6 Useful Tips In Insuring The First Car You’ve Ever Bought
July 27, 2021
You’ve just purchased a car, one of the most significant purchases you will ever make outside of buying a home. But now you have a device that you must care for and keep well-maintained. Furthermore, before you can even begin to drive it on a public road, you will need to get it insured. Although this is not the most glamorous subject, it is perhaps the most vital if you want to use your car.
1. Use A Comparison Website
If you don’t know where to begin, your first step should be to head over to a comparison website that lists all relevant insurers once you have fed it some information. These sites are beneficial because they can give you a broad overview of what you should be prepared to spend. If you click here, you will discover the average insurance costs by province. While yours will be different, it is great to see a ballpark figure. It can enable you to establish your budget and prepare for the next steps. Once you have had a look and seen what it might cost you to insure your vehicle, you will need to dig deeper and check out what deals are on offer.
2. Check For Multi-Car Discounts
If you are younger than 25 and brand new to driving, your insurance premiums will likely be excessively high. This will last until you have built up several years without claiming. If you don’t file any claims, your premiums should decrease year on year. Nevertheless, it can be a struggle to begin, precisely because of the high initial premiums. Therefore, you should see if you can get a multi-car discount from your insurer. If you are living with a partner who also has a car or still living with your parents, these deals can shave off a substantial amount and allow you to build up your no-claim years.
3. Get Extra Lessons
Although you may have already passed your driving test, most insurance companies will still look at you as a possible liability. This is because they don’t deem you to have had enough experience to avoid accidents. In most cases, you can invest in extra driving courses provided by your country/ These can range from defensive driving courses to vehicle awareness. Whatever you do, find out from your desired insurance company if they offer discounts for such classes and, if so, which ones they recommend. While you might have to pay a significant amount for these courses, you could also save significantly in the long term.
4. Reduce Your Mileage
Insurance companies tend to increase your premiums based on your yearly mileage. If you want to reduce your cost as much as possible, you should consider walking or taking public transport as much as possible. This isn’t ideal because you want to drive your car, but you will reduce your premium considerably by decreasing your stated mileage. For example, if possible, you could use mass transport for traveling to work during the week and then use your car on the weekends. If you work in a city, taking the train or bus is sometimes preferable to driving due to ease of city access and no need to pay for expensive parking. This can be a win-win situation in most cases.
5. Get A Smaller Vehicle
If you have already purchased your car, this step won’t help you. However, if you are still in the market, you should consider buying a smaller vehicle while lowering your no-claim rewards over the years. Smaller, less expensive cars are generally cheaper to insure because:
- They are easier to control.
- They cost less.
- They cause less damage to others in an accident.
- Less likely to be stolen.
- They are less likely to be bought by people who insurance companies deem to be “risky” drivers.
Once you have a few years of driving under your belt, you can consider upgrading to a larger car. Nonetheless, be aware that even after several years of accident-free driving, larger cars will still be more expensive to insure, so you should get quotes to see if it is affordable or not.
6. Install Anti Theft Device
Some companies will deduct a certain amount from your premiums if you install their recommended security systems. This could be GPS devices, alarms, or any number of other devices. You should speak to them and see what they recommend and what discounts they offer. In some cases, the reduction is not enough to offset the cost of the devices, so do your calculations first.
Insurance is one of those things you want to buy but never want to use. It is an expense everyone could do without, but you are happy to have it when you need it. It can be expensive if you are a first-time vehicle owner, but you can follow some of the steps mentioned here to reduce your premiums.