Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Many Australians have an unnatural dislike of getting car insurance quotes. Most do it once early in their lives, and then stay with the same auto insurance provider forever. This may be an easy way to avoid going through the quotation process again, but it is an ineffective way to save money on your car insurance cover.
It may seem hard to believe, but getting car insurance quotes regularly to monitor and update your insurance cover and your insurance premium levels is smart and practical. Think of it as not unlike an annual health examination, or a periodic re-evaluation of your investment portfolio. It is just one of those things that should be done on a regular basis.
Leave it too long, and you’re likely overpaying for your car insurance cover. Most traditional insurance companies in Australia base your premium on a set of statistics they use to create the “average driver”. Over time, the difference between you and the “average driver” only gets bigger, right along with your insurance bill thanks to consistent annual increases in premiums.
Getting a new car insurance quote will allow you to see for yourself the different premium levels that are available to you now. While in the past the quotation process may have seemed complex or time consuming, modern technologies have made it much easier. You can get an insurance quote online in just minutes.
You can even get a car insurance quotation that is tailored to your own personal risk profile, instead of a premium based on the “average driver” in Australia. There are a few insurance companies that offer truly differentiated pricing models. They don’t assume anything about you and your driving habits—they ask.
Using a fully automated online system, you can see how simple behaviours, such as only driving part time or always parking securely, can make a difference in your final insurance premium. You will get a car insurance premium calculation that measures your precise risk level and discounts your premium accordingly. It’s fast, easy, and eye opening.
Unless you’ve been getting car insurance quotes regularly, you may not have been aware of these new differentiation models. It’s one of the reasons that getting quotes regularly is a hallmark of a responsible consumer. It helps you stay on top of new developments that can save you time during the quotation process and help save you money on your car insurance premiums. When you don’t bother checking quotes and just go with the flow of the system, it’s no wonder you pay too much for your car insurance.
Additionally, your experience with a company during the quoting process tells you a lot about the kind of relationship they want to cultivate with you. If you get an indifferent process full of assumptions, it’s safe to bet that company isn’t interested in a meaningful relationship with you as a consumer. You’ll want to look for companies that seem up to date and to really care about you as an individual driver.