Q & A: Everything About Car Insurance!

In this section I cover car insurance Question & Answers, such as the type; What is and how much? About Drink driver, bad driver issues. Also, accident confusions, cheap coverage, truth about estimators and more.

What is car insurance?

Car insurance protects you against financial loss if you have an accident. It's a contract between you and the insurance company. You agree to pay the premium and the insurance company agrees to pay your losses according to your policy.

Car insurance provides property, liability and medical coverage:

- Property coverage pays for damage to or theft of your car.

- Liability coverage pays for your legal responsibility to others for bodily injury or property damage.

- Medical coverage pays for the cost of treating injuries, rehabilitation and sometimes lost wages and funeral expenses.

Most car insurance policies are for 10 or 12 months. If you are just looking for free quotes for comparisons then please visit our Comparison and Quotes section.


Car insurance, and how much?

There are over 100 insurance companies offer motor car insurance in England, Scotland and Wales. The cost for each type of insurance can vary from company to company, and the type of insurance you are seeking. So, for example, insurance companies such as elephant.co.uk allows any driver over the age of 25 to drive another car that is insured under another name, to be driven for emergency/ occasional use.

So, always compare 2 or 3 insurance companies before proceeding.

What car insurance options are there for bad drivers?

If you happen to have many motoring convictions, but still possess your driving license, then you have the same insurance options as anyone else.

 They are three:

1. 'Third Party Only' Car Insurance Cover

2. 'Third Party Fire & Theft' Car Insurance Cover

3. 'Comprehensive' Car Insurance Cover

The problem is you will be charged a lot more than drivers who have no convictions or those who made no claims. E.g. If you are given 6 penalty points, expect your premium to rise by at least 20%.

Please note, some insurance companies will not even insure drivers who have been convicted of driving without insurance!

Which companies offer cheap car insurance coverage?

The cheapest insurance companies are the ones that have low overhead costs and provide insurance to a select group of drivers. If you fall into one of these groups than you will probably get the best quote that is available.

For example, diamond.co.uk will only insure women/ lady drivers. Statistically, women are as likely to get involved in a car accident as men. But, the damage to the cars are tend to be less severe with women drivers. Therefore, the costs to insure this band of drivers is less.

On the other hand, there are other insurance companies which provide insurance to drivers who have at least 4 years of no claims bonus. These companies can afford to offer a lower premium (annual insurance rate). The insurance companies are aware that these drivers are unlikely to make claims in order to protect their no claims bonus.

Two reasons why these companies must make sure their rates are the best for your group:

1. Their business survives on drivers who insure from this limited group.

2. If the insurance rate is not seen to be better than the general insurance companies, then they will risk losing their only customers.

 What are 'No Claims Bonus'?

When a driver is insured as the primary driver of the vehicle, and takes insurance for a total of 12 months (or 10 months for some companies) without making any claim whatsoever (directly or indirectly), then he/ she will receive a year of no claims bonus.

A driver on average gets between £40-60 discount as 'No claims Bonus' for each consecutive year. The maximum number of years no claims bonus can be redeemed depends on company to company. It could be any number of years between 5 and 10.

Does drink driver convictions affect car insurance?

Drivers who are caught drinking and driving are treated almost in the same way as drivers driving without insurance. Your insurance premium will go up very significantly if you have been convicted of drinking and driving.

 Are there any car insurance estimators?

Please, view our list of insurance companies for all companies which offers insurance quotes.