Avoiding Teenage Pitfalls

There are few things as gratifying as getting your own car. The freedom, the fun, the independence, the cost.... Ah. There’s the problem. There are many hidden charges and complications to car insurance; meaning it’s easy to get buried in the jargon and miss out on a good deal. These difficulties are doubled when you add to them the fact you are a teenager; the most expensive group to insure and the one most likely to have an accident. There are several potential pitfalls and problems you may find with car insurance, here’s how to avoid them.

1)    Think Smart: In your opinion, your car may be the best thing on four wheels; however, its actual value might not be as high as your rose tinted glasses tell you. This means you need to think carefully about exactly what kind of insurance you need. For example, if your car has a low replacement value it may actually cost more to comprehensively insure it than it would to replace it if it gets written off. Also, if it doesn’t get written off you’ve made a huge saving on insurance.

2)    Pass Plus: Many companies offer discounts if you passed an advanced driving qualification. These courses cover trickier driving situations like country roads and motorways, so not only are they good for your insurance but also for your driving skills. Even if your company isn’t listed as offering a reduction its worth talking to them about it and seeing if you can negotiate a deal.

3)    Savings in Numbers: Lots of companies offer a multi-car discount, where you get a saving on your insurance policy if you insure more than one car with them. This means it’s worth checking with your parents or siblings to see which company they’re insured with.

4)    Watch the Add-On’s: Whilst those massive alloys and spoilers may seem tempting its worth thinking about what they’ll do to your insurance. Most companies will charge extra for any visual or mechanical changes to your car, especially if they increase the car’s performance. It’s worth checking with the company that they’ll still insure you after the modifications.

5)    Payday: Many companies charge a huge rate of interest (around 15% APR on average) if you want to pay your premium in monthly instalments, making it an awful lot cheaper to pay it all in one lump sum. This means it’s worth planning ahead and making sure you have the money in advance to pay for your insurance.

6)    Bonus: There’s no denying that your insurance will cost you, however, there are ways to soften the blow. The best one is probably to look for companies who offer special deals with their insurance policies.  One example is provided by Kwik Fit Insurance, who offer 10% off any repairs made in a Kwik Fit garage – all you have to do is take out a car insurance policy from their site.