Car Insurance Guide

Car insurance is essential and it is illegal to drive without car insurance on British roads. You can either pay it monthly or pay for it in one go when you first buy the car. This is usually the cheapest option however paying via direct is The legal minimum of car insurance which you can have on your vehicle is third party car insurance.

A number of personal details are taken into consideration when calculating car insurance some of which are listed bellow;

• The type of vehicle
• Where the car is kept over night
• How old the driver is
• How long the owner has been driving
• If they have any driving offences such as speeding fines or points.
• Occupation
• What the vehicle will be used for e.g driving socially or to and from one place of work
• If you want to add named drivers to your policy
• The amount of excess you wish to pay
• Your address
• The car insurance group your car is in

There are a handful of different policies which you can choose from when it comes to car insurance with some offering more cover than others.

Fully Comprehensive car insurance

As you may have guessed from the name a fully comprehensive car insurance policy has the most protection when driving a vehicle. Although having your own fully comprehensive cover may not be the cheapest option you must weigh up how much it would cost to buy a new vehicle should you crash as the insurance company will pay back any damage that is done to your vehicle unlike third party car insurance so it is well worth paying for your own fully comprehensive insurance policy.

In a nutshell you can claim for both accidents which are your fault and also someone else’s fault. If your car is inspected and then written off the insurance company will usually pay out so that you can purchase a new vehicle. If you do not have comprehensive car insurance you will have to pay for any damage which is caused to your car even if it was not your fault.

Choosing to have comprehensive car insurance may minimise the financial loss that having a motoring accident can do. Just one thing to remember is that if you claim on your car insurance your premium may go up in price. When you take car insurance out also you will be asked to decide an excess amount. If you do crash your car you will have to pay the excess charge if you choose to have a higher excess then you may find that your car insurance is slightly cheaper than if you choose to pay low excess.

Third party only car insurance

Third party only car insurance will only cover you against damage caused to other vehicles so that in the event of an accident they can the innocent party’s repair and replacement costs are covered under the insurance. Even though many companies offer third party car insurance it is very unlikely they will offer you this and may push you towards fully comprehensive cover or third party fire & theft.

Third party fire and theft

Third party car insurance is the legal minimum which drivers must have to drive on public roads. Third party means that you are covered if you have an accident but only damage which is caused to the other person’s cars not your own. Third party will also cover damage which is caused to other people’s property and animals.

However if you do find that your car is also damaged you will not be able to claim this back through your car insurance. You will also be covered if your car is stolen or if it is damaged in a fire. Basically if your car was stolen damaged or destroyed in a fire the insurance company should pay for a replacement vehicle.

Car insurance groups

If you are looking to save money on your car insurance and are also looking for a new car it is worth looking at what car insurance group your car falls in as this will affect your car insurance. Car insurance groups are decided by the Association of British Insurers and the Lloyds Market Association. Remember when looking for a new car that the higher the group the higher the insurance premium.

Every month the Group Rating Panel come together to discuss insurance groups for new passenger cars which are released based on research conducted by the Motor Insurance Repair service.

The Group rating panel decide which group cars will be put into. The groups range from 1-50 since 2007. Typically high performance vehicles are in the highest categories as they have more power. The insurance group will then be used by insurance companies so that they can calculate an accurate insurance quote. According to the ABI motor vehicle repairs cost half of money paid out on motor insurance claims.

When a new car is released it must be placed into a car insurance group which is decided by a number of factors.

The cost of new parts and repair costs. High performance vehicles will have much more expensive parts than normal vehicles and will also cost more to repair should the car need to be fixed in the result of an accident. As a rule of thumb the more expensive the vehicle and the larger the engine, the higher up the insurance groups it will be.

The security of a vehicle is also a huge factor as vehicles which do not have immobilisers will be much easier to steel so they will be placed in a higher insurance group as there is much more chance that it will be stolen. Before purchasing a vehicle it is always advisable to check how much the car insurance just so that you are aware of roughly how much it will cost you.

Pay how you drive car insurance

Pay how you drive car insurance is incredibly beneficial to young drivers who are looking to reduce the cost of their car insurance. The blackbox is becoming more and more popular with young drivers who are finding it tiresome looking for cheaper car insurance quotes without agreeing to have the black box fitted.

The way that it works is that a small telematic GPS is fitted into your vehicle and collates data on the way in which you drive. For example it will record how fast you travel, how fast you travel around corners and also the time of driving to calculate your driving behaviour. Not only can it record the way in which you drive but should anything happen to your vehicle you will be easy to find as the GPS has a tracking device so that you can be located. Having the telematic box fitted will hopefully reduce young drivers insurance whilst at the same time providing reassurance for the parents of drivers who have children who are just taking to the roads in a bid for freedom in their vehicles.

There are two sides to the coin with the telematic box. One is that if you drive carefully you will be rewarded by the insurance company and receive a premium reduction. However if you do not drive carefully you may find that you will be paying more for your premium as the insurance company will be able to see how you drive your vehicle.

What to do if you are in a car accident?

If you have an accident and cause damage to your vehicle or yourself you must get the other drivers who were involved to give you their name and their insurance details. Failing this you can take their licence plate number or vehicle registration number. If you injure them in an accident then you should give them your details also.

Being involved in a driving accident is often very traumatic even if you are not injured it can still be a huge shock to the system. If no ambulance or police car is called the accident should be reported within 24 hours of it happening.

Even if you are not going to make a claim then you should still report the accident to your insurance company.