MAKING CENTS: Don’t delay with car insurance shoparound

IRISH drivers have seen their motor insurance costs rise sharply in the last year or so and there is no indication that this will change in the near future, writes Gráinne McGuinness

Savvy motorists should be prepared to put some work in to get the best possible deal.

First and most importantly, don’t accept the auto-renewal quote from your existing insurer. So many drivers end up paying over the odds because it’s easier to let your current policy roll over. But even a quick call to your insurer is virtually guaranteed to get you an improved offer and a couple of hours research online can result in considerable savings.

Don’t leave it until the last day of your current policy either; you’ll end up accepting a higher premium out of anxiety. Your insurer will write to you roughly three weeks in advance of your renewal date — that’s the time to start looking.

Call your insurer and ask for a breakdown of how they arrived at your renewal quote. If it has gone up, and it probably will have, ask for an explanation. Make sure the details they have for you are correct. Check your car’s resale value, there is no point having it overvalued on the insurance. If you are now doing less mileage or have changed jobs let them know.

Even that one call should save you money, but don’t accept the new offer without comparing it with others. Check your no-claims, and start contacting insurers. Either online or over the phone, you should be able to get three-four quotes in an hour. It’s important to compare like with like.

Go back to your current insurer and describe any quotes you have that are better than their offer and tell them the quotes you have received. They may or may not match or better them, but either way you will know now what their absolute best offer is. If they do give you an improved quote return to the other insurers and see will they match it. Some motorists find that if they apply for a quote online but don’t accept it, the insurers will follow up on the phone a few days later with an improved offer.

Once you have the best quote for the cover you want, accept it. Don’t stay with your current insurer out of loyalty. The loyal customer’s only reward is higher premiums.

Even after searching around for the best deal you may still find your premium has increased, but there are other ways of lowering your insurance costs. Check through your policy and make sure you only pay for the cover you need. Extras like a courtesy car push up your premium; decide if there are elements you could do without. Consider having a higher excess on the policy. It can’t be so high you won’t be able to cover it in the event of a claim, but even an increase of €50 in the voluntary excess could save you more than that in premium costs.

If your car is old, consider if it is worth having comprehensive insurance. Third Party, Fire and Theft is generally much cheaper and may make economic sense for a car with a low value. Particularly for younger drivers in their first car, this is one way to bring down the premium dramatically.

Motor insurance is an significant ongoing cost of driving. A bigger car or sports model will cost more to insure, so bear it in mind when changing your vehicle.

If you can, park in a garage or driveway and tell your insurer. Cars parked off road are safer and this should be reflected in the premium. Similarly, the insurer will reward you for having a decent alarm or immobiliser so consider getting one fitted.

Another way to reduce your premiums is to convince your insurer you are a safe driver — another idea particularly for younger drivers without a track record. There are two ways to do this. You can take an advanced driving course, such as Aviva’s Ignition driving assessment. Or you can allow your insurer to measure your driving, see panel for more details.

DEAL OF THE WEEK

In the context of car insurance, telematics refers to the use of technology to transmit data about a motorist’s driving style back to the insurer. Typically, it means installing a ‘black box’ in the car to collect and transmit data on vehicle use.

In March 2014, AIG launched the ‘AIGXLNTdriver’.

This method allows for information on driving to be recorded using a smartphone telematics app rather than having to install equipment in the car.

The app scores the user’s driving on a scale of 0-100. The overall score allows you to gain an improved discount on your car insurance of up to 30% in total.

The free app, available for Apple and Android smartphones, has an auto start/stop functionality which means that users do not have to stop and start the app each time they wish to make a journey, they just have to have the phone with them.

You can only use the app when you take out an XLNTdriver car insurance policy with AIG.

The insurer is offering a guaranteed 20% discount on your premium, on top of any other discount that we may offer from time to time, for just using the app. They then review your score after 90 days and based upon that score may offer an extra discount.