Car Insurance

A lot of specialist car insurance companies proffer schemes that have been intended for the over fifties age group absolutely, and comprise aspects of cover special to this age group. Frequently called senior drivers cover plans or over 50′s car insurance schemes, the covers proffered might take in age related discounted rates and kept no allegations bonuses included in the basic level of cover.

Specialist car insurance providers will save your money by offering to you unique cover choices. They have been exclusively integrated into the policy wording for your definite car.

You can be disbursing much less for your classic cover by switching to a specialist provider of classic car insurance. In particular events, for instance where your presented policy provider is charging you for needless parts of cover, or does not truly desire you as a client as your profile does not go with the optimal risk profile for their book of insurance business, you can save hundreds if you switch to a classic scheme. In addition schemes more often than not present exclusive discounts not discovered at the mega insurance supermarkets.

If you have purchased a new car or an automobile over a particular value then of course fully comprehensive would profit you but if your car is used one then you ought to think removing third party fire and theft. Whichever kind you select to look good with, when seeking imported car insurance a specialist will constantly get you the cheapest quotes.

Whichever car insurance is best for you, motor insurance costs will be different as does what a policy involves, hence it is important that you comprehend car assurance and the terms and conditions that be relevant in all policies. Moreover the advantages of cheap car assurance costs the specialist will provide you the information you want in order that you could ensure you comprehend a policy before you purchase.

If you want to get some excellent resources on car insurance, please visit my site on All about Car Insurance or Car Insurance Specialist.

From a Jaguar to an Austin Healey, from an MG to a Triumph, Britain has some of the most famous names in the history of motoring and it’s no surprise that so many us take pleasure in restoring, preserving and driving classic British cars.

The problem many enthusiasts face, however, is that getting behind the wheel of one of these classic vehicles can be costly due to high car insurance premiums. So how can classic car drivers get the right insurance at the right price?

As your classic car is likely to be among your most prized possessions it’s recommended to shop around for car insurance to ensure you’re getting the best deal. Before you do so, however, you’ll need to understand the classifications used to categorise these older vehicles. They are:

- Veterans: vehicles manufactured up to December 1904.

- Edwardian: vehicles manufactured from January 1905-December 1918.

- Vintage: vehicles manufactured between December 1918 and 1933.

- Classics: typically manufactured pre-1974 although there can be exceptions.

- Cherished: collectible or rare cars that are five- to 10 years old.

Usually, when comparing car insurance quotes you are advised to use a broker or comparison website to compare deals from as many as 90 different insurers. However, not all insurers will offer quotes for classic cars, limiting your options. Indeed even those that provide cover may not provide the policy features you expect. As such it’s worth considering specialist insurers.

When choosing the right insurer it’s important to look at the cover options available as well as any important exclusions. Some of the policy features you may wish to look for include:

- Agreed valuations:

An agreed valuation of your classic car in case it is written-off in an accident or stolen.

- Courtesy cars:

In case your classic car is your main vehicle and you need a replacement while it’s off the road.

- Event coverage:

Is your vehicle covered for special events such as hill climbs, rallies and sprints?

- Laid-up insurance:

Cover for your classic car while it is off the road for a prolonged period such as while it is being restored.

While finding the most comprehensive policy for your vehicle can provide vital peace of mind it can also come at a price. Generally speaking, the more cover you obtain the higher your premiums. Accordingly, it’s worth looking for ways to save money on classic car insurance. Many insurers offer discounts that can be worth capitalising on, including:

- Car club membership discounts:

Many insurers offer discounts to enthusiasts who are part of a car club

- Limited mileage discounts:

If your classic car is not your main vehicle you may be able to agree to a strict mileage limit.

- No-claims discount:

Based on the number of years you remain claims-free.

There are several additional ways to save on classic car insurance. Here are some tips:

- Improve security:

Fit alarms and immobilisers to your vehicle.

- Increase excess:

Agree a higher voluntary excess.

- Park in a garage:

Parking your vehicle in a garage overnight can reduce your premiums.

- Pay annually:

To avoid monthly interest charges.

The great news is that if you shop online for Classic Car Insurance or Classic Car Parts you can find unbeatable deals at rock bottom prices!

(c) Peter Cox – All Rights Reserved

Most auto insurance can and should be handled by mainstream insurers, but there are times when you should consider a specialist insurance company. Classic cars, also known as motor cars, are outside of a regular insurance agent’s expertise. Import cars are another example of vehicles that most domestic agents are ill-equipped to handle. They might, for example, be uninformed about the local availability of replacement parts, or whether the vehicle is a grey or parallel import. Of course, any of these facts can be researched by a less experienced agent, but get a much better premium from professionals who know the true value of your car.

Whether or not you should get import car insurance from a specialist will largely depend on whether your car is a grey or parallel import. Grey imports are cars manufactured expressly for the sale in their respective market, so that when they’re imported, it’s unlikely that they conform to domestic regulations. This is not always a liability. Japanese imports are usually manufactured to higher specifications than cars made in most other countries. Parallel imports are designed in a foreign country, and often manufactured in that country, but also have local distributors for both the vehicles themselves and their parts. To keep your premiums to a minimum, try to avoid making any modifications to the import.

Motor car insurance purchased from a specialist will almost always be a better value in the long run, especially when it’s time to file a claim. Most auto insurance policies are based on the Actual Cash Value of the car, which includes depreciation. This makes sense for new cars, but not for vintage cars that actually increase in value over time.

Since specialists have a more intimate knowledge of a classic car’s value, you’re at an advantage if you base your insurance policy on the Agreed Value instead of the Actual Cash Value. Not only will you avoid being docked for depreciation when you file a claim, but you won’t have to pay a deductible. Another option is to insure for the Declared Value, meaning that you’re compensated for the amount that you state the car is worth at the time the policy first goes into effect. While this is more logical than insuring for the Actual Value, you still have to contend with depreciation and deductibles on Declared Value policies, so you’re still better off opting for a plan that’s based on Declared Value

The key to Cheap Motor Car Insurance is getting a specialist to insure the car on an Agreed Value basis. To find out more about specialist insurers, click Import Car Insurance.

Owners of modified cars by their very nature appreciate personalisation and providers of modified car insurance realise this. It is surprising how few of these owners have omitted to plan for the additional insurance cost when first contemplating making modifications to the car, showing what is quite often meticulous interest in the detail that the majority of us would overlook when thinking about how to cover our car.

Car Insurers have therefore had to be equally ingenious in their underwriting methods to be flexible enough in modifying their rating structures to accommodate the varying needs of modified car insurance.

It is one area of the specialist car insurance sector which is constantly evolving. Whilst classic car insurance gets larger in its risk pool as each year more cars join the classification, modifications could today mean a thousand more different things than it did even ten years ago with the advance of technology and the use of components that didn’t exist before.

Modified vehicle insurance has had to be able to adapt to the ever increasing demands of twenty first century living.

Out of this need for flexibility while retaining competitive prices have arisen many modified specialist car insurers who actively seek out the hot hatch or boy-racer type risk that the main stream car insurance supermarkets would turn away as soon as they had discovered either the prospects car model, age or modification requirements.

Modified car owners are also by nature not as risk averse as the standard saloon driver with 2.4 children. Car Insurance has had to adapt to allow policy level underwriting for modified owners as individuals, to set their preferred levels of cover, rather than standard rating which takes an en mass approach. Insurance companies have had to realise that if they want the specialist car insurance market business, that they must take into consideration that as modified vehicle owners take pride in their vehicle and maintain their cars to the highest standards, they would expect nothing less from an insurance policy.

There are now many online modified car insurance specialists who offer instant cover online for straight forward modifications such as alloy wheels and in-car hi-fi or security devices. Some of the better ones can even cover you for certain engine and power modifications online. All of them should have a helpline where if you get stuck and cannot continue with an online quote, you should be able to talk to an expert who will help you with your specific modifications and insurance enquiry. Remember to keep the quote reference number if telephoning a company or broker to discuss your modifications. This will save a lot of time repeating what you have already told them about yourself and your car.

You can compare quotes for modified car insurance from the UK’s largest online specialist car insurance comparison providers Insuretec & Lancaster. If you get stuck they have friendly staff who will talk through the pricing of your cars modifications.

One of the main factors that boosts up the cost of insurance is if you choose to buy an imported car. Imported car insurance can be costly unless you go with a specialist website and let them shop around for the best deal for you on your behalf.

Allowing a specialist to shop around for imported car insurance can get you several quotes and you can be sure you will get the cheapest possible quotes. And as the website specialises in car insurance and, in particular, imported car insurance, they will also give you all the facts and information you need to know about the motor insurance including the small print and the terms and conditions of the policy.

There are three choices when it comes to insuring your car – the dearest and most comprehensive car insurance is of course fully comprehensive. Fully comp will give all the cover needed for the majority of motorists and by shopping around you can get some great bonuses and add-ons; fully comp will pay for your car to be repaired if you should be involved in an accident and the other party’s costs as well if you caused the accident.

It will also give cover against fire and theft and some policies include liability insurance to a certain extent.

Third party fire and theft is cheaper than fully comprehensive but you don’t get as much cover, it will payout for repairs to the other car if you are in an accident and if your car should be stolen or damaged by fire. Third party only insurance will only payout for damage to others property and wont pay for your car to be repaired.

If you have bought a new car or a vehicle over a certain value then of course fully comprehensive would benefit you but if your car is second hand then you should consider taking out third party fire and theft. Whichever type you choose to go with, when looking for imported car insurance a specialist will always get you the cheapest quotes.

David Thomson is Chief Executive of BestDealInsurance an independent specialist broker dedicated to giving consumers the best insurance deal. They offer great value home, life and car insurance.

Often these large aggregator sites fail to provide a reason for why they cannot cover your car. Some of the better ones will provide a telephone number where you can repeat the quotation process over the phone, however with these type of companies you still run the risk of failing to obtain cover even if you talk to them direct.

Most Car Insurance companies that offer quotes on standard comparison websites, have very strict underwriting criteria that the risk, that is you and your car, must fit into to be offered a quote from the online computer system. This is the case for nearly half of the UK population visiting a major motor insurance comparison website.

What those who purport to compare the market often fail to tell you when you start to apply for cover, is that if you do not fit into the type of risk that they are looking for, determined by the answers that you give when you fill out the application or proposal form, that you will have been wasting your time!

Many people searching online for various motor insurance covers, come away disappointed at not being able to insure their car or vehicle, as quickly and as easily as was suggested on the television advert, because the comparison company failed to mention that if you cannot tick all the boxes on the form, you are a non standard risk.

Many more customers that the mainstream car insurance comparison sites fail to satisfy, then take up first quote they are offered from another source, even if it is very expensive, because they fear they will not get cover elsewhere.

Car insurance companies employ people called actuaries who constantly check statistics and data to come up with rates for various risks.

The actuaries and the underwriters set the risk rates for certain groups of people or car combinations. Consequently many people who do not fit the standard that the actuaries and the underwriters want, find themselves either completely excluded from the quote process or given a quote offer that is so expensive, that the risk in question will not take out the cover, and does not enter and threaten the value of the existing risk pool.

Others continue to pay over the odds for their car insurance, knowing they are non-standard risks, grateful to have found somewhere that can cover them. Many mostly through inertia, laziness or a misguided loyalty bordering on Stockholm syndrome, continue to pay over the odds for car insurance premiums, failing to realise that an hours work searching for alternative cover online, could make them hundreds of pounds or dollars in premium savings.

There are two overall reasons or factors that make someone a non-standard risk, these being, you as a person and the car you drive.

The risk price you pay for your car at a comparison site, is largely determined by the risk group assigned to the particular make and model of the vehicle. Every car in the UK is assigned to a risk group for rating purposes from one to twenty, twenty being the highest risk, typically high performance expensive fast sports cars. The higher the risk group the more you pay. Many online insurance comparison systems exclude high risk groups above fourteen for certain combinations of factors and will fail to quote.

Additionally any changes or modifications to a standard car, will change its risk group and may result in a failure to quote online. Age of a vehicle whether it be a specialist classic car or a brand new motor will seriously affect the risk price and may lead to exclusion from the quotation process.

Although the majority of cars are standard, people are not. Variations in human characteristics account for the main reasons people fail to get quoted from a standard car insurer. These can be age and gender related, where you live and what you do for a living. Many occupations will exclude you from online quoting and certain providers offers specialist schemes aimed at differing age groups. Theft rates for the area you live in may also result in a decline to quote .

The solution to the above problems in trying to obtain a reasonable car insurance quote, is to visit a specialist broker or motor insurance underwriter. They will have individually designed specialist car insurance schemes to cater for all those nuances that the comparison sites decline to quotes for. Furthermore because the risk quoted for is the actual risk and not a grouped risk, you may well find a lot more change in your pocket than if you had visited a standard mainstream insurer.

It is now possible to combine the benefits of comparing car insurance quotes and specialist car insurance. The Internet has allowed the development of specialist motor insurance comparison sites where multiple schemes are compared for non standard risks. Lancaster Insurance specialist car insurance and classic car insurance comparison website, is one good example.

If you want the cheapest car insurance rate then your best bet is to go to a standalone specialist, the specialist website will be able to find you the cheapest car insurance rate for the premiums and also make plenty of advice available so that you can read up on the benefits of the different types of insurance available to you, which means that you find the perfect choice for you needs.

The three basic types of car insurance are fully comprehensive, third party fire and theft and third party only and factors such as the age of the car and how much it cost will depend on what type of insurance is right for your circumstances.

Fully comprehensive will give you the most cover but is the dearest way of insuring your car – however, if you have a new car then you might have no option but to take fully comp. It would pay out to repair your car and the other party’s if you should be involved in an accident which was deemed to be your fault and insure against it being stolen or damaged by fire.

Third party fire and theft will pay out if your car should be stolen or damaged by fire and will also payout for damage to the other party’s car through an accident of your fault.

Third party only will only payout for any damage to the other party’s car if you cause an accident and is of course the cheapest form of insurance but wont payout to repair your car.

A car insurance rate will vary from provider to provider so it is essential that you get more than one quote whichever type of car insurance you wish to take. By shopping around and comparing the car insurance rate you will be able to get the best possible deal on the type of insurance that you want or need and the quickest way to do this is by letting a specialist website compare quotes on your behalf.

David Thomson is Chief Executive of BestDealInsurance an independent specialist broker dedicated to giving consumers the best insurance deal. They offer great value home, life and car insurance.

There are many companies that offer car insurance but knowing where to go for the cheapest can be difficult and time consuming, if you want to get the best deal on car insurance then you have to go with a specialist car insurance broker and let them wade through the quotes for you to dig out the cheapest.

A specialist car insurance broker will have the expertise and knowledge when it comes to looking for the best deals in car insurance and will know where to look on your behalf, which can save you not only a great deal of time but also money. You will have to give the car insurance broker a few details in order for them to shop around for insurance that’s right for your circumstances. The information they will need is the make and model of the car, your age and a few details about your circumstances. When it comes to getting the cheapest car insurance with a specialist car insurance broker, then there are some things you can do to help reduce the cost of the premiums.

The size of the car’s engine will play a big part in how much the insurance will cost, a smaller engine means smaller premiums. A flashy sporty model will cost more to insure than a more sedate family type car and when it comes to security then adding safety features such as steering locks, alarms, immobilisers and tracking systems all help to make the car more secure and there is a much lower risk of it being stolen, so your premiums can be lower. A younger driver will also suffer from dearer car insurance premiums so where possible choose a specialist broker that offers deals in young car driver insurance quotes.

Taking all these into account along with going with a specialist car insurance broker is the best and quickest way to obtain cheap car insurance.

David Thomson is Chief Executive of BestDealInsurance an independent specialist broker dedicated to giving consumers the best insurance deal. They offer great value car insurance, ensuring that their clients have the protection they need, without leaving a hole in their pocket.