5 things you probably didn’t know about your car insurance

Insurance for young drivers is prohibitively expensive, or comprehensive insurance is the best choice, which is not necessarily accurate statements concerning car insurance. Experts revealed the five most common misunderstandings.

Young drivers can’t afford car insurance

Because a young driver has little or no driving experience, the premium is higher, and the deductible is sometimes greater. Some insurers, on the other hand, provide advantages to young individuals. Because you are already a client, your own insurer may give your kid a discount on their insurance. Savings of up to 35% are possible as a consequence of this.

Include your youngster in your vehicle insurance if he or she drives your car on a regular basis. Your kid will also accrue claim-free years, which he or she may subsequently transfer to their own insurance.

Comprehensive insurance is always the best choice

Comprehensive insurance does not only cover the damage to the other party when you cause an accident. It also covers the damage to your own car. This makes comprehensive insurance more expensive than mini comprehensive or civil liability insurance.

However, the value of your car decreases every year. When your older car is totally lost, the compensation is therefore rather limited. If your car is less than five years old, a full comprehensive insurance is recommended. For cars older than five and younger than 10 years, a mini comprehensive is recommended. Civil liability insurance is usually sufficient if your car has more than 10 years on the clock. Should you choose a third-party liability insurance, a full comprehensive or a mini comprehensive insurance?

It is smart to report any damage to the insurer

When your car is slightly damaged, it’s best to consider whether it’s worth reporting it to your insurer. Take into account the deductible in your policy. If there is a fixed franchise of, for example, 500 dollars, the insurer will compensate the damage above this amount. The first 500 dollars are for your account. With an English franchise, the insurer reimburses the full amount of the claim when it exceeds the threshold amount. For example, if the threshold is $500 and the damage is $400, the insurer will not intervene. However, if the damage is $1,000, he pays this full amount of compensation.

Each claim reported increases your next annual premium. Therefore, it is possible that the increase in the premium will cost you more than the compensation you receive for a small claim in the long run. Unless your insurer has rewarded your years of claim-free driving with a joker. In that case, you can use that joker to ensure that the claim does not cause your car premium to rise.

The number of claim-free years are the years in which you had no damage

Have you been driving your car for ten years and caused no damage during those years? Then you do not automatically have ten claim-free years. You have to be able to prove it. And that is only possible if you have been insured for all those years. The claim-free years are then mentioned on your claim certificate.

You can only switch insurers if you cancel your car insurance three months before the annual renewal date

This is the general rule. But there are also situations that allow you to switch insurers sooner. For example, when buying a new car, you can cancel your current insurance immediately. This is also the case just after a declared loss, regardless of whether you received compensation. It is also possible to cancel your insurance if there is a change in rates or a change to the general terms and conditions. You must then respect a notice period of one month.