Choosing Car Insurance

The road traffic act requires all motorists to be insured against their liability for injuries to others and for any damage to property that may be a result of their car being used on public roads. So, the fact of the matter is car insurance is compulsory, and it is an offence to drive yourself or allow anybody else to drive your car without it.

There is, however, a range of car insurances to choose from that are designed to give cover for every conceivable possibility, right from classic car insurance to the third party type policies that are favoured for their affordability. So, when searching for car insurance to cover you and your vehicle there are several key factors which are common to all, and no matter which insurance policy you intend buying knowing the answers to these could assist you in your final decision.

Some Car Insurance details to be acquainted with before you buy are:

No Claims Discount

Find out to what level you are eligible on your insurance premium. The more claim free years you have the more the discount usually is. It does vary between motor insurance companies though, and can range from 30% - 60%. A no claims discount of 30% is the norm for one claim free year, while 60% is usually for accumulating five or more years. Some insurance companies will now actually present you with offers of 65% no claims discount, which can only result in an even cheaper insurance policy.

Protected No Claims

It's quite feasible that you may want to protect your no claims discount, and a lot of insurance companies will allow you to do this for a small extra premium. Be aware, though, that not all car insurance is the same and there might be stipulations on how many claims you are actually covered for in a given time. It's quite usual that only two claims are allowed in any three to five year period, and although your no claims discount remains intact there still might be a penalty incurred by an increase on your insurance premium the following year.

Insurance Policy Excess

Find out what the excess level is on the insurance policy you are thinking of buying, there might also be several different excess levels within the same policy too. So, for example, the excess for theft would be a completely different figure to that of damage. The excess on an insurance policy is the portion of the claim a consumer will pay themselves, the rest of the cost then being met by the insurance company. Most car insurance policies do have upper limits for pay outs, so do check to make sure these upper limits would in fact cover you for what you stand to lose.

Car Insurance Tip

Voluntarily raising your excess will in a lot of cases reduce the cost of your insurance, so it's well worth asking the insurer to give a quote for a higher excess and seeing what affect is has on the insurance cost.

Insurance Repairs

In the event of any damage to your car does the Insurance company stipulate the garage where the repairs must be done, or can you choose yourself where it will be repaired? Also, ask whether you are covered for a courtesy car for the duration of those repairs, this is often the case and enables you to remain mobile while your car is off the road.

Roadside Assistance

Some car insurance already includes roadside assistance as standard, so it's worth checking to see if the insurance you are about to buy already has this. If it doesn't, and you require it, then in most cases insurers will offer this as an addition to your policy and charge you a little bit extra.

Legal Expenses on Insurance

You might find your insurance does cover you to some extent for legal expenses, but if it doesn't, and you would feel less at risk by having it, then you can always purchase this as an extra on your insurance policy. Let's say you had a bump that wasn't your fault, then this would enable you to recover the loss of uninsured items such as your policy excess for example.

This list is by no way exhaustive and there will without a doubt be other questions pertaining to your own unique circumstances, but getting an overall picture of the exclusions and inclusions in car insurance can only give you a further stepping stone in the right direction, and enable you to make a better decision on the policy that best suits you.