there are
RAC Trackstar and
Tracker security devices that can be fitted to your vehicle. These will help
get your vehicle recovered quickly in the event of theft and will help reduce
your premium too.
7. Limiting the number of miles you drive each year will reduce your insurance
preium. They will ask you how many miles to expect to cover annually. Tell the
truth though and be as accurate as anyone can. Chances are that most peoples
mileage is to and from work, so if you live closer to work then this should be
reflected on your estimate.
8. If you commute to work or you take the company van home, then you will only
need insurance cover that is referred 'social, domestic and pleasure', instead
of ;social, domestic and pleasure and to and from work'. This may help reduce
your premium.
9. Having just you as the named driver on your policy will help keep costs down.
The number of other people on it will increase its cost, especially if they are
under 25.
10. Start building and protecting a 'no claims' bonus as soon as possible. In the
long run, this will have a significant impact on your ability to get cheap car
insurance.
11. Keep your car standard. Don't modify or customise it as it may add to your
insurance. If you can't resist having that new
induction kit, then ask about
whether it will be covered first and how much it will be. Be honest with the
insurers, sometimes these small mods don't cost much extra (if at all). But if
you don't tell them then your insurance will be invalidated. Make sure the
car has not been modified before you buy it. If it has, then you will need to
declare all these modifications and they could increase your premuim.
12. Consider just having 'third party, fire and theft' cover if your car was very
cheap. The alternative is 'fully comprehensive' cover and then you are covered
for repairs to your own vehicle even if no-one else was involved. But hey, if it
was that cheap then it may be cheaper to buy another car than loose your
no-claims bonus. You could even consider just insuring the car 'third party
only'.
13. Where you park your car will affect your insurance, it will be lower if you
have it locked in a garage at night instead of leaving it out in the road. Even
parking it on a driveway can reduce your premium.
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article at - www.carbasics.co.uk
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www.carbasics.co.uk Everything you should know about your car but were too embarassed to ask.
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