My car insurance is due on 1st January.
If I leave it until nearer the time it’ll get forgotten in the chaos of Christmas and New Year (don’t ask how I know this…)
So, today I started shopping around.
I always use one of the comparison websites, and I also try a couple of the insurers that aren’t on comparison websites, just for comparison purposes…
I know what I want – Comprehensive cover, plus Breakdown cover (including HomeStart), Legal Protection and use of a courtesy car if mine is out of action. I’m happy (well, resigned might be a better word) to a £250 excess.
Now that I’m the other side of the Big Birthday, I might as well get the benefit, so I googled ‘policies for the over 60s’. I said OVER SIXTY – not under 6. I don’t think I really need a Sleepy Oleg toy, thanks anyway. And ‘Meals and Movies’ seem a bit redundant under present circumstances too. But it’s a nice thought.
Once on to the comparison website, you need to enter your details. Jeez I have to scroll a long way down to get to my date of birth these days.
Car details are easy – once you’ve put your registration number in, they pre-fill pretty much all of it.
The mileage was an interesting one though. I normally just put ‘under 10,000’ without really thinking about it. But these days – well, I really only drive from home to work and back again (4 miles each way). That’s barely 2,000 miles over the year. Pitiful.
Add a weekly trip to Aldi (half a mile away, if that – and if it’s nice I walk!), and an occasional visit to Sheffield to see my parents. The only other place I go is the petrol station – but that’s near work, so doesn’t really account for any extra mileage.
In the end I put down 5,000, which was at the top end of generous – hopefully I’ll be going further afield by the end of next year. Who knows. If my actual mileage ends up being more than 1,000 less than my predicted mileage, the insurer will refund me part of my premium!! Must remember to make a note of the mileage on Jan 1st.
The next question is a little trickier. Are there any additional drivers? Well no, there aren’t – but telling them that will increase my premium.
When my husband left and I was looking around for ways to save money, one of the first things I thought of was taking him off my insurance. I rang the insurers – imagine my surprise when they told me they would charge me £150 more a year if I was the only driver. Talk about kicking a girl when she’s down. It costs more to be the only driver. Apparently people with other people on their policies are less prone to having accidents. I’d rather save the money than not, so he stays on the policy.
And the final hurdle is accidents in the last 3 years. Back in 2018 I was driving the ex’s car, and parked it at the side of the road in a designated parking bay. By the time I got back, someone had hit it really quite hard, the police had closed the road and the driver was being cut from their car. Oh, and they’d hit a third car either before or after they’d hit mine.
But here’s the thing – I wasn’t driving the car at the time, it wasn’t my car, it wasn’t my insurance policy, and it wasn’t my fault!! I always declare it, but I’m never sure if I really need to.
I managed to get about 4 quotes this morning, and one stands out as being the cheapest (but not too much cheaper!!) and it’s with a company I’ve heard of. So tomorrow I need to call them and confirm that I want to go ahead.
Last year my insurance cost me £368. This year it’s £271. There are advantages to turning 60!!
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Photo by Egor Kamelev from Pexels
