Whether you’ve had your car insured under an expensive policy and you’re looking for something cheaper, or you’re a first-time car buyer and you’re browsing for policies for the first time, getting a feature-rich policy is essential. If you’re not sure what you should be searching for, we’ve collected together the 3 car insurance features you’d be mad not to have included in your policy, so here they are.
Comprehensive Cover
You might think that the most feature-rich variety of insurance is going to be the most expensive, but actually comprehensive cover is generally cheaper than third-party. It might sound strange that that’s the case, but for your insurer it’s perfectly clear – you’re more likely to take out the cover which prevents you from having to pay-out on your vehicle, so this has driven the comprehensive insurance market down, levelling the prices. The only time when 3rd-part insurance won’t be as good value as comprehensive is when your car is worth less than £1000, but that accounts for very few situations.
New-For-Old Cover
A new-for-old protection plan ensures that if your old vehicle is damaged, your insurer will preplace it with a new one. Of course, the small print of this kind of cover makes it a particularly fickle thing, with some insurers classing ‘new’ as being over 2 years old and others a fantastic one year. Similarly, other insurers will try to sell you new-for-old cover which only provides you with a new car under a certain value, so it’s essential to read the small print on this point.
Free Courtesy Car
Even if you have comprehensive cover, you’re not necessarily entitled to a free courtesy car if something should go wrong. Instead, a courtesy car is generally something you’ll pay a slight premium for (though rates are generally competitive across insurers), so you should ask yourself if it’s something you really need before you invest in it. If it would be cheaper for you to take an alternative mode of transport instead of paying the premium, it’s worth considering. But don’t write it off, if you need a courtesy car, make sure your policy includes one.
If you’re in the market for car insurance, hopefully you’re now more clued up on 3 of the essential features you should be looking for. When it comes to searching for the right provider, don’t just limit your search to comparison sites – there are lots of excellent insurers out there like AXA Insurance who might slip through your net, so happy searching.