- Insurance Glossary
- What to do in the event of car crash
- Weird and wonderful insurance facts
- Insurance funnies
- Compare car insurance

Searching for car insurance is a dark art – but if mastered can be hugely satisfying! Finding a policy for hundreds of pounds less than the first figure you were quoted isn’t as hard as you’d imagine – it just takes time.

So where do you start? Well, by far and away the easiest place to do it is on the internet. There’s a glut of websites out there that do a lot of the legwork for you – search for ‘car insurance comparison’ on Google and take your pick. They all work in the same way: you simply input your details once on to a standard form and they are automatically sent to a panel of insurers.

Quotes come back very quickly and you’ll be able to compare the different benefits on the website – you’ll be amazed at the difference in price. It’s worth using more than one comparison site though, as they don’t all use the same insurers.

Try a few brokers too. They do pretty much the same thing as the comparison websites, but you get to speak to a human! Each broker has a panel of insurers they represent and they’ll fight for the best price for you. But if you’re clever you can really save here – they’ll always ask you for the best price you’ve received, so lop £100 off the best one you’ve had and see if they’ll match it. You’ll be surprised how close they’ll get!

Make sure you tell insurers everything about your driving history – holding back any previous claims or convictions will land you in serious hot water and your insurance will be cancelled. For the cash you save, it just isn’t worth it.

Choosing which policy is for you really is a matter of budget and what extras you want. Insurers can include legal expenses cover, replacement cars, even windscreen repairs for fixed prices, so try and get the most extras for the least money. And also keep an eye out for cash back deals and extra incentives – often insurers will bundle in free breakdown cover or a wad of notes to new policy holders which can soften the blow of the annual premium.

Renewals

A slightly different kettle of fish to new policies, but your first port of call should still be the worldwide web. You’ll know what your current insurance company is quoting from your renewal documents, so see if you can better it online. Take a few moments to get some quotes from the comparison sites and see if they’re substantially better than your current insurer. If they are, call up your provider and ask them to match it – most will. If they don’t, take your business elsewhere. It’s also worth applying to your existing insurer as a ‘new’ customer – the deals are often more competitive and there’s nothing stopping you taking it up.

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What to do in the event of a crash…

So the worst has happened – you’ve pranged the car! In the pandemonium that follows a road accident it’s hard to remember any advice you’ve been given, so here’s a handy guide to print out with the basics.

It’s worth packing an emergency kit in your car just in case of a smash with pen, paper and a disposable camera to document the scene of the accident. A first aid kit might come in handy too – if you don’t know how to use it someone at the scene might!