Get The Best Car Insurace – Not The Cheapest
Continuing on our series of pages about reducing the cost of driving via other methods (rather than saving fuel) we have now completed the Best Car Insurance page. It talks about how you should shop around to get good quotes, but you shouldn’t just go for the cheapest plan, you should go for the one which is best for you.
If you are looking to lower the cost of your car insurace we recommend the following insurers: Pru, MoreThan and CompareTheMarket – they are all well established highly reputable companies so you can get yourself a great price!
January 3rd, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Good point. Although in industries like car insurance, price elasticity is high and customers usually want the cheapest, even if it works out more expensive in the long run.
September 17th, 2009 at 11:04 am
I used a comparison site and saved loads of money, but I know I’ll have to do the same shopping around next year because changing your insurer annually is another good tip – never accept your renewal quote as you will almost always find a cheaper deal somewhere else. If you really want to remain loyal to your insurer you could always try ringing them and telling them you’ve found a better deal somewhere else. They might just try to match it – you never know.
March 28th, 2010 at 10:11 pm
@ Car Valet. I agree that shoppers tend to look for the cheapest as the first selection crtierion. However, I would hope (and believe) that value for money tends to triumph in the end. If shoppers can perceive a difference in the value being offered, they will often be prepared to pay extra for higher value. This is part of the value proposition of the comparison sites. Yes, they compare prices but they also compare other factors too. The real value of these sites, is the ability to make comparisons of many factors that are presented and tabulated in a way that can be absorbed in as short a time as possible. And if you want to feel you can rely on the data, the essential thing for the comparison sites is to win your trust.
@ Jane. It never ceases to amaze me how much the insurers seem to capitalise on the inertia of the shopper. They seem to divide the population in two. In one camp are those who don’t have the time or inclination to seek the best value for money (we’ll just jack up their prices by 20% at renewal and hope they don’t notice) and in the other camp are the shrewd bargain hunters to whom who you have to offer exceptional incentives if you are to attract them. To take up your point, I think where some insurers fail is that when you do ring them to tell them you’ve found a better deal elsewhere, they haven’t always trained their staff to provide an appropriate response – so you leave them anyway because of perceived inflexibility. I know I have.
From my point of view there is a systemic failure. Why should I have to move perpetually to receive good value? If the insurers are leveraging consumer complacency, surely it must work against them in the long run as loyalty is destroyed.