If you are a new car owner by law you have to buy car insurance. It is illegal to own a car let alone drive a car without this coverage. Many insurance companies will penalise you as a first time car owner regardless of whether you consider yourself to be the best driver in the world or not, as you have no past history of driving or accidents, they basically can charge you the highest, premium rates. Rates can come down for you as a first time car owner if for example you are over the age of 25 rates are considerably cheaper than say an 18 year olds insurance. Unfortunately being young in an insurers eyes means that you will get judged regardless of how little faults you received when you passed your driving test!
But do not despair, there are ways to try and get the best possible deal for you in the form of price comparison websites. This should be your first port of call to compare rates. Things you will need to use these websites are:
- Car Brand (e.g. Ford)
- VIN Number/Vehicle Registration
- Model of car (e.g Fiesta Freestyle)
- Year of car (e.g. 2006)
- Driving License Number (Found on your driving license)
- The mileage of your car.
- Address/contact details
And finally you might need your financial details if you choose to proceed. If the car is not owned by you and you lease the car, you will need all of the details of the company that you are leasing the car off too.
If you have been driving for a while but are only insuring your own car for your first time, the insurance companies may ask you for your full driving history. This includes any accidents where you have made a claim and also it is important to notify them of any accidents that weren't your fault. It is fraud if you do not admit to any accidents, even if you haven't claimed on your insurance.
You will have various policies now to choose from. You can insure your car against theft, fire, car damage or injuries from car accidents. There are insurance policies out there for most budgets and preferences. You can buy coverage for any purpose you think you will need the most. It is also possible to get a policy for more than one car with a discount on the second car, so if you do own two cars - make sure you query the insurance company about possible discounts that could help you.
If you have been driving for a number of years and have barely any 'blips' on your driving history, in other words, barely any accidents or claims, than it is likely that you are able to justify a lower rate to your potential insurer. For a first-time driver, this will not be the case, however. Insurers unfortunately see first time drivers as big a liability as a learner driver as most accidents that do occur in a drivers life occur within the first 2 years of them passing their driving test.
Find as many quotes as you can, once you have all of the ones you are the most interested in being insured with, print out all of the quotes you have received. The reason for this is so that you can compare each quote side by side based on rates, coverage, monthly payments and premiums. You should also look at each companies reputation in the form of reviews which can normally be found online. Find out if other customers are happy with their service by reading online reviews about their company. Don't forget to read the fine print of each policy you are looking at. You can either purchase a policy online or ring the company, the latter will help you to ask any questions or seek information that perhaps you could not find online just so you are 100% sure. Our advice when choosing an insurer is to go for a well established company that has a good reputation. Try and opt for an insurer that is known to release claims without giving clients a hard time.
Please also see: How to reduce your car insurance if you found this article interesting.
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