Every year the cost of running a car rises, due to the need for petrol, road tax, MOT and car insurance. Out of the costs brought up many of them cost us all the same regardless of the vehicle we drive. MOT and car insurance are not generally priced and out of these two options car insurance will be the one you are likely to be most effected by.

 

Nowadays, it is so easy to input your details into the computer and come up with a range of different quotes from a variety of insurers - making it an extremely laborious task to sift through them all and select the right one. Comparison sites tend to produce results that are skewed in favour of the price as the main concern so they tend to show you the cheapest policies first, even though they may not be the best for the criteria you submitted. It is, therefore, very important to check the finer details of each policy before taking the plunge.

 

Insurance providers are now starting to provide “budget” cover to remain competitive in the market and gain a better share. These types of bare budget policies are intended to only provide cover for your vehicle and not much more. You will be unlikely to get a car to drive if yours is taken in for repairs. Something else to bear in mind is that you excess premium will be more than other policies if you were to make a claim. The only benefit to this is if you don’t make a claim, but this is unpredictable and the reason for having insurance in the first place. It could cost you a lot if you claim even though you have insurance cover.

 

One strategy is to get insurance cover where you can pick what you want and therefore how much you pay. So, rather than simply opting for a basic cheap policy or a considerably more expensive policy with all the extras, some insurers like ASDA Car Insurance for instance, allow you to add optional extras like legal protection, hire cars and a breakdown service.

 

Taking ASDA Car Insurance as an example then, on top of whatever you're paying for basic cover you could add £1.50/month for legal protection, including up to £50,000 in legal costs should you need it, for an extra £2.50/month will get you a hire car for up to 14 days and if you aren't already paying for such a service from The AA or RAC you can add a breakdown service to your policy starting at £6.30.

 

Specific policies are also available from specialist companies that provide insurance for e.g. women drivers, senior drivers, disabled drivers or young drivers. Whatever car insurance policy you choose, always choose wisely and never put the cost before the quality!