Questions
and Answers about Car Insurance
What
are the different types of car insurance?
There
are three main types of car insurance: basic third party
insurance means that a claim made by someone else against
you will be covered; for example, if your car collides
with another car, or if your car causes damage to someone’s
property or an injury is caused to a third party. Understand
that it does not cover any resultant damage occurring
to your own car. It is important to realise that if
you badly damage your car and no one else is involved
then the repair costs will fall onto you. Your insurance
company will not be interested.
The
next category is third party fire and theft insurance.
This means, as outlined above, claims put forward by
someone else against you will be covered. Plus there
is additional cover for damage caused by fire to your
vehicle, or if your car is unfortunately stolen.
Finally,
comprehensive car insurance covers all of the above
but also protects you from bearing the full cost of
repairs to your own car (less an excess charge) if you
are involved in a road accident. If your vehicle is
a total loss some companies will pay you the value of
the vehicle at the time or replace the vehicle if it
is very new. There are other advantages with comprehensive
cover that many companies offer, such as a replacement
vehicle if yours is off the road; breakdown recovery
and no claims discount protection.
How
can I get a good deal on car insurance?
Get
a number of quotes from different companies and compare
the deals that they offer. There are a number of websites
that provide car insurance comparison services; take
the time to research cheap car insurance on the Internet.
What
are some other ways to pay less for car insurance?
There
are changes that you can make regarding which model
of car you own that will definitely affect the insurance
premium rate. For example, if you own a less expensive
and perhaps more mundane model of car, it will cost
less to insure. Insurance companies put cars into groups
for insurance premium calculation purposes. If you own
an Alfa Romeo sports car this will be in a top group,
but a Fiat 500 will be well down in the groupings with
a much lower premium being payable. In addition, if
you keep your car in a locked garage at night you’ll
pay less, as your car is not so vulnerable a target
for theft or vandalism compared to leaving it parked
on the street. Installing an alarm or tracking device
in your car also lowers the amount you’ll pay
for insurance.
