If you’ve been with your current car insurance provider for many years, you may not have stopped to consider the other options out there. While your existing plan may have been great when you took it out, is it still serving you in the way it should? Taking a closer look at your car insurance policy and the other deals out there will help you to find a plan that truly works for your needs. Here are some things to keep in mind:
Cost
A lot of car insurance companies offer deals to new customers, so you may have benefited from reduced premiums for the first year of your contract. However, as time went on, you may have seen those monthly costs increase. If your car insurance is becoming unaffordable, don’t feel like you have to settle. Using a car insurance comparison service can help you to find new deals and reduce your regular outgoings to a more manageable rate.
Coverage
Everyone needs car insurance, but not every policy provides comprehensive coverage. Some first-time drivers may be tempted to choose a more basic plan to start off with, but if you’ve since changed your lifestyle you may want to increase the coverage you have. For example, your first car may not have been worth very much and therefore would have been less at risk of being stolen. However, if you now have a more expensive car, it could be worth taking out a new insurance plan to protect it.
Similarly, if you originally kept costs low by having a black box installed but now need to use your car outside of the hours originally stipulated, you could be at risk of invalidating your insurance. Spend some time working out exactly what you need from your insurance and then find a policy to match.
Claims process
Have you ever tried to make a claim on your car insurance and it felt a lot like pulling teeth? It’s important that you can easily get the money you’re owed from your car insurance provider without having to battle with someone on the phone. Check out reviews online for other providers and see which ones have the smoothest claims process to make your life easier in future. It can be tough to find this information, as many people will never need to make a claim on their car insurance. But it’s worth digging around to avoid disappointment when you need support the most.
Customer service
It’s not just the claims process that should be easy, but the general level of customer service should be of a high quality as well. Imagine you’re moving and need to change your address, or perhaps you want to add your partner to your car insurance so that they can drive your car as well. If making any of these changes feels like more trouble than it’s worth, it’s time to think about finding a new provider.
Even if it seems like your car insurance is working fine for your needs, there’s no harm in seeing what else is out there. You never know what deals you might find that you never even knew existed before.
