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Beat the rising cost of car insurance with our helpful tips

January 31, 2012 By Paul Roberts Leave a Comment
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With recent statistics from the AA estimating that car insurance premiums have risen by 15% in the last year, pushing the average cost of a comprehensive car insurance policy up by £128.71 a year to £971.40 for an annual policy, here are our top tips to help you get the very best quote for car insurance to help beat the rising cost of cover.

At the top of the list for tips for cheaper car insurance is, shopping around. Comparing quotes from a range of providers, as opposed to just letting your current policy renew automatically, is the first piece of advice an insurance expert will give you. Head to an insurance price comparison website to compare a range of quotes in one go.

If you know your premium is coming up for renewal, try to save up so you can pay it off in one lump sum as paying off your premium month by month through a direct debit can add approximately 11% to the overall cost of your cover compared to paying outright at the start.

Increasing your voluntary excess is another way to help lower your insurance quote, however don’t be tempted to set your excess at too high a rate as if you are involved in an accident, this is the amount you will have to pay before your insurance covers the cost.

If you’re a young driver, consider adding an older driver to your policy as a named driver if they also use your car, or look into taking out a telematics insurance policy. These policies work by placing a box in the car which records data that is then used to calculate the cost of the driver’s policy. If you’re a careful driver and you don’t use your car at peak hours and rack up high mileage, you could benefit from lower premiums with these types of policies.

Follow our top tips to find the very best rates on annual car insurance.

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Car insurance premium doubles after policyholder moves 175 yards

January 12, 2012 By Paul Roberts Leave a Comment
postcode-lottery

One driver from Shropshire was astonished to find that her car insurance premium more than doubled after her address changed, despite the fact she’d only moved 175 yards away from her previous home, and was still living on the same street.

Hayley Fulton’s car insurance premium stood at £720 for the year prior to moving to a larger property in the same village of Highley in Shropshire with her family. However when the mother-of-two contacted her insurance company to change her home address, with a postcode that was one digit different to her former postcode, her new insurance premium was calculated at £1,600.

Recent Home Office statics revealed that there was a low level of crime throughout the Shropshire village, and no difference at all between the crime rates for both postcodes. However the insurance provider justified the increased premium by stating that the new postcode flagged up on their system as higher risk than the previous postcode Ms Fulton resided at.

Another reason for the increase in price of cover according to the 25-year-old’s insurer, was that the car was kept on the driveway of the family home at the previous address, but at the new home the car would be kept in a gated car park a few yards from the house.

Insurance companies use sophisticated systems to calculate insurance premiums that provide very detailed and specific information on a postcode including levels of fraud, crime and other factors that can affect the cost of a premium. In the case of Ms Fulton, the insurance provider found that the change of postcode and overnight location of the vehicle increased the risk factor of the policy, which resulted in a higher premium cost.

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Losing your job could cause your car insurance to increase

December 19, 2011 By Dawn Bickford Leave a Comment
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When you’ve been made redundant, the first thing you will probably consider doing is tightening your belt, but unfortunately for some drivers, losing their job has had a negative effect on their car insurance as they’re hit with a rise in their premium.

In a case highlighted in The Mirror this week, 51-year-old Tony Costello revealed how his car insurance rocketed from £630 a year to £861 after he contacted his insurance company to inform them that he’d been made redundant.

After checking the small print on his insurance policy, Mr Costello found that his car insurer, Tesco, had stipulated that loss of employment can affect the cost of the premium.

The Association of British Insurers also reiterated this point, saying that many insurers increase the cost of cover after the policyholder loses their job as statistics there is an additional risk factor once a person becomes unemployed. There’s also an argument that the driver is likely to be on the road more as he or she is out looking for work and attending interviews.

The car insurance company in Tony’s case said that the additional £231 which had been added to the cost of his premium after he became unemployed would be refunded should he find work, although an admin cost of £15 would apply to each change made.

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Car insurance premiums to be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading

December 15, 2011 By Katrina Campbell Leave a Comment
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The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has revealed plans to investigate car insurance premiums after drivers in the UK were hit with yet another price hike in the average cost of an annual car insurance policy this year.

Following two successive of rises in car insurance premiums, in which an increase of 12% was calculated between 2009 and 2010 and a jump of 9% reported over just 9 months of this year believed to be linked to replacement car costs, the OFT have announced they plan to look into the rising cost of cover.

In recent years the OFT identified personal injury claims as one of the main causes for huge hikes in the cost of insurance, however more recently the regulatory body has highlighted credit hire replacement cars and third party vehicle repairs as two areas which it believes may be having an impact on the rising cost of car insurance premiums.

The credit hire companies offer a replacement car to the drive that was not at fault in the accident to use while their car is being repaired. This is being offered to the driver, regardless of whether they had a replacement car feature on their policy or not as the cost of the hire car is then passed onto the insurance company of the driver at blame, driving up the cost of a claim further. The impact of these more costly claims is then being felt by motorists in the form of more expensive premiums.

The OFT is continuing to probe this issue and will have concluded its enquiry by early next year.

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Co-op Insurance runs down the best Christmas driving songs

December 14, 2011 By Paul Roberts Leave a Comment
singing-in-your-car

Co-op car insurance has conducted a poll recently to discover what the favourite Christmas driving songs are in the UK. The results have been collected and verified and the top 10 of the nation’s best loved Christmas songs to sing along to while driving during the festive period are as follows –

In first place, it’s that Irish classic from the Pogues, Fairytale of New York, which often tops polls for favourite Christmas songs, the main reason often being because it isn’t as blatantly Christmassy as some of the other festive anthems that get played on a loop at this time of the year.

The runner up prize for second place was clinched by I Wish it Could Be Christmas Every Day, followed by Merry Christmas Everybody by Slade, while the most aptly named festive driving tune, Driving Home for Christmas found itself in fourth place on the list, followed by Do They Know It’s Christmas, Wham’s Last Christmas, with Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas was in seventh place, followed by Happy Xmas (War is Over), Wonderful Christmas Time and Baby It’s Cold Outside was voted the 10th most popular according to the poll from the insurance provider.

The classic Christmas songs seemed to triumph in the list, with more recent festive releases not finding their way into the top 10 at all. However the insurance company warned that although many of us will singing along to our favourite Christmas songs while driving over the festive period, this time of year often throws up challenging driving conditions so it’s vital your concentration is on the road, and not your singing, first and foremost.

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New car insurance provider for young drivers is launched in the UK

December 9, 2011 By Katrina Campbell Leave a Comment
Ingenie-car-insurance

A brand new car insurance provider with policies aimed specifically at young or first time drivers has been launched in the UK this week.

INGENIE is masterminded by three individuals namely the ex footballer and sports pundit Gary Lineker, former MD of RSA Insurance Group, Steve Broughton and the Chairman of British Airways, Sir Martin Broughton.

The innovative new car insurance company was set up with the intention of providing affordable insurance options for young drivers who the company directors feel are often priced off the road. With some youngsters being issued with quotes for over £2,500 for annual cover, it’s not surprising that many are being left unable to afford to get on the road at all, and so that’s where INGENIE hope to help.

While the vast majority of other car insurance providers employ a technique known as collective risk assumption to calculate insurance premiums which often leads to all young drivers getting tarred with the same brush and being branded high risk and hit with an unaffordable insurance premium, INGENIE are proposing to utilise the very latest telematics technology in order to create a true picture of each drivers’ ability on the road.

Through the data collected from the technology, INGENIE will tailor a car insurance policy to that individual driver and so the safe and sensible drivers will be rewarded with lower premiums, while those who are found to less careful behind the wheel will be quoted a higher priced premium to reflect their riskier behaviour on the road.

INGENIE plan to market their product to the young drivers through social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

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Footballer wins case against car insurance company

December 2, 2011 By Katrina Campbell Leave a Comment
Aston Martin DB9 3

England and Aston Villa footballer, Darren Brent, has had his case upheld by three appeal judges who found that he was within his rights to hire an Aston Martin sports car for three months after his own Mercedes sports car was damaged in an accident which was not his fault.

The insurance provider had refused to foot the car hire bill of £63,000 which the footballer had run up saying that although he was entitled to hire a “broadly equivalent” car while his own vehicle was being repaired, however the Aston Martin DB5 which he hired at a daily rate of £573.28 plus VAT had an estimated value of £105,000, while Brent’s own Mercedes was said to be worth in the region of £72,000.

The car insurance provider for the driver of the van who had damaged Brent’s Mercedes following an accident in South London had argued that the footballer should have hired a cheaper hire car while his own sports car was being repaired.

However the appeal judges ruled in favour of Brent, saying he was entitled to be reimbursed for almost the entire cost of hiring the luxury car, finding that a reasonable daily hire rate would have been £504, meaning he will receive over £50,000 from the insurer to cover the £63,000 he paid in car hire fees.

The case has been ongoing for four years which has resulted in two county court hearings and two trips to the court of appeal.

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Car insurer offers monthly payments at no extra cost

November 2, 2011 By Katrina Campbell Leave a Comment
direct-line

Car insurer Direct Line is offering customers the chance to pay for their annual premium in monthly instalments at no extra cost for a limited time only.

Motorists who request a quote for car insurance from Direct Line before November 20th 2011 will then have 90 days in which to accept the policy offered and take up Direct Line’s offer of paying their premium month by month, without incurring any extra charges for doing so.

Typically, car insurance companies charge drivers between 7-10% more on their annual cover for the privilege of not paying the balance in full when they take out the policy and spreading the cost over the course of the year. This exclusive deal is only available for a limited time so to make the most of this value for money offer, you’ll need to get in touch with Direct Line before November 20th.

With many motorists feeling the pinch due to the rising cost of fuel and motor insurance, and with Christmas only a matter of weeks away, the offer from Direct Line to spread the cost of insurance without incurring any extra surcharge is likely to prove extremely popular with customers.

The special offer is available in addition to Direct Line’s long term deal of 12 months worth of car insurance for the cost of 10 months.

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Car insurance provider estimates 2.7 million UK motorists are driving with bad eyesight

November 1, 2011 By Dawn Bickford Leave a Comment
eyesight

Car insurance provider, Esure, estimate that 2.7 million drivers on UK roads are putting themselves and other road users in danger by driving with bad eyesight.

According to insurer Esure who carried out the study, 2.7 million drivers admitted they’d probably fail their driving test if they were to take it again because of their poor eyesight, with 50% of those questioned by the insurer revealing their eyesight had deteriorated since the time they’d first taken their driving test.

The insurance provider discovered that the number of drivers banned from the roads as a result of poor eyesight in 2009 stood at just over 4,000 which is a significant jump of over 50% compared to just three years previously when 1,597 drivers were banned in 2006 as a result of poor eyesight.

42% of respondents who took part in the Esure study revealed they squint in order to read road signs, while 28% even ask their passenger to read the signs out for them. Despite the shocking admissions, 43% of those polled said they felt confident they’d be able to pass the distance reading aspect of the driving test if they were re-tested.

Another 24% of drivers who took part in the Esure poll admitted to getting behind the wheel without wearing their prescription glasses.

Insurance experts believe the results of the study are extremely worrying as driving with poor eyesight can lead to an increase in accidents, and a rise in the cost of insurance premiums for those involved in any claims.

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Install a camera in your car to reduce insurance premiums by up to 35%

October 28, 2011 By Paul Roberts Leave a Comment
my-camera-witness

A new in-car camera which records and retains the data of every journey undertaken in the vehicle can reduce annual car insurance premiums by as much as 35% it has been claimed.

Mycamerawitness have launched this innovative new product which they claim will help significantly lower car insurance premiums. The high definition camera can be fitted inside almost any vehicle unobtrusively and will collect data regarding each journey which can be especially beneficial for young drivers who can show their insurance provider evidence that they are safe and careful driver, thus leading to a lower rate of cover.

As well as helping motorists demonstrate their ability on the road to their insurer, the cameras can also help in the event of accident as the evidence collected from the recording can be used for insurance companies to quickly establish responsibility for the accident, which makes for a swifter claims procedure.

As part of a special launch offer to raise awareness of their new product, Mycamerawitness are giving away motorist protection packs worth up to £320 which include the high definition camera, a hazard warning light, high visibility jacket and hazard triangle.

With car insurance continuing to rise year on year, Mycamerawitness hope that their new in-car camera product will aid motorists in their bid beat the spiralling cost of car insurance premiums.

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