Trying to compare insurance in Northern Ireland

We all like choice. As a result, when shopping for anything, few of us enjoy being told that there’s only one option available. That’s certainly the case when talking about insurance and most of us would like to be able to compare insurance in Northern Ireland in the same way as is typically possible on the UK mainland.

A stable market

Ok, it has to be said that historically insurance in Northern Ireland was, of course different. Some insurance companies saw the various risks as being unacceptable and didn’t even offer their products into our particular marketplace. Others did so but usually at very inflated price levels.

What this meant was that insurance was often seen as a specialist and niche function and many risks were perhaps understandably classified as hard-to-place. Many policyholders would find a certain form of cover and simply stick to it partly through habit and inertia but also significantly because the alternatives choices were limited or perhaps even non-existent in some cases.

Shopping around for insurance in Northern Ireland

Yet times have changed. Increasing political stability and progress means that the larger insurance companies are now making their presence felt. The increasing use of the internet is also making it easier for potential buyers to look around and check deals to see if what they’re currently getting is up-to-scratch in terms of cover and price.

This is potentially great news for all our wallets!

There are even specialist sites around that can provide access to a number of insurance providers that are selling insurance in Northern Ireland. Using this sort of site may save you a lot of time and possibly also money and allow you to more easily compare insurance in Northern Ireland on a policy-by-policy basis.

Keep in mind some variables

If you are looking to compare insurance in Northern Ireland, it may be worth remembering that you need to compare like with like.

For example, not all companies offer the same discounts for taking certain risk-reducing steps such as:

• using security and anti-theft devices such as alarms on houses and cars;
• accepting higher voluntary excesses on the policies;
• reducing the number of younger drivers listed on car insurance cover etc.

So, whilst a policy may appear cheaper at face value, another one may prove to be a far better deal because they offer higher discounts if you use some of the above options.

The future

Predicting the future is a dangerous game but assuming that current trends continue, it should become easier to compare insurance in Northern Ireland as competition increases and the insurance marketplace normalises. It may be that for some time to come prices will remain above UK mainland norms but the overall trend may be downwards.