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Why Cheap Car Insurance Isn’t Always Cheap
It’s easy to get lulled into the idea that the cheapest car insurance is your best option. In these tough economic times we all want to save money, and cutting your car insurance costs is one way of doing this. But you need to look at the bigger picture: you really need financial support from your insurer – which is why that cheap car insurance package may not necessarily be the best.
29 May 2014Why Cheap Car Insurance Isn’t Always Cheap
It’s easy to get lulled into the idea that the cheapest car insurance is your best option. In these tough economic times we all want to save money, and cutting your car insurance costs is one way of doing this. But you need to look at the bigger picture: you really need financial support from your insurer – which is why that cheap car insurance package may not necessarily be the best.
Car insurance
Here are some things to consider:
Your excess
A cheap car insurance premium may mean you have to pay a higher excess if you need to claim. So although you may be paying less each month, you may find that you can barely afford to pay the excess when the time comes. You need to take this into account, as there’s no point having insurance if you can’t use it when you really need to.
Third-party
Does that cheap car insurance premium you’ve been quoted include third-party cover? For example, if you were to be in an accident with another car, would your insurer pay for injuries to the other person and damage to the vehicle, or does your cover just include costs related to your own vehicle? This can have a huge influence on the cost of your premiums, so you need to check this.
Extras
Often higher premiums mean you get a whole lot of great extras. These may include 24-hour assistance breakdown cover, car hire and cover for things such as hail damage. Very cheap car insurance premiums often won’t include these extras, so you’ll be paying out of your own pocket for these events – making that low premium not so cheap anymore.
Reputation
There are a lot of new insurers cropping up these days, offering to insure your car for very low monthly amounts. But can you be sure that in times of need it will pay your claim promptly and with the minimum hassle to you? It’s always best to go with an insurer that has a reputation in the marketplace for dealing with its clients fairly and that is backed by a reputable underwriter.
Above all, it’s important to read the small print when you choose which car insurance package to go with. This will help you work out the real value of the insurance package on offer, rather than just looking at price.
