Want cheaper car insurance deals?

Your Guide to car insurance in the UK and Ireland.

Clearly we all want a good deal and with every increasing costs, understanding car insurance and how to get the best deal has never been more important.

Understanding Car Insurance.

Car insurance is a legal requirement if you own a car you will need to have valid car insurance for that vehicle. 

So what type of car insurance due you need?

Third Party Car Insurance.

This is the minimum legal cover. A third party policy covers injury to passengers in your car and damage to other vehicles, but importantly not to your vehicle. It also does not cover fire or theft damage to your car.  As it is the most basic option third party cover is also generally the most affordable. So if you are young or a newly qualified driver it may be worth considering. But remember damage to your vehicle is not covered so you will have to way up the lower premium against the lower level of cover!

Third Party Fire and Theft Insurance.

This provides very similar cover to third party car insurance but with, as the name suggests cover for fire and theft. So if your car catches fire, set on fire (torched), stolen and damaged or not recovered you should still be covered.

Please note that most of these policies have a fire or theft excess.

Fully Comprehensive Car Insurance.

Fully comprehensive car insurance is the most complete insurance policy generally available. The main differance is that you are covered under your own policy for damage to your vehicle, subject to anypolicy excesses. You may also find other types of cover or extra features not usually covered by other policies. These may include broken windows and audio equipment. Always read the small-print to make sure exactly what is included.

This type of policy will normally have a number of excesses that will be applied if you make a claim.

Understanding Car Insurance Excess.

An insurance excess is an amount that is not covered by your insurance policy regardless of fault!

To give an example, you are involved in an accident that is not your fault and you have a fully comprehensive policy. When you make your claim through your policy your insurers will authorise the repairs to your vehicle and when the repairs are complete will pay the garage the repair bill less your excess. When you collect your car you will need to pay your excess to the garage before they will release the vehicle to you. If you were not at fault you can then attempt to recover the excess from the other driver or their insurance company.

The important thing to remember is that you will need to pay the excess regardless of fault.

There are a number of different policy excess that may be on your policy.

 

Voluntary Excess.

This is an amount that is not connected to age etc, but instead is on the policy itself. The greater/higher the voluntary excess the lower the premium will be. It is therefore tempting to agree to a higher excess to reduce the cost of the insurance, but remember you will not be covered for this amount if you make a claim!

Novice Driver Excess.   

This is normally applied for drivers who have a provisional licence or passed their driving test within the last 12 months. Please note you may need to check the policy small print to find if your policy has this excess and if so how much it is etc.

Young Driver Excess.

 Most comprehensive car insurance policies will carry a young driver excess. These will often be for drivers aged between 17-20 and 21-24 but can be any ages that the insurance company decides. Normally the younger the age group the higher the excess applied. As above check the small print!

Adding up the Total Excess.

When making a claim the insurance companies will normally add up all of the above excess to reach the excess you will need to pay. So when deciding on a comprehensive car insurance policy make sure you have added up all the excess to properly compare the cover and price. 

Fire and Theft Excess.

This may be a stand alone excess for fire or theft claims or the insurance company may add the young and novice excess as well!

There are often other excess for windscreens etc again these will vary from company to company.

 

How To Reduce You Premiums.

First choose the right car.

There are many factors that can effect your car insurance premium, clearly one of the main ones you can control is what vehicle you buy. Normally the bigger, faster and more expensive the car is the more it will cost to insure. However you will also find certain makes or particular models are more expensive to repair and this will therefore be reflected in your premiums. So before you buy get insurance quotes to check the costs.   

Take a good look at this excellent new product that really could save you alot of money now and in the future. For further details on all their insurance products whether or not you have passed your test or still learning simply click on the i-Kube banner below.

Learner Driver Insurance

Don’t get caught short with short term cover. Do the sums and you could save money with i-kube provisional.

 i-kube won’t increase your premium or cancel your policy when you pass your driving test.

If you own your own caIf you own your own car and are happy to get discounted insurance in return for not driving between 11pm and 5am, i-kube provisional insurance can offer you:

•  No increase in premium when you’ve passed your test.
•  A 12 month policy with a full years No Claims Discount at the end (assuming no claims) – regardless of how long it takes you to pass your test.
•  FREE cover for named drivers. Named drivers must either your parents or grandparents and must meet the insurers underwriting criteria.
•  Comprehensive or Third Party Fire & Theft cover that is discounted for safer driving.

 Don’t forget: At i-kube, when you pass your test they won’t increase your premium or cancel it – just because you’ve passed. Do the maths and you could save money with i-kube provisional insurance. Please note: Your driving test must not be undertaken within the first 6 weeks of cover. For more info, visit i-kube.

 

Pass Plus.

After you have passed your car driving test you can undertake a Pass Plus course with your driving instructor, normally within the first 12 months of passing. This is aimed at improving the standard of your driving which can reduce the chances of you being involved in accidents.

A number of insurance companies recognise the reduced risk of drivers who have completed this course and offer discounts. These vary from company to company so its worth checking if completing the pass plus course will reduce your premiums.

Type of Cover and Excess.

Generally the lower the level of cover or the higher the excess the lower the cost to you. However make sure this is not a false economy. You don't want to buy an expensive car and then have no cover for any damage caused to your vehicle. Insurance can be a balence between cost and cover, take your time and don't just look at the price.

Reduced Mileage.

Some insurance companies will offer lower premiums if you agree to keep your annual mileage within an agreed limit. But do be realistic as to what your mileage will be.

Don't Assume.

Don't assume find out. What we mean is it is tempting to assume Comprehensive cover will be more than Third Party Fire and Theft. Whilst it normally is more some insurance companies may consider that someone wishing to take out a higher level of cover will be more careful and reduce the premiums. Try adding an experienced driver to the policy as this may mean that the car is not soley being driven by the young or higher risk driver.

It really is worth getting quotes trying various combinations, but remember this is a legal contract, always tell the truth. Most insurance companies employ people and strategies to check the details given are correct!

Getting Quotes.

You could of course simply look at one insurer or price comparison site! However if you really want to save money and get the very best deal for you, you will need to shop around. We have therefore included links to selected insurance companies and price comparison sites for you to visit.

Your Choice. With Our Help.

So here is how you can find the right deal for you. Firstly be organised, otherwise you will forget which company offered what. We have drawn up a simple document that you can use by printing out and filling in as you get your quotes click here.

Next visit each of our selected insurers by simply clicking on their adverts/banners (above) remembering to enter the same details such as vehicle, cover etc.

Now with all your quotes written down you can properly compare the quotes in full not just the price but also the cover and policy excess.

Good Luck.

Your Guide to Car Insurance in Ireland.

Choosing between different motor insurance policies can sometimes seem a very complicated undertaking. The motor insurance market is incredibly competitive and insurers offer various incentives in order to entice custom. The variation between different policies can seem a little confusing. You probably find yourself mulling over several different options; ‘Do I really need to protect myself against uninsured drivers? Is my driving that bad that I should consider personal injury cover? Do I really need breakdown cover?’ and so on.

Fortunately, Ireland has one of the safest driving records in the world. In fact, according to findings published by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC, who are part of the EU) Ireland has the sixth best driving record in Europe. For this reason, some of the options available as part of a motor insurance package are relatively unwarranted (for example, the statistical likelihood of being involved in a fatal motor accident is 1:22000, therefore rendering policies that cover funeral expensive largely irrelevant). Ireland is a safe country in which to drive, therefore a cheaper motor insurance quote should be suitable.

Aside from the potholes, the roads are relatively easy to drive, the traffic quiet, and the pace gentle. However, for some people, the cheaper motor insurance premiums do not seem quite the bargain they appear to be, after all, although unlikely, it is still possible to have a motor accident, or to have the motor stolen by a thief. Adequate offer is therefore necessary to ensure you are protected from any unforeseen losses; but even with a decent level of coverage, there are still ways of getting a highly competitive quote.

 Let us look at how you can reduce the cost of your motor insurance premiums.

• Build up a good driving record so that you can benefit from a No Claims Discount.

• Install various safety features, such as airbags or a Thatcham alarm.

 • Increase the amount of voluntary excess.

• Keep the car in a garage overnight, if possible.

Important Notice.

This guide is intended for general information only and is not intended as, and does not constitute, any form of advice, recommendation or endorsement by us of any particular product(s) or services and you should rely on your own further research and professional advice in relation to your specific requirements and circumstances before purchasing any products or services.