Motor car
insurance - which are the best online resources?
The short answer to this question is - not
what most people think. Most see price comparison sites as the be all
and end all if you're looking to secure economic motor car insurance.
But these services have major drawbacks that we'll review here. We'll
then put the case for why going direct to a well-known car insurance
brand is, in most cases, the better choice.
So what's wrong with price comparison sites? - some may say - They
check loads of prices and help you to save money. Isn't that useful? No
other services are as powerful or effective. And we do not take issue
with these assertions. What we do take issue with is why so many people
think it's a good idea to buy a policy that's cheaper than thousands of
others. It's like going into a TV showroom and saying: Give me the
worst possilbe TV that I could find just about anywhere. I know the
picture and sound quality will be awful, but it's absolutely right for
me.
Cheap motor car insurance is only cheap because the insurance company
has passed various costs back to you. You're hit with a high excess
even for those things that are covered, and, of course, much isn't
compared to what better policies offer as standard.
If it is agreed that exceptionally cheap is not cheerful, can't you
still use a price comparison site but 'factor in' various must-have
policy features? Well yes, to some extent, you can. But don't expect to
be fully informed about what you're getting, just by knowing that a few
'broad brush stroke' features are included. You need the whole picture
and that is generally not available just through a price comparison
site. You need to check individual insruance providers direct.
The more that you take a sensible approach to what's desirable in your
cover, the harder it is to easily locate the right policy through the
'noise' of a price comparison site that's presenting a lot of prices,
relatively unfiltered.
When you contrast this to the fact that most of the well-known direct
motor car insurance providers offer impressive cover as standard, it's
easy to argue on the basis of quality that going direct is a better
approach.
However, what about the price question? If you don't check lots of
prices, how do you locate the best deal?
In fact, the answer to the latter issue is that you don't need to
agonise over the last few pounds of difference in price if you're
getting the kind of cover you want. Market forces ensure that like
cover is like-priced. It's highly unlikely you'll be paying
significantly more than you need to even if you don't exhaustively
compare prices. If this seems unconvincing, you need to bear in mind
that price comparison sites compare a full range of policies, not just
like cover. Were they to do the latter, the scatter of prices would be
minimal from the larger providers.
The result of the above is that it is a good idea to select cover on
the basis of what you want included in your policy, direct from a top
car insurance company, and in so doing, you can be confident that the
price you pay will be an acceptable market rate and is not likely to be
too much for the cover you're getting.
To compare
car insurance
from some top providers via a handy 'portal' type site, you can kick
off here.
Even if you decide that on balance you still prefer a price comparison
system, it is never prudent to buy blind to the cover you're getting.
You could pay dearly for this omission if a claim is requred. More..
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