Picking your car insurance is an important step in protecting your investment. It is the first step you should take after purchasing your car since accidents can happen anytime exposing you to huge losses. While it is a requirement by law for people to have the minimum insurance to protect third parties, you should look to get car insurance that also covers you, your car and your loved ones.
This requires you understand and consider several factors. These five are key to you having a good car insurance policy:
1. Type of Coverage
As already discussed above, the law requires you to have taken a car insurance cover for third party liability. However, the most popular option for many car owners is a comprehensive policy. This type of cover caters for any claims that may arise from third parties either due to damage to property or fatalities caused by your car. It also provides cover to you catering for medical expenses, damage repair, personal accident cover and other risks like fire and theft.
In most instances, this is a cost-effective choice but it does not cover everything. Depending on your personal choice and circumstances, you can opt for additional cover at an extra cost to offer you more benefits. Such optional coverage includes;
a)Protection against damage as a result of floods.
b)Protection against damage arising from riots and other civil disobedience acts.
c)Provision of personal accident benefits to passengers.
d)Coverage for the windscreen against any form of damage.
These and other optional car insurance HL Assurance policies can help you shield yourself from most probable risks and reduce the risk of suffering loss.
2. Deductibles
They are also known as policy excess and largely depend on how your structure your insurance. Deductibles can influence how much you pay from your pocket or how high your premiums will be. A policy excess is basically the cost of repair you have to foot on your own before the insurance company covers the rest.
The general principle across different insurance companies is that the higher the deductibles the lower the premium amount you have to pay. The attraction of lower premiums usually attracts most people who opt to have lower premiums and higher deductibles. The risk of this is incurring an accident that leaves you with a huge damage. You are not guaranteed to have the money then when it happens and it leaves a huge dent in your pocket every time you have an accident.
3. The drivers handling the vehicle
There are two issues here which determine the cost of your insurance. First, to be able to make a claim when the car is involved in an accident and you are not the driver, you would need to put many the names of other users of the vehicle in the policy. This is the only way the claim can be valid and processed when made. This means you also have to ensure only the people named in the insurance policy get to handle the vehicle.
The other factor you have to consider here besides listing of all the drivers in the policy is the experience of all the drivers. The experience and history of the driver determine the premiums that will be paid. This is because where the drivers have little experience or a history of car accidents, the vehicle is judged to be at a higher risk of a road accident. To cover for such high risks you will have to pay higher premiums. It is therefore important to only list responsible people as fellow drivers of the car.
4. The model and type of your car
The condition of your car, its model and type of car all influence your insurance cost and thus the number of premiums you will have to pay. Generally, cars which get less service and have lower safety features carry a higher risk of having an accident and suffering a greater degree of damage. Such cars will incur a bigger premium.
On the other hand, cars which are new or made by a luxury manufacturer may have a lower risk of accidents. However, they will still attract a higher premium because of the associated cost of repair and replacement. A brand new Porsche will not be insured at the same cost of a brand new Toyota brand.
5. No claims discount
This is a reward in the form of a discount awarded to drivers who have maintained a clean accident record for the past year with no claims ever made. It acts as an incentive to drivers to keep road safety driving down road accidents. The discount is made on your premiums and if you consistently maintain a clean record say for five years, you could end up earning up to 50% in discounts which would greatly reduce your overall cost of insurance.
To better enjoy this discount, you would have to choose the company with an insurance policy with such a provision and one with a significant amount to be earned as a discount. You have to consider these factors when you are planning to take your insurance and more importantly when you are evaluating which cover is most beneficial to you. The point here is to ensure you find a generous cover and also insure yourself and your car from as many likely risks as possible.
You should also realize that you can directly influence the costs of your premiums by working to decrease your potential risk to the various risks you are insuring against. Examples of steps you can take in such instances include equipping your car with safety features, installing tracking and anti-theft tools to reduce the risk of theft and installing other safety features.
These steps not only reduce the risk of damage and financial loss, they also protect your life and are a worthy investment in your car. As much as you can afford you have to shield your loved ones, yourself and your car from prevalent risks you may face. In the long run, it proves a worthy and lifesaving investment.