Not all cars are the same and therefore not all car insurance groups should be either. For many cars the standard one size fits all policy is fine. Chances are if it’s a family car, or one you use to commute to work in, it’s probably fine with a normal insurance policy. Life would however be dull if everyone only had sensible normal cars, so what’s the best route to getting low cost car insurance if you have got something a bit more interesting, say a car from your favourite film, or a quirky model only found abroad? It’s worth looking into specialist car insurers. The firms such as Money Supermarket car insurance offer more unusual circumstances, some for a variety of different specialist car types, some for just one or two.
If it is a car you drive less than an everyday, then a limited mileage policy can help you towards low cost car insurance whatever your vehicle and the more unusual vehicles are more likely to be driven less, so you are more likely to get a better deal this way.
What sorts of cars might be best under a specialist policy?
If your car is modified, a kit car, a classic car, an import or a performance model you may well be best served by a specialist policy when looking for low cost car insurance.
If you’ve had the car modified, particularly by someone other than a registered dealer or other manufacturer sanctioned garage, then it is possible the car may be considered to be modified, especially if the modification affects how the vehicle drives or its safety in any way. The difficulty here is what an insurer considers to be a modification and how much this affects their quote is inconsistent and therefore you will have to check. Presuming the value has changed, then to get the full worth of your car you may have to have it valued to get the full value of your car in the case of an accident. It’s an area that you may well have to research to get any clear answer and a policy that actually offers you sufficient cover.
Kit cars are again potentially complex for getting low cost car insurance for. Especially as there is an important extra stage that may be involved; building. Some insurers offer insurance for parts in transit and even theft and damage while you are assembling it. Like a modified car, getting an agreed value for your car is a good idea, to make sure you aren’t out of pocket should disaster strike and your kit car be destroyed. While normally extras are things to be wary of in insurance, in kit car insurance to get the cover you actually want, they are more likely to be necessary. Kit car drivers are more likely to want to take their cars out on a track than normal drivers are and will often find breakdown cover from separate breakdown policies harder to get hold of. To counteract this as the builder you can add things to the car to help lower the insurance costs, such as fitting approved security devices or keeping the engine size down.
Classic cars often benefit from specialist policies as many insurers recognize that they are likely to be better looked after and driven more carefully than a more modern run of the mill car. The problem is that as with modified cars the definition of what constitutes a classic car varies from insurer to insurer. The UK government considers any car over 20 years old valued at more than £15,000 to be a classic car as far as tax purposes are concerned. In general the same sorts of advice fits here, agree a value for the car, most likely by an agreed valuer, to make sure you’ll get the cars value. In addition as classic cars often rise in value over time, make sure there is provision to update the value of your classic, so you don’t lose out when it turns out it has risen in value noticeably over the year.
Whether your import car is in need of a specialist policy or not varies. If it meets European Union standards and is available for sale elsewhere in the European Union then chances are you are fine with a standard policy. This is simply because it is deemed to meet the safety standards to be driven in the UK and parts should be relatively easy to find. Grey imports, those not certified as built to the correct standards are more likely to need specialist insurance, partially due to lack of parts and due to uncertainties about their compliance with safety regulations.
Performance cars will always be harder to get low cost car insurance for and benefit most from things like adding the top of the line security equipment such as trackers, as well as keeping them in a secure location and taking a limited mileage policy.
This guest post is brought to you by MoneySuperMarket.
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