Car insurance companies in Northern Ireland – your questions

Here are some classic Qs and As on the subject of car insurance companies in Northern Ireland.

Do mainland UK insurance companies operate in Northern Ireland?

Some do, some don’t.

The position is variable for historical reasons.  At one time car insurance here was very difficult to obtain and choice was limited, as you may recall.

Over recent years as the backdrop situation has changed, increasing numbers of providers are offering their products to NI postcodes.

Does shopping around now make more sense?

Typically yes but there needs to be a caveat or two on that.

Although more companies are operating here now, it can still be something of a nuisance trying to spot them amongst those that still do not.

Shopping around at random may consume a fair bit of your time fruitlessly reading details only to discover that the product isn’t available to you because you have a Northern Ireland postcode.

A more effective approach might be to look at those specialist sites containing numbers of car insurance companies in Northern Ireland.  It just might save you a lot of time.

Are premiums here the same as elsewhere?

That’s sometimes a rather controversial question because it is notoriously difficult to be sure that you’re comparing like with like, however, you may find that our premiums are a little higher than in some other areas due to the fact that our car crime statistics (on average) are still typically seen as being higher than on the mainland of the UK.

Can I save money by putting my insurance in someone else’s name?

This is called Fronting and is sometimes encountered in situations where (e.g.) a young driver is trying to obtain cheaper motor insurance cover by taking out a policy in the name of an older and more experienced (thereby typically cheaper to insure) parent.

The younger driver is then named as an occasional driver on the main policy.

This practice is deception and it may constitute an offence. In the event of a claim, insurance companies in Northern Ireland may have ways of checking the reality of the situation and if Fronting is discovered, it may lead to refusal of the claim.

What’s happening with insurance companies in Northern Ireland?

The insurance market place has changed dramatically in recent years – particularly with the growth of internet-based insurance providers. Until very recently though, for some of the online insurance companies, Northern Ireland was just not on the radar at all.

This situation left residents in the position of having the same technology as the UK, the same insurance needs as many in the UK but unfortunately with a postcode that just wasn’t acceptable to many conventional insurers. Insurance companies in Northern Ireland were, for some, an abstract future hope.

Being able to browse the insurance internet sites and see the deals available to others but be unable to purchase this insurance was understandably an extremely frustrating position to be in.

Things are now slowly changing for the better.

Some of the bigger insurance providers are now waking up to the fact that improvements in the political situation in Northern Ireland have had a massive impact on the social climate.

These changes are allowing some companies to re-think their marketing strategies so as to offer some of their products to Northern Ireland residents.

It’s still early days though and there is a general perception that while increasing numbers of insurance providers are opening their doors to Northern Ireland residents, the premiums charged may still tend to be higher than those for equivalent cover on the mainland.

However, it may be safe to assume that as the market opens up still further, increased competition will start to drive premium prices even further down.

Northern Ireland residents have traditionally been on the receiving end of some relatively limited choices as far as insurance was concerned. Things seem to be changing for the better though with insurance companies in Northern Ireland starting to offer their internet clients some attractive deals.