By Law, you must have car insurance before you drive on a public road. Two of the main types of cover available are:

Third Party, fire and theft.

This type of car insurance policy insures you against injury to other people, including your passengers, as well as damage to other people's cars and property. It also covers you if your car is damaged by fire or if it is stolen.

Comprehensive.

As well as the cover provided by third party, fire and theft policies, comprehensive car insurance covers repairs to your car if it is damaged in an accident that is your fault. It may also provide a range of other benefits, such as cover against loss or damage to personal posessions and personal accident benefit.

Comprehensive car insurance will generally cover you for windscreen and glass damage and it may also provide a courtesy car if your car is not driveable after an accident.

Choosing Car Insurance

For most people comprehensive car insurance is the best choice. However young poeple and new drivers may find it expensive, especially if they drive a performance car. In this case third pary, fire and theft insurance may be a more cost effective solution. Similarly, if you drive an old car (not a classic), third party car insurance may be a better deal.

It's always worth checking the cost of comprehensive cover because in some cases it may be only a little more expensive than third party, fire and theft car insurance.

Things That Can Eeffect the Cost of Car Insurance

Type of car: Every car model has an insurance rating of 1 to 20, which is based on the cars performance, likely repair costs and the risk of it being stolen. The higher the rating, the more expensive the car insurance.

Age of Driver: Age can have a dramatic effect on the cost of car insurance. In general, older drivers pay less as well as people that have had very few or no accidents in their driving history.

Sex: Gemerally young men will pay more for car insurance than young women but this difference in cost does level out in later life.

Claims Record: If you have a high claims record or driving convictionsyou are more likely to pay a higher price for car insurance.

Where you live: Car insurance prices are affected by where you live, based on your postcode. In general people living in urban areas pay more for car insurance than people living in the country. This is due to higher crime rates and more car thefts in urban areas.

Where the car is kept: You may pay less for car insurance if your car is kept in a garage overnight rather than parked in a drive or on the street. Cars are less likely to be stolen if kept in a garage.

How the car is used: Most private car insurance policies are for 'social, domestic and pleasure' use. THis usually includes driving to and from your place of work. If you want to use your car for other business related travelask your insurer if it is included or of you need to adjust your car insurance policy.

Ways of Reducing Car Insurance Costs:

Voluntary Excess: Most car insurance policies contain a compulsary excess which you must pay iff you make a claim. However, many insurers will reduce your premium if you agree to pay a larger 'voluntary' excess that is higher than the compulsary amount.

Alarms: Ask your car insurance provider if they give discounts for alarms or immobilisers. Many insurers will only give a discount to 'Thatcham Approved' alarms so check before fitting an alarm.

Haggling: Some car insurance companies may not give you the best price they can immediately and you can sometimes save money by haggling.

A car insurance company will insure you themselves whereas an insurance 'broker' will search through several different companies to find the best deal. Because brokers sell a lot of insurance policies they can sometimes get a better deal than the actual insurance company but this is not always the case.