Summary
Car insurance premiums are on the increase. What can you do about it? This article investigates.
Are you suffering from car insurance inflation?
- Car Insurance. Involved in an accident with an uninsured driver?
- What to do if you have an accident with an uninsured driver.
- Car Insurance. Premiums driven down by the Internet.
- The Internet is having a big effect on the price of car insurance. But it still pays to shop around.
- Car Insurance. Always Put It In Writing
- When it comes to car insurance, one of life’s important rules is to put things down in black and white. It’s all too easy for mistakes to happen – as one 19 year old knows only too well.
- Car Insurance. Bad eyesight threatens your insurance cover.
- You're in trouble with the Law and your insurer if your eyesight isn't up to standard. This article explains.
- Car Insurance Advice for Young Drivers in the UK
- On average it costs £1,300 to ensure a 17 year old driver. This article comments
Whilst Norwich Union announced that premiums would rise by 14% on average, figures from the AA's insurance index reveal that the average premium increase last year was actually 6.9% for a comprehensive policy with online shoppers paying one third less than the average.
These figures prove that the internet really is a low price zone and if you want a superb deal that's the place to shop. It's all to do with the increased levels of competition on the net and the availability of more powerful shopping tools. There is no doubt whatsoever an hour or two of savvy surfing coupled with an understanding of how insurers win and keep their clients can still save everyone insuring their car lots money.
For example, your car insurer probably expects most policyholders to automatically renew their policy through sheer inertia, especially if they do not raise their premium too steeply. A steady stream of small premium increases at renewal time often goes unnoticed and leaves clients unaware of better deals.
Many policyholders assume that the special deal they got when they first insured means that their insurer will continue to give them the same value for money. Wrong! It's common practice for insurers to offer attractive starter discounts to catch the customer and then increase their premiums at renewal time, keeping the top deals for attracting new customers. With competition as keen as ever, insurance companies are constantly increasing their market share with some questionable methods. Frequently they cut their profit margins to the bone in year one and rely on a high level of renewals at higher margins. One of the common ploys is to delay the issue of the renewal notice until a week or so before the renewal date. This leaves clients with little time to do shop around to find better deals.
To offset this, it's important that you make a note in your dairy an month in advance of your renewal date, to review your car insurance. Then you can shop around without being in a rush and compare as much of the market as possible. Whilst this might sounds like hard work, you'll be amazed what you can achieve in an hour or two online.
As a minimum, you get a quote from your existing insurer's website. Check out if they'll make a lower offer or even a further discount to remain with them. In this cut throat insurance market, anything's possible.
Readers please note : You should undertake your own background checks before taking any action on any aspect mentioned in this article. Where the author has mentioned specific product details or given examples of how companies have reacted to specific situations, these should be correct as far as the author is aware when this article was written. In some cases additional background information not mentioned in the article has been used in obtaining the examples. Some examples or quotes may have been taken from information available in the public domain where all the background details may not be available. Insurers do change policy conditions and underwriting approach. They will view each situation on its own merits.
You should be aware that details of the topics written about within the articles can change. Therefore, always check out the current position before taking any action. You should also check that any action you are considering, or any proposed purchase, is suitable for your personal circumstances.
This article represents the author's personal views and is not necessarily endorsed by this web site. These articles should not be construed as this web site recommending any product or service.