How to pay less for car insurance
Posted on 22. May, 2009 by RuZ in Advice
Below are some tips on how to save on your car insurance. I bought a new Polo a few months back, and had to get car insurance for it, obviously. I phoned SO many of the insurance companies out there to get quotes, and asked them SO many questions, that I felt some of the tips below could help you save some cash:
Some of these are obvious, so don’t shoot me, but I’ll list them anyway:
- When buying a new car, go for a more simple colour, of which plain white is best. Yes, plain white is, well, plain, but at least it doesn’t show dirt so quick. Also scratches and paint chips are easier to touch up. This affects your insurance premium, because a metallic paint is obviously more expensive during the panel beating process.
- Anti-hijack. Obvious.
- Alarm. Obvious.
- Tracking Device. Some of the insurance companies pay for the installation of this device, and you are responsible for the monthly premium to the service provider. Any of the below companies can sort you out:
- Tracker
- Netstar
- TraceTec
- Etc…
- Smash-’n-grab protection. Minor effect, but you do feel a tad more comfortable at a robot in a dodge area.
External factors which influence your premium:
- Having additional items insured i.e radio, mag wheels, etc.
- Which area you live in. Some neighbourhoods are obviously a bit more ‘high-risk’ than others, unfortunately only the insurance companies know how the classify each area.
- Where you car is parked during the day. So if your car is parked in the street during the day, you might get asked how far it is parked from where you work. The area also plays a role here.
- Where your car is parked at night. Garage is best. Security complexes with electric fencing is ok-ish also.
- Age. If you are under 25 expect to pay more than other people on the road. Trust me.
- Age also comes into play when you insure vehicles with an engine size of over 1.4i.
- Number of accidents in the last 3 to 5 years. Some companies ask 3, others ask 5.
- Use of vehicle. Business or private. Not sure which one costs you more - it would only make sense that if you insure the vehicle for business purposes that it would cost more.
- Excess. Some insurance companies, like Outsurance, allows you to raise the excess you have to pay when you have an accident, in order to lower your monthly premium.
- Gender. Unfortunately/fortunately (depends which side of the fence you are on) the ladies pay less than the dudes.
I’m sure I missed some, so feel free to chime in, but the lists above should paint you a picture of exactly what they are looking for. I’d say to sum it up, prevention is better than cure. The more preventative methods you have in place to stop the thugs, the better your chances are of saving some money on your insurance payment.
Resources:
Here are some places and/or insurance companies to contact to help you get the maximum amount of insurance quotes. The more quotes you get the better.
- Hippo.co.za
- Outsurance
- MiWay
- Dial Direct
- Budget
- Mutual and Federal
- Auto & General
- First for Women
- Santam
- FNB Insurance
- Absa Insurance
- Momentum
Inform yourself as much as possible about the company you choose. Ask around about people’s experiences with insurance companies. Things like service, ease of claiming, response to claims, paybacks, third party coverage, overall customer satisfaction, etc.
The tragedy today, is that SO many of the vehicles on the roads are not insured. The financial institutions that finance vehicles, require comprehensive coverage during the financed period though. But as soon as these vehicles are settled, many owners stop paying their insurance, and then the problem is yours when you aren’t even necessarily to blame for the accident.
