The UK car insurance market , quotes and buying car insurance online explained - helping you find cheaper car insurance
Car Insurance Brokers
A
car insurance broker is an intermediary who specialises exclusively in selling
car insurance. All brokers, agents, online intermediaries or the traditional
high street shop must be authorised and regulated by the Financial Services
Authority.
Brokers typically have access to a range of insurance policies from a variety of insurance companies who underwrite the policies, and unlike the recent Internet only offerings have been comparing car insurance quotes for years.
This
allows brokers to collect details of cover once and provide a quote from the
company offering the best or cheapest car insurance cover for an insured's
individual circumstances.
The
number of agencies a broker will hold with insurance companies varies by
broker, however some of the larger brokers may be able to provide comparative
quotes from thirty or more insurers with much more preferable rates.
Apart
from providing car insurance quotes, a broker will collect premiums, provide
telephone support and advice, issue cover notes and other policy documents,
deal with claims and policy renewals.
If
you require specialist or tailored insurance cover because your circumstances
or car doesn't 'fit' the standard model used by many online providers, a broker
will have access to markets and underwriters which will cover all drivers
circumstances.
In
summary, Car Insurance Brokers provide a personal service that you will not
usually get from other outlets. Going to a broker should also save you time and
money as they will do the legwork of finding cheap car insurance for you.
Lastest Great Deals
This
month sees a further innovation in car insurance from specialist online schemes
provider Car-Insurance.tv who have a simple to use form which allows you
compare specialist schemes which aren't available to the big aggregators.
In association with specialist car insurer Lancaster, they offer all sorts of specialist cover comparisons for standard cover through to classic car insurance cover and prestige and sports car insurance.
Direct Insurance Companies
Many
insurance companies sell car insurance direct to the public by using call
centres. Until the advent of call centres in the early nineties, a high street
broker was the only way a driver could obtain car insurance. Going direct to an
insurance company may provide cheaper car insurance for the 'target market' of
a particular company, however one size doesn't fit all and you may need to
labouriously compare many different direct car insurers before you find
suitable cover for your needs. This applies equally whether you phone a call
centre or fill in an online quote application form. Many Car Insurance companies
will offer additional discounts for purchasing your cover online as the costs
of managing the policy are reduced.
Affinity Sellers and Supermarkets
Many
large high street outlets will now offer you car insurance. In particular the
large supermarkets are now offering cheap car insurance cover. The insurance
offered by these outlets is usually provided by one insurance company with whom
the supermarket has a deal.
They
may be able to offer cheaper car insurance than the direct provider themselves
as they are able to guarantee large volumes of business to the insurer.
However the standardisation of the product for the supermarket etc. often means that the majority of drivers wil be excluded.
Premiums,Pricing and Rates - An explanation of how car insurance premiums are calculated
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