I don’t know about you. But I hate being wrong. What’s more I hate knowing that I’ve been wrong for a long time, and that in being wrong I’ve wasted a) my time, b) my money or c) both a and b. But as embarrassing and jarring as the experience can be, when we learn the truth of our bad habits, we owe it to ourselves to rectify them. Moreover, we owe it to those around us to pay our knowledge forward and help others to learn from our mistakes.
The world of automobiles is often one obscured by a fog of half remembered facts, parroted pseudoscience, assumed truths and fallacies. While there’s a lot of helpful information out there to help you make better decisions when it comes to buying a new car or making your experiences on the road safer and cheaper. Unfortunately, there’s also a lot of misinformation out there, too. When you’re not technically minded, it can be hard to know which is which. The world of car insurance is a particularly worrying example. Due to a proliferation of assumed truths this has led to a whole lot of people spending more than they need to or possibly even getting inferior cover for their money.
That’s why here I share these 3 ways in which most of us are wrong about our car insurance. Not so that we can all feel bad about ourselves, but so that we can all save money and get the right cover for us…
Comparison sites don’t always get us the best deal
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not knocking price comparison sites. They’re a potentially useful tool and they can be used to save money. But they’re no substitute for doing your own investigative work, calling insurance companies and getting quotes. As One Sure Insurance rightly assert, a price comparison site can only get you a quote, they can’t advise you on the small print or alert you to any deceiving extras or charges you may be subject to. Many insurers will usually be able to give you a better price when you approach them directly that you are likely to find on a price comparison site.
Your insurer won’t reward your loyalty
When our insurance term expires, a lot of us simply allow it to roll over, assuming that the difference will be negligible. The thing is, your insurers are probably banking on this mentality. It is this that has led to some truly astronomical renewal costs. Moreover some insurers don’t even contact their customers to let them know that their policy is up for renewal. Insurers tend not to reward your loyalty, so you should think twice before giving it to them.
You can cancel your policy before it expires if you see a better offer
One of the great myths of the motor insurance industry is that you need to allow your policy to expire before you can hunt for a new one. Again, it’s a myth that the industry is by and large happy to perpetuate. But check your contract and you’ll likely find that you can cancel your policy at any time if you see a once in a lifetime offer from a rival provider. You may be charged a cancellation fee but if you can make substantial savings by switching, this may be a hit worth taking in the long term.