Having adequate insurance cover for your vehicles is just as important as having regular maintenance carried out. I don’t think anybody would want to find out the hard way why Car Insurance is so important. Accidents do happen, it’s a fact of life and not having Insurance can make the experience a very costly one. Gone are the days of metal bumpers and solid bodied cars that take a decent hit to bend, now we have cars with crumple zones that are designed to take the force of the impact and protect the car’s occupants. The downside to this is that the repairs needed for minor collisions can run into the thousands and if you are not covered by Insurance that money comes out of your pocket.
Insurance companies are making things easier for us motorists these days by offering a pay-by-the-month service for most policies. If you are under 25 or have a shocker of a driving record this can be a great way of keeping your car insured without having to fork out a large lump sum in one go. Check with your chosen Insurer, but sometimes the downside can be that if you have to make a claim the remaining years premium is payable before any repairs are done.
Owning a modified car is an expensive hobby at the best of times and I remember when I was in my youth there was no option but to take the risk and drive without insurance because as soon as you mentioned modifications the Car Insurance companies wouldn’t touch you. Fortunately those days are over and more and more Insurance companies are realising there is a market in car enthusiasts looking to insure their vehicles. Companies like Shannons and Just Car Insurance offer cover for legally modified vehicles with drivers of any age. That’s not to say that the cover is cheap but compared with the alternative it can be tens of thousands of dollars cheaper!
There are a lot of things to consider when shopping for Car Insurance, the type of cover that suits you, the number and age of regular drivers and what value you want the car to be insured for. The Internet is your friend when looking for Car Insurance as you can easily get online quotes and there are a few sites which will help you compare the different companies and the cover they offer. Over the course of this week we will have an in-depth look at all the different aspects of Car Insurance Cover, where to find the best deal and how to chose the cover that is right for you.
Take care and be safe on the roads.
Craig
While we’re on the subject of Car Insurance (see previous post), the Comprehensive Insurance policy we had on my wife’s car was recently due for renewal. We were happy enough with the insurer we were using and thought the premiums were reasonable, but my wife thought that a look around for price comparisons wouldn’t hurt. She jumped on the Internet and got quotes from five of the ‘known brand’ insurers.
I won’t mention which companies we got quotes from, I’m not here to flame anyone, but I can tell you I’m glad she decided to have a look around.
The cover we were looking for was Comprehensive, on a stock-as-a-rock 1997 Toyota Camry. We are both just over 25 (alright, a fair bit over 25!) and have had one claim from an accident that wasn’t our fault, friggin’ drink drivers I detest them! So I guess from an insurers point of view we are a pretty safe bet.
Taking into account our Rating One we got quotes of around six hundred dollars per year from the five ‘big guys’. We had been using one of these companies for the four years we have had the Camry. I thought that was reasonable and have had no reason to think otherwise until now.
Then Belinda found Insurers Hotline. They originally quoted us three hundred and eighty dollars per year and an extra forty dollars per year to protect our Rating One if we have to make an at-fault claim. Surprise, surprise! I thought the Comprehensive cover they offer must not extend as far as the other companies or certain exclusions must be in the fine print.
Once we recieved the Policy information I am happy to say that it looks like identical cover to what everyone else is offering. I was seriously looking for something that they don’t cover or over the top excesses or something like that. As we haven’t had to make a claim yet (and hope not to soon!) I can’t tell you what their customer service is like but from the dealings we’ve had over the phone they seem very good so far.
When Belinda filled out the online question form she stated that we had made a claim previously but didn’t state that it was not her fault. Once we gave them the details of the previous claim they reduced our premium further to account for the Rating One we had. Our yearly premium ended up being three hundred and ten dollars with forty dollars extra to protect our Rating One. Awesome deal I reckon, hopefully they come through with flying colours if we do have to make a claim. Hopefully we never have to test them out! (touches wood!)
If your interested in getting a quote check out http://www.insurershotline.com.au/
Take care and be safe on the roads.
Craig
