This question doesn't relate in particular to my car but is a general question about car insurance . I've had good advice on here before so I'm hoping you may be able to help.

wife's car is coming up for renewal. 

Question is does she go for fully comprehensive or third party only.

 

car is a Renault Clio 05 plate, so it isn't "worth" a lot. But she is happy to keep it going as it serves her needs.

if she had an accident other than a minor bump, I presume the insurance company would write it off. I don't suppose they would give her enough money to replace the car with one of a similar value.. plus she'd have to pay the excess which would be several hundred pounds

So would it make sense to pay a lower premium by having third party only?

 

TIA

You will probably find 3rd party only cover more expensive than fully comp. 3rd party cover is really only for very high risk drivers, those with bad records, convictions etc

 

Best way to get cheap insurance is to shop around online, try going directly to the insurance companies as comparison sites give inflated prices because commission is payable.

 

Use a cashback provider such as topcashback or quidco. For instance I got £80 cashback for Aviva and £50 for LV, two companies that gave also me remarkably good quotes. Its important to move company regularly as loyalty doesn't pay, in fact the opposite, you will end up paying far too much if you stay.

 

If she is a very low mileage driver say less than 5000 pa, try putting in a higher figure, as ultra low mileages can attract higher premiums as do higher mileages, 8000 seems to be a sweet spot.

 

Putting yourself down as second driver, especially of you have long good record, can pull the premium down.

 

Finally get a multicar quote, even if your other car is not ready for renewal. Try Aviva and LV, they gave me excellent quotes to attract me. In the past I was for years with Direct Line and Tesco but they seem to have their edge of late.

 

It is important to read the small print and make sure the cover meets your needs, especially if your wife uses her car for workthere are differences, for instance windscreen cover, or compulsory excesses.

 

Don't tick options you don't need, e.g. legal cover, they are there mainly to inflate the premium.

Thanks very much for you excellent reply

Yip as above and also try and get the quote about 18 days before you need the cover
It was on Martin Money programme thing and I thought thats a load of **** but it worked

watch with the mileage though as they can check through MOT history of what you do

i tried 4 quotes with Money supermarket with 8000 - 32000 to see the differences as I was curious
Hastings phoned me up after policy had started to ask why I had put through 4 different mileages as they can see the quotes that you have been given.
Questioned where I got my 18000 miles from and told him it was my weekly mileage x 50 

Edited 25 March, 20197 yr by DEL80Y

5 minutes ago, DEL80Y said:

Yip as above and also try and get the quote about 18 days before you need the cover
It was on Martin Money programme thing and I thought thats a load of **** but it worked

 

 This is most important, most insurance companies wont quote more than 30 days before the start date wanted. But it makes a BIG difference if you leave it to the last minute. The quote will be considerably higher if you wait until the last week.

 

As an aside this is also true of booking advance train tickets.

 

Get the quote as early as possible to get the cheapest price.

Thanks guys