buying car insurance online

8/13/2019 Buying Car Insurance Online

1/11

Buying Car InsuranceOnline

An Essential Guide

[email protected]

Authored by:Authored by:

Version 1.2 Jun 21!

" Jamie Stephenson
http://www.dancasinsurance.co.uk/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.dancasinsurance.co.uk/


2/11

Hello!

If you are reading this guide, then you are probably considering purchasing car insurance online. I

hope that this guide will enable you to do that with a little bit more knowledge, and as a result more

confidence, than before.

At the time of writing this, I am an independent insurance broker, based in the nited ingdom. Iha"e worked in "arious capacities in the #inancial Ser"ices industry for o"er $% years, and ha"e

specialised in motor, household and commercial insurance for the past & years.

I ha"e watched with interest as, o"er the last few years, a rapidly growing trend has de"eloped in

the , and I'm sure worldwide as well, for people to buy their car insurance "ia the internet rather

than ha"ing a thorough discussion with an insurance company representati"e or a broker. (easons

for this are the con"enience of being able to obtain )uotes at your own pace and when it suits you*

and a belief, perhaps not entirely +ustified, that online shopping is cheaper. ltimately, whate"er

your moti"es for buying car insurance online, you are missing out on the "aluable, and often

irreplaceable, ad"ice of a professional.

ot e"eryone completely understands what they are buying when they take out car insurance. -here

are a number of issues which, if not dealt with properly, can cause claims to be re+ected if the

correct information was not pro"ided, either when the policy was first purchased, or later, when

circumstances change. -his means that large amounts of money are being spent on policies which,

ultimately, will not ser"e their purpose, as the information on which they were based is inaccurate.

#or this reason, I ha"e decided to write this short guide to buying car insurance, in the hope that, at

the "ery least, customers will ha"e the benefit of this information if they choose not to ha"e a full

discussion around their insurance needs with a )ualified person.

efore proceeding, I must state the following $ points clearly/

01 the information contained in this guide is not intended as a replacement for ha"ing a proper

discussion with a broker. I would always recommend that, +ust as you should see a medical

specialist when discussing your health, you should always consult an insurance specialist

before making a purchase* and

$1 as I mentioned in the introduction, I li"e and work in the nited ingdom. I am therefore

familiar with insurance practices within this country. -here are certain principles applicable

to insurance which are standard no matter where you are, but there may be slight differences

in the way insurers in other countries handle certain matters, and of course legal systems

will differ greatly. If you are not a resident, this guide will, I'm sure, still be highly

rele"ant for you, but please keep the abo"e in mind as certain of my comments may not betotally appropriate in your country of residence.

-he manner in which I would like to approach this guide is to highlight certain of the key pieces of

information for which you are likely to be asked when you go online and re)uest a )uotation. I will

also try and e2plain why this information is necessary and for what purposes the insurance company

asks these )uestions.

In all cases it is "ital that you/

a1 ensure you pro"ide this information correctly when asked by your insurer*

b1 check this information is correct when you recei"e your insurance documents, both after yourinitial purchase and each time you recei"e renewal or replacement documents* and

c1 inform your insurer as soon as possible should any of this information change.


3/11

#ate o$ birth

It may sound silly but this is a "ery important item of information, as insurance rates "ary

depending upon the ages of the dri"ers of the "ehicles. 3ounger dri"ers pay more as statistically

they are more likely to ha"e an accident. (ates decrease for dri"ers as they get older, up to a certain

point when insurers might start to raise them again. 4hen you recei"e your insurance documents,

look carefully at this and inform the insurer immediately if they 5or you1 ha"e made a mistake. 6nedigit being typed incorrectly 5i.e. 07%8 instead of 07&81 could cause a big difference in the premium

charged as well as the insurance company's willingness to offer co"er, so if they find out following

an accident that you are actually 0% years younger than they thought you were, don't be surprised if

an argument ensues o"er payment of your claim.

Address

6b"iously you need to ensure your address is pro"ided correctly or you may not get your

paperwork. Howe"er, there is an e"en more important reason. Ha"ing obtained your physical

address, your insurer will likely ask you to confirm that this is the address at which the car is

usually kept at night. As most of us keep our cars at our home addresses, the answer to the )uestionis 9yes: in the "ast ma+ority of cases. Howe"er, if for any reason you keep your car at a different

address you must make the insurer aware of this 5the address where the car is kept o"ernight is

usually referred to as the 9risk address:1. An e2ample of when this might occur is if you keep the

car parked in a family member's dri"eway because your home does not ha"e a suitable space. 6r

you are attending college;uni"ersity and the car is parked outside your halls of residence for the

ma+ority of the year, whilst your mail goes to your parent's house.

Insurers use crime statistics to tell them which areas of the country are high& nights of the year. ?ost of us will occasionally spend a night in a

different location at some point 5"isiting friends or family, holidays, etc.1 and the car will be our

means of getting there. -his is normal usage and is acceptable. ut this should be the e2ception, not

the rule. If you feel that the car is fre)uently parked at an address other than the risk address, it is

best to tell the insurer.

-he insurer may also ask you how the car is housed at night, for e2ample, 9in the dri"eway:,9garaged:, 9on the street: and so on. Again, you should be truthful here. If your postcode doesn't

fall into a 9high


4/11

#escri'tion o$ (ehicle

?ost insurance websites will ask you to type in your car's registration number, and the site will

automatically search for the make and model. Sometimes this facility may not be a"ailable, and you

may be asked to select the make, model, engine capacity etc. from a list of options. ither way, it

remains your responsibility to ensure that the details reflected are correct. #or the purpose of setting

premiums, insurers group similar cars together and rate them accordingly. If you put in the wrongdetails, the insurer may not charge the correct rate. #or e2ample/ two cars of the same make and

model, but with different engine sies, will probably not be listed in the same group, and will

therefore attract different rates. If you mistakenly insure your car as a 0.B litre "ersion, when in fact

it is a 0.C, then you ha"e paid too low a premium 5and "ice "ersa1.

Value

3ou may be asked for the appro2imate book "alue of your "ehicle. Again, try and pro"ide as

accurate an estimate as you can. #or "ehicles under D0%%% there will be an assumption that the car is

older and, as it might be difficult to obtain spare parts, costlier to repair.

)urchase date

ewly


5/11

are taking a larger share of the risk upon yourself1. Howe"er, in reality, a "oluntary e2cess does not

always reduce the premium by as much as you might think. 6nline )uotes usually gi"e you the

ability to change the "oluntary e2cess and re


6/11

Occu'ation

4hat you do for a li"ing is important to an insurer, as it gi"es them an idea of what types of risk the

car faces on a daily basis. -his may be a direct risk, for e2ample if you use your car for business

5and ha"e selected usiness se as your Elass of se L see abo"e1. Someone carrying "aluable

samples of goods 5i.e. computer e)uipment or +ewellery1 will present a much higher risk of theft

than an accountant "isiting clients. -herefore, it is important that you tell your insurer e2actly whatkind of work you do. A common mistake is to omit to inform insurers about $ndoccupations. An

accountant suddenly takes on a lot more risk if he starts a part


7/11

allow them to become rele"ant. -hey are mostly common sense issues such as the fact that your

co"er may not be "alid if you dri"e whilst dis)ualified, or if you use your car for racing or speed

buying car insurance online

Documents