Comparing Motor Insurance Policies

Although it is a legal requirement in the UK that you maintain at least a minimum level of motor insurance if you want to drive on the roads, there is no such legal requirement that you have to chose a certain insurance provider. With so many insurance companies offering vast ranges in premiums and the services you’ll be entitled to claim, you really need to think careful about what motor insurance policy you should take out – and to do this you’ll need to compare all of the different motor insurance policies on offer very carefully.

What you need

The first thing you need to do is to get a piece of paper and write down exactly what it is you think you are going to need from your motor insurance policy provider. So, for example, by law you’ll need third party insurance, but do you need:

• fire and theft?
• fully comprehensive?
• breakdown recovery insurance?
• a courtesy car while your car is being fixed?
• unlimited mileage?
• named drivers?

All of these will have an influence on both the premium you can expect to pay and also on the type of insurance you should be applying for. It is only after you know what you need that you can move on to the next phase.

Compare like-with-like

So you know the basic parameters of what you need. The next thing you need to do is go online and check the internet so you can compare like-with-like. For example, two different insurance companies offer to insure you. Both meet your minimum requirements. One has a 24-hour hotline, the other doesn’t. Which one do you go for?

How are you going to pay for your motor insurance premiums

As with comparing like-with-like, an important factor in deciding which motor insurance company to use will be how you can pay for the premium. For example, does the insurance company expect you to pay the full premium upfront if you want to benefit from the 20% discount, or can you pay in monthly installments? The terms of payment differ enormously among insurance providers and so do the discount terms – so read this section carefully.

Is the motor insurance company reputable?

The final consideration you need to make is whether or not the motor insurance company is reputable. There is no point having cheap motor insurance if the company that has insured you goes out of business on the basis of one or two claims and before your policy has expired. If that happens you’ll be out there again looking for cheap car insurance, only this time your motor insurance policy might be even higher as you won’t have a no claims bonus to benefit from. So, if 2 motor insurance companies offer you similar quotes for insuring your motor, you should always go with the one that is more reputable and whose name is better known.