Car insurance gearing up to drive down costs
by Richard Green
|
For once finances seem to be
going in favour of the UK
motorist, with Esure (http://www.esure.com/)
announcing plans to double
its share of the UK's car
insurance market - a move
which is likely to spark a
price war, other
internet-only direct
insurers passing on to
consumers savings based on
their low overheads, and
specialist insurers offering
reduced rates for their
particular target markets. A
trial pay-as-you-go scheme
from Norwich Union (http://www.norwichunion.com
) is also creating a lot of
interest for money conscious
motorists. The pay-as-you-go scheme uses a small box costing an initial £199 which is fitted in the driver’s boot, to record when and for how long a driver actually uses their car. The box stays in contact with a satellite which is sent regular updates of the journey data stored on the box, tracking the vehicle and then delivering the information to the insurer. The driver is then charged based upon how far at what time they used their vehicle. “We got a statement”, said one member of the trial, "which showed what mileage we had done, and on what days of the week, as well as if we had been driving in the evenings or peak hours." For low mileage users, this system could present significant reductions in premiums, for higher mileage drivers searching about for the best deals at renewal time is an absolute must. Unfortunately, last year five million motorists failed to shop around, missing out on an average premium saving of £180. Shopping around becomes especially important for anyone coming to the end of a free insurance offer on a dealership car and should not simply take the quote offered by the manufacturer's insurer, as significant savings can be made by shopping around. Comparisons sites such as Moneynet ( http://moneynet.co.uk )enable consumers to quickly look at hundreds of insurance providers in one go, making it easy to find the best deals that are available, and they often have their own extra discounts which are provided through their own sites. About the Author
Richard works in Edinburgh
for a media company,
occasionally writing for the
personal finance blog
Cashzilla (
http://cashzilla.blogspot.com/
), and drinking too much
coffee. |
