A number of factors influence the price of car insurance. We explain which adjustments can be made by insured persons in order to benefit from lower premiums in the coming year.
The costs for motor vehicle liability and comprehensive insurance are incurred regardless of vehicle use and are one of the largest cost blocks alongside refueling and repairs. It is advisable to take a closer look at these regular costs: Experience shows that there is a relevant savings potential for many insured persons!
In many cases there is overinsurance or the insured have had their car insurance calculated on the basis of incorrect information. Then car owners pay for services that they do not need. This applies, for example, to the co-insurance of other drivers if no one but the insured person is behind the wheel. In this guide article you will find valuable tips on how to reduce the cost of your car insurance.
With the following advice, you can reduce your costs both for an existing insurance contract and for a new car insurance policy. If you want to save on an existing car insurance policy, you should first check your liability or comprehensive insurance contract. Many policyholders can save costs by adjusting their previous contract. Do you want to take out a car policy as a novice driver or do you want to change your car insurance as a car owner? If you heed the following savings tips, then the insurers can calculate cheap car insurance for you!
If you have partial or fully comprehensive insurance, you can agree a deductible with your insurer. Most companies offer an amount of around 150 to 500 euros for partially comprehensive insurance and around 300 to 1000 euros for fully comprehensive insurance as a deductible. In the event of an insured event, you will then bear the costs up to this specified amount yourself, and the car insurance will pay the rest. This risk is offset by an enormous price advantage: When providers calculate the car insurance, a deductible reduces the insurance premium. As a rule, an accident only occurs every few years, but you save on the premiums in the long term. If you avoid insurance claims, you realize considerable savings.
Basically, the higher the deductible, the more you save. Make sure, however, that you can also pay this sum in the event of an insurance claim. You should have an appropriate financial buffer.
Most comprehensive insurers grant a garage discount: You pay a lower insurance premium if you leave your car in a lockable garage overnight. With this discount, insurance companies reward the lower risk of theft and vandalism. Some policyholders park their car in the garage, but did not take this advantage into account when concluding the contract. Contact your insurer and have the garage discount for your car insurance calculated!
Even with the agreed mileage, discrepancies between the insurance contract and reality can often be observed. This may be due to the fact that driving behavior has changed since the conclusion of the contract. Do you drive fewer kilometers per year than stated in the insurance contract? Contact your provider to have them recalculate the car insurance premium using the current annual mileage.
Many auto insurance policies include co-insurance for your partner, family members, and additional drivers. If different people are behind the wheel of your car, a correspondingly broad insurance cover makes sense. However, you should limit the group of users if only you alone or fewer people than insured move the vehicle. In this case, you can save with a contract adjustment for car insurance.
Many insurers advertise with various additional options. This includes the free choice of workshop and the Mallorca policy. These extras often lead to additional costs. With some car insurers, you can cancel these services separately and have a new premium calculated. The Mallorca policy, for example, insures trips with a rental car in other European countries. If you never drive a rental car on holiday abroad, you can waive this insurance benefit.
Some policyholders have their premiums debited semi-annually, quarterly or monthly. These payment intervals are usually associated with additional costs. If you want to save on car insurance, you should switch to an annual payment method.
If you want to save on car insurance, you should also look into the no-claims discount. Insurers reward years of driving with little or no damage. They then place the insured in a higher no-claims class, which means an attractive discount on the contribution, the so-called no-claims discount (SF). Insured persons can transfer the SF class to spouses, life partners, siblings, children or grandchildren in the case of a liability or comprehensive insurance policy. The previous user then loses his authorization permanently, while the family member or partner immediately enjoys the no-claims discount. This can make sense, for example, if grandma gives up her driver’s license for reasons of age and transfers the discount to the granddaughter beforehand. The savings potential is huge!
In the case of a novice driver, however, this transfer is of little or no use. Motor insurers limit the acquisition of the SF class to the number of years that the beneficiary of the acquisition has held a driver’s license. For example, someone who has only had a driver’s license for a year can at most climb from SF class 0 to SF class 1. It does not matter whether the transmitter is in SF class 1, 5 or 20. A proportionate transfer is not possible, the previous user always loses his no-claims bonus completely. Accordingly, the transfer is particularly suitable for grandparents who want to give up driving due to their age. The beneficiaries should already have had their driver’s license for a number of years.
Many novice drivers gain experience in road traffic in their parents’ car in the first few years. Some service providers take this into account when they calculate the car insurance when they first conclude their own contract. They rank the young insured persons in a higher no-claims category. Alternatively, young novice drivers should check whether their parents’ car insurance offers a cheap family rate.
There are significant price differences between the individual car insurance providers. With an insurance comparison on the Internet, you can calculate and classify the price differences for your individual situation.
Check whether you can save a significant amount of money by changing insurance and have the costs for car insurance calculated right here by our partner Verivox!
Changing car insurance is easy: You can change your insurance policy by November 30th every year. give notice of termination at the turn of the year without giving reasons. If your previous insurer increases the premium – they must inform you of this by November 30th – you have a special right of termination: You can then select a new, cheaper provider in December and switch there on January 1st.
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If you leave your usual insurer and switch to another provider when buying a new car, you can save several hundred euros a year. Where customers get the best conditions.
