15-08-2022
Car insurance - it’s something that every driver has to consider, but it can be an incredibly tedious process and finding a good deal can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
When that dreaded renewal letter hits your doormat, you know you’re not going to be met with a nice surprise, but rather a hike in price from your previous policy.
Whether you are a first-time driver looking to purchase your first insurance policy or you are looking to reduce the amount you pay for your car insurance, we want to provide you with as many resources as possible to make things easier.
Absolutely. Car insurance isn’t like home insurance where you can legally get away without having a policy, it is required by law that you have valid car insurance in order to make the vehicle roadworthy.
If you are caught driving without insurance, you can be liable for a fixed penalty of £300 and 6 points on your license. Not only this, the police also have the power to seize your vehicle if you are found to be driving without a valid insurance policy. A record of this may also show up on a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check which employers often request, meaning it can also hinder your career in the future.
If you are in an accident and have no valid insurance policy to drive the vehicle, then you could also face a prison sentence.
If you are driving or parking your car on a public road, you need to ensure your vehicle is insured. The only circumstances where you don’t need to ensure a vehicle is when it is declared as SORN (Statutory Off Road Notice), meaning you are informing the DVLA that you will no longer be driving your car or parking it on a public road.
You also don’t need to insure a car if it has been scrapped, written off or stolen, however you do need to make the DVLA aware.
There are different types of car insurance, all with their own individual set of terms and conditions, but it’s important you understand the difference, so you purchase the correct policy:
Third Party is the legal minimum insurance you can purchase, so by standards it covers less than other options. In the unfortunate instance that you are involved in an accident, your insurance will pay for any damage occurred to other vehicles, property or any injury caused to another person.
A step up from Third Party is Third Party, Fire and Theft, which covers everything that Third Party covers, with the addition of any damage caused to your vehicle by means of fire or if the vehicle is involved in theft.
This is the most popular cover as it protects not only other vehicles, but also covers damage to your own vehicle.
Comprehensive car insurance policies might be considered as the most expensive, but in the event of an accident, you will be covered for both your vehicle and the third-party vehicle, so it can often work out much cheaper in the long run.
This is pretty straightforward. If you need to be insured across multiple cars that you drive, you can benefit from a multi-car insurance policy, rather than taking out separate policies for each car.
As the name suggests, multi-car insurance covers multiple cars at the same address. This is the ideal option for families who need to insure multiple cars across the year as it keeps everything in one place.
This type of insurance can often be more cost effective than purchasing multiple policies from different providers.
Electric cars are becoming increasingly popular, especially now the government is behind the movement to get cars fully electric by 2030. As electric cars come with a whole host of accessories, including batteries and chargers, you can now purchase a specific electric vehicle policy that covers you for all of these bits and pieces. Some insurance companies will also throw in recovery, which will take you to the nearest UK charge point should you find yourself out of charge.
Changes can occur on a daily basis that mean you need to insure a car for a short period of time, usually for a one-off occurrence such as a trip with friends or you are travelling for work purposes.
Temporary car insurance cover, also known as day insurance or short-term insurance, can often be from as little as 1 hour, right through to a full month.
This type of cover might suit those who don’t have a car, but need to drive someone else’s car for a particular reason. Similar to standard policies, temporary insurance will provide comprehensive cover as well as legal assistance in some circumstances.
If you are learning to drive in your own car, or even your parent’s car, you will need to be insured when you head out on the road in case of any accidents that occur.
Learner drivers can benefit from third party or comprehensive cover to suit your needs. You can also opt for short term insurance if you think you will only need to insure your vehicle temporarily.
With plenty of car insurance comparison websites around, there’s now no reason to search individual providers separately for the very best deal, you can simply enter your details once and you’ll be presented with a wide range of policy options to suit your requirements.
Our recommended car insurance comparison sites:
Go.Compare
When you compare car insurance through Go.Compare, you can usually take advantage of the fantastic offer they have on at the time as well as the low policy price.
Confused.com
Confused.com offers incentives if you purchase car insurance through their website, from supermarket vouchers to free car washes.
Compare the Market
Another popular price comparison site is Compare the Market. One of the benefits of purchasing through Compare the Market is that you get access to Meerkat Meals, their dedicated app that allows you to access discounts at participating restaurants, as well as 2 for 1 tickets at the cinema on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. This perk alone could save you hundreds of pounds a year.
Car insurance groups categorise cars based on their specification, which in turn determines the cost you will pay for your premium. The cost determined by the insurance premium and the insurance group is usually based on the cost to repair the vehicle, so as you can imagine, high performance cars are likely to be groups 45-50.
There are around 50 insurance groups, with group 1 being the cheapest and group 50 being the most expensive. When looking for your next used car, you will want to know what insurance group the car fits into so you know what you can feasibly afford.
To determine the insurance group, the following factors are taken into account:
You can find low-cost cars to insure using our used car search, which are often the smaller vehicles that are designed for city driving. Larger vehicles will often cost more to insure because they cost more to repair in the long run.
You may be insured to drive other cars on your insurance policy, but it will depend on your provider and the wording in your agreement.
You can choose to be added as a named driver on someone else’s insurance policy if you will need access to other cars for any reason.
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