Cheaper car
insurance in the UK - the answer or the problem?
This question is a pertinent one to ask at
a time when more and more people are going down the price comparison
route and are favouring low price over quality of cover.
We'll start by exploring in what ways finding cheaper car insurance in
this way through a one-form-checks-1000s automated system is indeed
'the answer'. We'll then review in what ways it's a problem. We'll
conclude by drawing these arguments together and suggesting a 'best
practice' approach to buying car insurance in this country.
Why using price comparison
sites for cheaper car insurance is
'the answer'
These services are powerful. Gone are the days of going to a car
insurance broker to get the best of, perhaps, 30 insurers when these
systems compare 100s, even 1000s of prices. If you're looking for
cheaper car insurance cover, there's no doubting that these systems can
deliver it.
Because price comparison sites are in fierce competition with each
other (as well as with individual car insurance companies and brokers),
there's no opportunity for commission sizes to influence the policies
presented to the public as they used to do when brokers were the
service of first choice for many. You therefore get the genuine
cheapest prices. Prioritising commissions over value to the customer
quickly renders any service less competitive and there's no space in
the modern insurance market for this practice to go unpunished by
consumers.
Price comparison services are fast and efficient, potentially saving
you tens, even hundreds, of pounds on your car insurance. It's
instinctively appealing to have to fill in just one form to then get
1000s of prices in an instant and then proceed to purchase with
substantial cost savings.
Why using price comparison sites for
cheaper car insurance could be the
problem
Central to this is the issue of quality control. The cheaper you go,
the more that has to be left out of your policy in order to balance the
books for the car insurance company. This is increasingly the age of
'no frills' car insurance as companies are obliged to compete ever more
ferociously on price on price comparison sites.
If you find car insurance that's cheaper than 1000s of other policies,
the first thing to ask is: how have they slashed their costs? In other
words, what's been left out and how high is the excess?
We suspect that there are many that simply buy the cheapest car
insurance around without even considering what they are geting for this
low price. It's not until such people need to claim that they quickly
discover how the insurer was able to sell them their cover so cheaply.
The best approach to getting
car insurance
Of greatest importance is finding that optimal balance between what you
pay and what you want from your cover. And this optimal balance will
vary according to your own personal needs and circumstances. Some may
feel that they must have a courtesy car and breakdown cover, for
example, others will not need these.
What you're getting matters; so you need to check over your cover
carefully in advance of purchase. The more that you want to build in
quality, the more that going direct to a leading car insurance provider
is a better option. Price comparison systems are at their most useful
when you de-prioritize quality.
Indeed, in most cases that optimal balance eluded to above is most
easily achieved by going direct at the outset. You can look through the
best car
insurance providers here. Don't worry about paying too much.
Price-matching in the industry occurs automatically because car
insurance companies watch their competitors' pricing like a hawk.
In fact, we would suggest that price comparison sites, used as a first
choice to find car insurance, are better reserved for where you are
expecting costly cover as with the new or young driver. More..
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