The following is a guest post;
Cheap car insurance in the UK is getting harder and harder to find. Car insurance premiums climbed horribly in 2010, up nearly 40% on 2009. This represents the fastest growth in renewal costs on record. Insurance companies put this rise down to an increase in the number of fraudulent claims they are receiving and the amount of money they are required to pay out to cover damages cause by uninsured drivers. There does seem to be a vicious cycle at play. As premiums increase, more drivers seem willing to take the law upon them and drive illegally without insurance – thus driving up premiums even further, putting more drivers off and so on. However, the penalties should you be stopped for driving without insurance are pretty fearsome. For a first time offence you are looking, at the very least, at 6 points and a £200 fine followed by a significantly elevated insurance premium thereafter. A second offence will almost certainly see you facing a driving ban and things can easily get progressively worse from then on. Coupled with the fact that the police now have the technology at their fingertips to check your insurance cover at the roadside and cameras that read number plates and check details as you drive by, it is a wonder anyone is prepared to take the risk.
Fraudulently insuring a vehicle could be viewed by some as somewhat of a halfway house, changing a few details on an insurance application can have a surprising effect one’s insurance premium. Though you might feel better for the cover-slip in your glove box, unfortunately, should you be identified, inaccurate insurance details are almost certain going to nullify your cover and any claim thereon. This low cost car insurance option really is one to be avoided.
According to the insurers, it is drivers resorting to these measures that have led to their paying out around £123 in claims for every £100 they receive in premiums. They claim that the premium hike experienced last year was entirely necessary in order to run their businesses into profit. I’m afraid for the driver the news on the horizon is not great for 2011 either. Insurance premiums are expected to climb by a further 20% over the course of the year.
So resorting to the two options above really is not advisable and it is not the ideal way to keep your car insurance premium as low as possible or valid, for the coming year and beyond. The best advice is to start looking early, most insurers will offer a free quotation and trawling through them all can certainly save you a few pounds. If like most people, you don’t have a spare fortnight to dedicate to the process you can use an insurance comparison website to do all the hard work for you. Just enter your details once and the site will find you the very best low cost car insurance quote and give you the option to fine tune the details of your cover before taking you to the website of the best insurer for you to seal the deal. Car insurance is expensive but a good deal is out there if you know where to look.
