Cheap Car Insurance - Trick Or Treat?

We all love a bargain whether we are in a recession or not. When it comes to cheap car insurance we particularly like to shop around. Up to a quarter of people change their insurer when the renewal date arrives. Changing utility companies is less common although getting more popular as prices rise - but you don't have a renewal date for your electric or gas so most of us avoid the paperwork and the hassle. Renewing your car insurance is easy, but there is a bit of work to do, which is probably what prompts us to shop around while we are at it. Added to this, saving some money on the car insurance may actually mean the difference between continuing to run a car or not as we all begin to feel the 'pinch' in our wallets.

Protect your assets

Finding cheap car insurance is pretty easy these days, the market is so competitive and insurers so keen to keep existing clients that they will offer discounts and bonuses galore. For new drivers finding young driver insurance is usually expensive and you may well be tempted by all kinds of offers, but for more established drivers, who posses valuable assets like their no claims bonuses, switching to an apparently cheaper policy may prove expensive in the future. Most companies will accept your no claims bonus when you purchase a new policy - but before clicking 'Yes' and switching, make sure that this is the case. The larger your no claims bonus is you have the more you will want to protect it! If your policy does not already protect your 'no claims bonus', consider when switching the inclusion of this option. Protecting your no claims bonus usually comes at a slight premium but one that may well be worth it.

Big points, small print

It's easy to think that all insurance companies and policies are the same. Many are, but there are specialist insurers out there. There are numerous factors to consider when you are searching for cheap car insurance. Age, gender, driving experience, penalty points, type and age of car are just some of these factors. For each category it is usually possible to find a specialist firm but always compare these with the mainstream providers and see if the terms and conditions are comparable as well as the costs. Finding cheap car insurance can be a real treat - or allow you to afford one - but make sure that there are no hidden surprises in the small print.