Keeping down the costs of motor insurance in Northern Ireland

Traditionally, motor insurance in Northern Ireland always operated a little differently to that elsewhere.

Not to put too fine a point on it, it wasn’t always readily available and often one’s priority was simply to try and get something in place rather than worrying too much about the finer details of cover or the financials.

That situation is now starting to become history, even if the current situation in terms of choice isn’t perfect.

However, what this increased choice for car insurance in Northern Ireland is offering is the opportunity to start to think again about what you can do to take a little more control of your position.

One thing is, assuming you’re not wealthy, keeping down the cost of your motor insurance in Northern Ireland is probably an objective.

Here are a few thoughts that may help:

• avoid large, expensive or rare models (though admittedly if you can afford such a car, the insurance costs probably won’t be an issue for you!);
• don’t customise and tune up your car with vast new engine power plants etc – insurers typically don’t like the message that conveys about your potential driving tendencies;
• keep your annual mileage down if you can – the more you do the more you’ll typically pay if you cross a threshold (it’s also greener);
• typically “any driver” policies will be a little more expensive than if you restrict drivers to named individuals;
• on the same line, try to avoid including very young drivers on your policy (certainly not easy if they’re your kids!) or those that have strings of motoring convictions;
• avoid motoring convictions yourself – unless you enjoy paying out extra money to motor vehicle insurers;
• think about fitting alarms and immobilisers – insurers may offer discounts if you do;
• undertaking to park your car off-road each night may also earn you a discount and even more so if it’s garaged and locked/secure.

Ok, perhaps you’re not in a position to adopt some of the above but even one or two may make a difference to the costs of your motor insurance in Northern Ireland.

Some tips about motor insurance in Northern Ireland

Perhaps because our choice was relatively limited compared to the mainland UK, over some years we may have become a little complacent in terms of getting the best deals on insurance. So here are a few tips relating to motor insurance in Northern Ireland.

Shop around!

We all know that times are changing. As a result, there’s never been more choice and shopping around could save you a lot of money.

Sadly, there are still quite a lot of companies that don’t offer their policies in Northern Ireland but more and more are. There are internet sites that offer links to those companies that do.

Think about drivers!

Whether we think it’s fair or not doesn’t matter, the fact is that typically insurance companies don’t like very young drivers. They see them as high risk.

They also may get edgy about a policy that has to cover any driver – that means that just about anyone could drive your vehicle with your permission and that again adds risk.

Try keeping the numbers of drivers down and the ages up – it may result in big savings on your premium.

Watch the road!

Your car is typically at higher risk if it’s parked overnight on the public highway than if it’s in your driveway or garaged. If you can achieve that then do so – your insurance company will like it and may reduce their price of motor insurance in Northern Ireland a little in response.

Engage in excess!

The excess is an amount of money that you agree to pay as the first part of any future claim.

Typically, the higher the excess you take, the more the insurer will respond in reducing your premium.

Join a motoring organisation!

All insurance companies welcome signs of maturity and responsibility. One way to demonstrate this is by joining a recognised motoring association and some insurers will reward this accordingly.

Think flexibly:

A few basic steps such as those listed above could help get your quotes for motor insurance in Northern Ireland going in the right direction! Most insurers will make clear right up-front just what you can do to get your costs down and spending a few minutes reading that sort of detail may help you identify even more options.