by If you are planning to drive in the UK, it is essential you have the right UK Motor insurance coverage. UK Motor insurance is compulsory for every driver driving in the country and is one of the number of insurance policies you should take out in the UK. You are still confused?
No need to worry or get confused about UK Motor insurance, we have it covered!
Why Do I Need UK Motor Insurance?
There are lots of deciding factors to consider when you want to buy a new car, and one of the most important factors is the cost. Well, we do not just mean the price of the motor or car, but the running costs too, namely, the insurance. Motor insurance is something that you need to purchase by law, and although you will never want to use it accidents do happen.
That is to say Motor Insurance in the UK is compulsory. In fact, Uk government law states that you must insure all vehicles if you are to drive them or keep them in public places to at least the level of third-party liability. That is to say that only Motor that they have been declared ‘off the road’, because they have not been used.
Motor insurance is, therefore, a big business in the UK. In fact, according to statistics, In 2022 there were around £9+ billion of generated premiums. This makes it one of the biggest motor insurance markets in the world and there are more car insurance providers in the UK than anywhere else in Europe. There are over 300 motor insurance providers in the UK.
In the UK Motor insurance usually covers only the vehicle rather than the driver. This means that when you insure your car, you are not automatically insured to drive other people’s cars. However, only a comprehensive insurance policy cover can permit this.
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What Happens If You do not have Car Insurance Staying In The UK?
If you want to drive a car, you need insurance. It is as simple as that, and in fact, it is illegal to not have it. Sure, insurance is an expense, but it is an essential one that you absolutely need to pay, and having it means that you are protected if you were ever to be involved in a car accident.
When you take out a car insurance policy in the UK, It is always advisable for you to specify who is covered by the policy. Couples can get insurance with both partners’ names on the policy if they both drive, while you can also add additional drivers.
However, to Clare your question. The penalties for driving without insurance in the UK are as severe as you would suspect and sometimes could mean a fine of up to £4000+ and six penalty points on your license. If your case were to end up in court, you could even find yourself disqualified from driving altogether, as well as your car being seized.
If you end up in a car accident, regardless of whose fault it is, your insurance will help you out. The level of coverage that you have will determine just how much it will help.
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Types of Motor Insurance In The UK:
There are three (3) main types of motor insurance in the UK such as follows:
Third-Party Liability:
This is the bare minimum level of cover required by UK law, and the most basic level of cover, third party policies cover damage to other vehicles, injury to others, and damage to property. However, it does not cover any damage to your own car or injuries you sustained following an accident that is your own fault.
Third-party, fire and theft:
Unsurprisingly, as the name suggests, a third-party, fire and theft policy includes everything covered by a third-party policy, but with the additional protection for your car if it catches fire or is stolen.
Fully Comprehensive:
Comprehensive, or ‘fully-comp’ as it’s sometimes referred to, covers any damage to your own vehicle, even if the accident is your own fault. There are usually a few more benefits included too, such as windscreen protection and the use of a courtesy car when needed. Sounds like something that will be expensive, right? Not at all, Surprisingly, comprehensive cover is often the cheapest option. In the past, high-risk drivers would try to cut their insurance costs by choosing the lowest protection, and insurers soon realised that they were processing more claims from high-risk drivers with third-party policies. Therefore, these policies were associated with higher crash risk.
Motor Insurance Costs In Uk
Motor insurance costs in the UK depend on so many factors that include:
- The type Motor Insurance.
- The value of the vehicle.
- The driver’s age, history and profile.
- The purpose of buying the motor is what you will use the vehicle for.
According to 2022 UK Autor research records, the average cost for insuring a motor in the UK was £431 for one year. It is worth noting, that this is the highest compared to any EU Auto insurance policy. However, you can look to lower your annual Motor insurance premiums by:
- Reducing risks associated with your car – for example, fitting sensors or installing an alarm to reduce the risk of theft.
- Taking out telematics also known as ‘black box insurance sees a device fixed to your car that tracks you.
- Having good driving habits records. that is If you are a safe driver, you could see reductions in future premiums.
- Paying the annual premium amount upfront rather than in monthly instalments.
- By increasing your excess – this is the amount you will need to pay against any claim. For example, if you have an excess of £200 and the value of the claim is £800, the insurer will pay £600. All insurers have a compulsory excess but you can voluntarily increase this to bring down the premium.
However, you purchasing additional forms for your motor insurance in the UK will help to mitigate further risks.
Such as:
- Breakdown insurance – This covers the costs of a roadside breakdown, such as repair, getting the car towed away, and sorting out replacement transport.
- Warranty – covers any mechanical faults with the car. This is often included with new cars, but some companies offer an additional warranty, for, example MotorEasy.
- Legal insurance –This covers legal expenses in the event of an incident that goes to court.
- No-claims protection –To protect your no-claims bonus in the event of making a claim. You will usually need to wait until a minimum no-claims period has elapsed usually for about 3 years.
- Personal accident insurance –This also covers any medical costs that would otherwise need to be met.
- Driving overseas – Att present, UK insurance policies cover cars taken to EU countries but this is likely to change. You can extend your policy to cover additional countries at the same level as your UK policy.
- Lost or stolen keys –This covers the cost of replacements.
Car Insurance Bonuses and Penalties In The UK
As we said early, In the UK auto insurance policy provides room for the operation of a ‘no-claims’ discount system, which allows people who have not claimed their insurance in a number of years to obtain a substantial discount.
Each insurance company in the UK operates its own no-claims scheme policy, but it is usually possible to get discounts of 50-80% on your annual premiums for long periods without making a claim in not less than ten years and above.
Most companies will add on a percentage discount for each claim-free year, for example, you can get a 30% discount after the first year and this will then rise by 5% each year until you reach the maximum.
What is a no-claims bonus?
For every year that you drive without making a claim on your car insurance, your insurer will reward you with one year’s no-claim bonus (NCB). This means that when it’s time to renew your policy, you’ll get a discount which is accumulated each year. So, the more years you drive without claiming on your insurance, the higher your discount will be when the time comes to renew
What Is A Protected No-Claims Bonus?
Here, you can choose to safeguard your no-claims bonus by paying an additional amount on top of your premium. This means that even if you were to make a claim, your no-claims bonus will stay intact. Although protecting your no-claims bonus may sound like a no-brainer, you will need to work out whether risking losing your no-claims discount outweighs the extra cost of protection.
UK Motor Insurance No-Claim Transfer Policy:
In the UK it is often possible to transfer no-claims periods to other companies if you switch insurers. However, not all insurers are not obliged to do this so check before signing up if this is something you want to consider. Most companies will omit any claims where the policyholder is not at fault, for example, theft or accidental fire damage.
Motor Insurance Companies In The UK
There are over 300 Motor insurance providers to choose from in the UK. Here are Some of the best and most well-known Motor Insurance companies:
- Admiral
- Aviva
- AXA
- Churchill
- Direct Line
- RAC
- Saga
In addition to these, there are also other companies such as Tempcover that offer temporary car insurance. Policies start from a single hour, which could give you some much-needed cover at short notice.
You can take a number of different factors into account beyond the premium costs when shopping for motor insurance in the UK. These might include:
a.No-claims bonus – what discounts are offered and what is the policy around transferring bonuses from elsewhere?
b.Policy coverage – what is excluded from standard coverage, can this be added on if necessary and at what cost?
c.Excess/deductible options – what is the mandatory excess and what are the options for choosing to increase it?
d.Company reputation – how does the company perform in reviews and what is the customer feedback like?
e.Claims process – how straightforward is it, what is involved and what do the reviews say about how it works in practice?
f.Roadside assistance – does the company offer a good breakdown assistance policy
To take out car insurance in the UK, you will typically need to provide:
a.The car registration number.
b.Your home address.
c.Your driving license information.
d.Your personal details such as age, and driving history.
e.information on what you will use the car for business, leisure.
Once you are insured properly, you should receive the following:
- Your personal insurance policy.
- Your insurance green card is needed if you drive in any country not part of the European Green Card system.
If you need to make a claim to your insurer, you should do the following. In the event of an accident, make sure that you:
- Always do good to contact the police if the accident is serious or if anyone is injured.
- Exchange contact details with any other parties and witnesses.
- Get the relevant information from the other driver, especially the car registration number and insurance policy number
- Take photographs of the damage if you can.
- Submit your claim to your insurance company either online or over the phone. Each company will have different exact procedures which they should inform you of when you take out a policy.
How To Lodge In A Complaint About A UK Car Insurance Company:
If you feel you have been unfairly treated by a UK car insurance company and want to complain, you should follow these steps:
- Write a letter of complaint to your insurance company. They will then have eight weeks to resolve the complaint and inform you of their decision.
- If you are not happy with the decision, you can take the complaint to the Financial Services Ombudsman. You could be awarded compensation of up to £150,000 if the complaint is upheld.
- If you are still not happy, you can take the complaint to the Small Claims Court. It is unusual for this court to rule differently than the Ombudsman, so you should be sure that you have a legitimate grievance before pursuing this.
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