More than ever, it pays to shop around for car insurance.
Its always been a good idea to compare prices, excess amounts and cover before you buy. But recently, some of biggest insurance companies have started to identify customers who are “sticky” - people that do not move their business when premiums rise. This means that people who regularly change insurers will get lower renewal quotes than people that do. In effect, loyal customers are penalised for their loyalty – just like the preferential “new customers only” deals offered by banks.
Insurance companies make money by picking the risks they insure carefully and by investing your premiums. It's really a gamble. You bet your premium (your stake) that you will have a claim. Your insurance company bets that you won't. They need to be right a lot more often than they are wrong. They pick risks carefully, and charge higher premiums for the people they think are a bigger risk.
When they think they've got too many risks which have the same profile (e.g. sports car driving men under 30 living in SE1), they feel like the odds have become tilted against their favour. If this happens they might decline any similar quotes. Or they might start to drive the price up. So, even if you've got a clean license, no points, live in a great area and drive a low risk car, it still pays to shop around.
If you need more information to decide what type of Car Insurance is the best for you, then check out
TheRateTart Guide to Car Insurance
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