What is car insurance?

Car insurance is a requirement under the Road Traffic Act for any person who is driving or keeping a vehicle on the road. You, as the insured, pay a premium in exchange for the cover of the risk that you are accepted to be by the insurance company, providing your policy.

What level of cover should I take?

This will be different for everybody's individual circumstances and should therefore be discussed with your insurer.

How can I get a quote?

There are three main ways to get a quote.

If I do not have a registration number for a car, am I still able to get a quote?

What does NCB stand for?

NCB stand for No Claims Bonus (this can also be known as NCD or No Claims Discount) - - A no claims bonus (or NCB) is the discount that you have earned on a previous insurance policy for not making a claim. These discounts are determined by the number of years that you have not made a claim for.

What is protected NCB?

A client may pay an additional premium to his insurer so that his NCB is not stepped back in the event of a "fault" claim. This benefit is variable but only applies to the existing insurer, and is usually available only when maximum NCB has been accrued.

Do I lose all no claims bonus after a claim?

Following a single accident in a year, you lose the year NCB you are accruing at the time and usually a further 2 years. This is depended on the company you insure with.

If I have previously been named on someone else's policy, do I qualify for an NCB?

Not normally, we have some schemes which will use your driving experience as a guide but they will not give you NCB for it.

Can you offer me a no claims bonus based on company car experience?

Often we can. You will need a letter from the fleet insurer not your company.

What does excess mean?

An Excess is the amount of money that you would have to pay out in the event of a claim taking place, which would need to be paid to the insurer before they deal with the remaining amount of the claim.

All polices tend to have an excess but if you volunteer to a pay a higher excess you are likely to make savings on your actual policy cost. You should remember that the only reason this reduces your premium is because you will end up paying out more at the point of making a claim and when budgeting for your car insurance, this should always be in mind!

What are the different types of excess?

An Excess is the amount of money that you would have to pay out in the event of a claim taking place, which would need to be paid to the insurer before they deal with the remaining amount of the claim.

All polices tend to have an excess but if you volunteer to a pay a higher excess you are likely to make savings on your actual policy cost. You should remember that the only reason this reduces your premium is because you will end up paying out more at the point of making a claim and when budgeting for your car insurance, this should always be in mind!

The usual compulsory excesses that are applied to a policy are based on the age excess and standard excess. You may also have an excess should you be a less experienced driver.

The excesses can apply to either/or accidents and theft and can work out to be quite complicated.

Do I get a discount for low mileage?

Low mileage is taken into consideration by most Insurance Companies, once again it is all down to statistics, if you do fewer miles then you are likely to have spent less time on the road and are therefore less likely to be involved in an accident, meaning you are a lower risk. Insurance companies will therefore work out you Car Insurance premium to reflect this.

It is important that when you apply for Car Insurance that you do not exaggerate low mileage. If a claim were to be made an insurer may well request service and MOT records, which would prove your level of mileage. If this mileage level does not roughly match the amount that you declared when applying, then the claim may well end up being disputed.

Do you offer a pass plus discount?

This course is available to take up to 2 years after passing your driving test and can help to provide one of the largest discounts that a new driver can attain, but it would be worthwhile checking with your insurer what discount might be available.

The Pass Plus course consists of 6 driving lessons in which you will be placed in different scenarios to extend your driving skills, these situations could involve you driving at night or on the motorway. At the end there is no final test.

A course will typically cost around the region of £100-£150 and needs to be taken with an instructor that is qualified specifically to take the course.

So how much could you save? With some insurers, a discount of up to 40% can be available although you should phone to check to see whether they recognize the qualification. If you have had an accident or have points on your licence a Pass Plus discount may not be available to you.

Do you offer a discount for advanced driving?

Further driving qualifications can be taken following on from the standard driving test. By obtaining one of these further qualifications you are likely to be able to qualify for discounts on your Car Insurance premiums. The Advanced Driving Test from the Institute of Advanced Motorists is an example - taking approximately an hour and a half you will be assessed on your safety, your level of car control, smoothness and speed.

Some insurers offer a discount for Advanced Driving Tests which is usually in the region of 10%. It is normally more mature drivers who opt for advanced driving courses. This can help to slightly decrease your premiums.

Do you insure classic cars?

Whatever you use your Classic Car for, be it day-to-day use or simply for rallies or club events, you will need to find a specialist insurance company who deals with this part of the car market, otherwise it is likely that your quote will be refused or you may well end up paying far over the odds.

More Providers of Classic Car policies have emerged over the past 5 years.

Most classic car policies have additional benefits to normal policies that will help you feel at ease when taking your prized possession out on the road.

Often mileage will be highly restricted as a specialist classic car policy will not be designed for day to day use.

Do you insure vans?

Commercial use of vehicles will mean that as you will be using it for different purposes that the insurance that you require will usually be different to that of a standard driver. It could be that the vehicle ends up being a pre-requisite for the business to function, such as the courier company using vans for their deliveries.

There tend to be multiple levels of cover that can be selected from Insurance Companies due to the varied nature of the business uses of vehicles. These policies can provide cover for the transportation of products and door to door selling.

To make sure that you get the best deal you should give as many details as possible to make sure that you are only paying for the cover that you really need.

What difference does it make to keep my car on the road, driveway or in a garage?

A factor used by insurers when assessing the risk of your Car Insurance premium will be the location that the vehicle is kept overnight. This is the time when a considerable deal of Car Crimes take place. Therefore, keeping your car on a driveway or preferably in a garage should help to reduce the risk of such a crime taking place and consequently reduce your Car Insurance premium.

Do women get cheaper car insurance?

Women Drivers are statistically cheaper to insure than Male Drivers. This means that for insurance purposes they represent a better risk to Insurance Companies and are therefore rewarded with lower insurance premiums.

Insurance premiums are calculated based on statistics. It therefore is logical that because women are cheaper to insure, they are deemed a better risk and therefore generally have lower premiums than their male counterparts.

This is particularly noticeable for younger drivers where young females generally pay far less for their car.

Women will be most likely to get the best deals by gaining quotes from specialist Insurance Companies who deal specifically with this market and give the female drivers the discounts that their lower statistical risk deserves.

Today it is easy for women drivers to take advantage of this fact as there are many Car Insurance companies that specialise in providing UK Car Insurance for women.

If I have made modifications to my car will I be able to be insured by you?

Modifications made to cars tend to be done by younger drivers but this is highly likely to increase their Car Insurance premiums. If you consider modifying your vehicle then it may sway you if you speak to your Car Insurance company and find out, what the increase in insurance costs may be. Often they are prohibitive. The bigger the modifications the harder it will be to find reasonable cover. Changing your wheels to alloys with locking nuts may make no difference at all upgrading the engine however will have serious insurance implications. Make sure that you give us a call if you are unsure on 0800 028 3571.

If the car is imported will you be able to offer me insurance?

Some insurers will quote for imported cars, depending on where it is imported from. If imported from outside Europe then only a few insurers will be able to quote.

Who is the main driver?

This is effectively the person who will use the vehicle the most.

What is legal cover?

Some costs resulting from claims are not covered by a standard motor policy, particularly if you haven't chosen Comprehensive cover. That's where our uninsured loss recovery service can help.

If you've paid the additional premium for this cover you'll have professional help in recovering losses like repairs, car hire and so on from the person responsible for the accident.

We'll advise you when to report an accident if you have a valid claim and seek your permission to pursue your claim against the person responsible.

We'll pursue your claim as vigorously as we can and all possible steps will be taken, by legal process if necessary, to obtain satisfactory settlement on your behalf. You should, however, be aware that unforeseen factors can prejudice the prospects of success which can, therefore, never be confidently predicted. Some expenses will have to be met by the policyholder, pending the final outcome of the claim.