Is No Frills Car Insurance Excellence The Risk?

December 19th, 2009 Posted in General Insurance Tips

With the cost of owning and insuring a car rising, more and more UK motorists are looking for ways to save money on their car insurance. Any motor insurers have responded to this by offering no-frills policies that still make available comprehensive cover up to insure the basics but exclude a lot of of the extra’s that traditional car insurance provides since standard.

The most recent insurers to enter this growing niche of the car insurance market are Tesco using their Excellence Insurance policy and Norwich Union who have branded their policy Easy Cover.

You might be wondering, though, if these no-frills car insurance plans are only a marketing gimmick to win new customers or whether they in fact be able to save you money devoid of affecting your cover up significantly.  If you are a careful driver, aren’t too bothered about several of the policy extras included on some standard car insurance and you can afford to pay a higher excess should the worst happen, then a simple car insurance policy possibly will save you cash. 

On the surface, it appears to boil down to be willing to accept extra liability inside case of an accident.  If you be able to improve your voluntary excess, for example, then you will have to pay more out of your own pocket must you find a cracked windscreen, or have a minor crunch inside a car park.  On the other hand, a higher excess ought to result inside a much lower monthly premium which be able to result in big savings must you not need to make a claim. 

So what else may you be missing out on if you choose a “no-frills” policy?  No-frills car insurance is about cutting away the tiny extras and only leaving the most basic cover to keep you on the road.  This possibly will mean that things are a tiny extra inconvenient ought to you have an accident, however.  In case of hurt to your vehicle, you may have to go to an approved garage intended for the repairs rather than to your own local garage. You might also have to supply up the small extras like a courtesy car be supposed to your vehicle be off the road for some reason, again causing the expense to fall to you be supposed to you require it. Several no-frills policies do offer these options at an more cost, but allow you to pay less if you don’t need them.

In the end, every insurance is about risk and saving money on no-frills car insurance comes down to whether or not you are willing to take the risk of paying more must you have an accident or need to claim for a cracked windscreen or car park crunch. As with several insurance, ensure you read the tiny print and be aware of several hidden extras that possibly will actually end up costing you more than a standard motor policy. If you’ve been lucky adequate to avoid a collision so far, it’s also valuable to really think the hassle and expense that can follow and whether a main policy will make available enough support and protection when you require it most.