I don’t know about you, but car insurance is probably my highest monthly outgoing.
And even then, I fought to get the best possible deal available. Any driver knows that car insurance eats into your monthly budget. Anything you can do to bring the cost down is helpful!
I got my insurance bill today, and it got me thinking. How can I help other people reduce the cost of their outgoings? So, I pulled together some of the tricks I used.
Hopefully, you’ll find some useful advice in here somewhere.
Assess what you need
The biggest mistake I see is buying more insurance than you need. First of all, how much is your car worth? If you’re running a small, second-hand car, it’s rarely worth taking a fully comprehensive policy.
Why? Because the cost of repairs are almost always more expensive than the car itself. If you get into a big crash, it’s cheaper just to write off the car, and buy a new one. In that scenario, you don’t need fully-comp insurance, you just need the minimum third-party policy.
Also, bear in mind the extras you might need. For example, I had to purchase trailer insurance on top of the standard car policy. What extras do you have?
Shop around for the best quote
We now live in a world of comparison websites. Use them to your advantage. All insurance brokers like to lure customers in with great introductory deals.
Find the very best one for you and your personal situation. Remember, insurance quotes vary according to your car and lifestyle. Some insurance companies are better suited to you than others.
Some insurers cater for the older drivers, while others are designed for multi-car owners. Don’t assume that the bargain policy your friend got is also going to be the cheapest option for you. Shopping around is one of the best ways to manage your money.
Take a higher excess
The ‘excess’ is the amount you’re willing to pay out before the insurance payment kicks in. For example, let’s say you reversed into another car at the shopping centre.
The cost of damage is £1000. If you set the excess at £500, you’ll pay the first £500, and your insurer will fork out the rest. However, if you set the excess at £1000, you’ll pay the full amount, leaving your insurance untouched.
Naturally, your insurer will give you a lower premium for this. It’s just up to you how much you want to risk on the excess.
Upgrade the security on the car
One of the biggest factors that insurers take into account is the security of your car. How likely is a break-in, and is the car likely to get stolen?
Insurers look at the crime rates in your local area, as well as security features like street lighting and garages. But, they also take into account security technology like immobilisers and GPS trackers.
Fit your car with some additional security technology, and you’ll reduce the insurance cost.
These are the main tricks that worked for me. Hopefully, they’ll work for you too. Good luck!
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