The array of insurance companies to choose from today is mind boggling and can be quite intimidating for the uninitiated. The most important step is getting quotes from at least three companies and ensuring that you have the right information at hand so all your quotes are accurate. The Internet is great for this and you can get the quotes emailed to you.
Some insurance companies are Internet only so although the premiums can be a lot lower you want to make sure that you are comfortable with the virtual aspect of the company, if you prefer phone calls and paper for piece of mind it may be best to use a more conventional company.
Some of the newer insurance companies offer very affordable cover for “no frills” policies so it helps to know what you are looking for with insurance before you start getting quotes.
Many companies in Australia are subsidiaries of others so be aware of this when seeking quotes- different brand name shouldn’t mean a higher price but you will often find that there is a price difference in two companies who have the same underwriter- this could be because the policies are vastly different despite the connection.
Make sure that you are adequately covered too, a policy that is too cheap may not cover some fairly basic occurrences, this can also happen with expensive policies- read your policy carefully and don’t be afraid to cancel if it isn’t up to scratch.
Find out what the excess is and how many are applied in each likely circumstance- this can be a nasty trap for the unsuspecting who end up having to pay multiple excesses for the same event.
There is also no reason to assume that because a company has insured say your Toyota Corolla for an excellent price that they will be competitive when it comes to insuring a utility or European Convertible, each insurance company has it’s own special ways of calculating premiums- I was quoted $4000 to insure a BMW which had cost me $16000- the car I had had previously was a Mercedes Benz and the insurance was only $600 with the same company, needless to say I got some more quotes and went with a more reasonably priced company on that occasion!
When it comes to choosing an Insurance company remember to get your quotes with consistent accurate information and don’t be afraid to call and ask questions before you need to use it, no-one ever regretted being well informed when it came to insurance!