Cheap car insurance, Northern Ireland and myths

Here is a quick set of responses relating to the combination of cheap car insurance, Northern Ireland and myths:

• there is no real choice for car insurance in Northern Ireland – this may have once been true but is no longer so, as increasing numbers of insurance providers now make their products available in Northern Ireland;
• it is very difficult to find insurance providers here – this is also today far less the case than it may have been previously, as they are now specialists sites providing access to impressive numbers of car insurance providers in Northern Ireland;
• all insurance here is more expensive than elsewhere – that may be typically incorrect for some areas of insurance though it has to be admitted that it might still be true for car insurance, even though differentials are eroding;
• insurance providers in Northern Ireland are inflexible on prices – to the contrary, increasing competition is typically making insurance providers more cost-aware and they may also be inclined to offer various forms of discount in certain situations;
• in reality, discounts are hard to obtain in Northern Ireland – in fact, there may be numerous options for obtaining discounts in return for certain behaviours that reduce the insurance provider’s view of the risks involved in a given policy;
• it is almost impossible to find young driver cover – that may be incorrect, however, due to the higher statistical risks involved with younger drivers, you may need to accept that policies may prove to be more expensive than for older and more experienced drivers;
• you can insure in the name of a parent to keep your costs down – there is a big difference between being an occasional driver on someone else’s policy and the principal driver of a vehicle. Trying to bypass this is called “fronting” and it may be an offence;
• the ideas of cheap car insurance, Northern Ireland and a fast search for cover, just don’t go together – they may do so rather more easily if you use one of the specialist sites mentioned above. Keep in mind that what may seem to be cheap to someone else might not work out to be so for you.

Northern Ireland house insurance

Whether you are an owner-occupier or live in a rented property in Northern Ireland, house insurance may typically be a sensible idea.

It may be a welcome change to note that, unlike the position with car insurance where premiums tend to be higher than elsewhere in the UK, Northern Ireland house insurance premiums may tend to be lower.

The level of cover that you may need may depend on several factors.

Buildings cover

If you own you property and have a mortgage, for example, then you may be required as part of your mortgage agreement, to have buildings cover at least to the value of your mortgage.

In fact though, the amount of buildings cover you opt for should ideally provide cover for the complete rebuild of the property including additional costs like architect and surveyor fees, site clearance etc.

Buildings insurance will protect your property and fixtures and fittings from the financial effects of damage from events like storms, fires, smoke and earthquakes etc. Not all policies may cover subsidence as standard, so if this is an issue for you, you may wish to ensure that it is specifically mentioned in the policy.

Contents cover

This provides cover for your belongings. It may typically be available in two forms:

• new for old – where you would receive a brand new replacement for a damaged or stolen item;
• market value – where the object would be replaced by an item of equivalent value and condition.

Different policies may also provide varying levels of cover for items of high value or things like cash and credit cards etc. Reading through the terms and conditions to make sure that you understand what is and is not covered, may typically be a sensible step.

Choice

It may not take you very long at all to compare a few quotes that may help ensure that you find a policy which most closely matches your requirements with what’s available in the Northern Ireland house insurance marketplace.