The Open Road Motoring News How Good Are Budget Car Insurers?

Rises in the price of petrol, taxes, insurance and MOT all impact on running a car and add more and more cost every time they go up. The expenses mentioned are constant for all of us in that to legally drive we all have to pay for them. Car insurance however is a very individual cost.

A huge number of insurance comparison websites exist and it can sometimes be too easy to be true; stick in your personal and vehicle details and the website will come back with many relevant deals. The only issue is that you have to scan through them to find the best one. Comparison sites tend to produce results that are skewed in favour of the price as the main concern so they tend to show you the cheapest policies first, even though they may not be the best for the criteria you submitted. This means that it is really important to closely check any of the policies that you may be interested by.

Insurance providers are now starting to provide “budget” cover to remain competitive in the market and gain a better share. Even though you get a fully comprehensive policy many of the additional benefits generally provided through insurance cover are not included i.e. you may not be provided with a replacement vehicle if yours is off the road for any reason. One of the other main disadvantages of a less costly insurance is the likelihood that you will have to pay a bigger excess payment on your vehicle in the event of a claim. This is obviously fine if you don't need to claim but if you do you could end up paying out a large sum of money even though you are supposedly insured!

One strategy is to get insurance cover where you can pick what you want and therefore how much you pay. Instead of providing all inclusive or basic policies many insurers, ASDA Car Insurance to name one, allow you to select which extras you would like to include.

So, at the ASDA Car Insurance site, in addition to the basic premium, you can pay:

£1.50 per month for Legal Protection, covering you for up to £50,000 costs.
£2.50 per month towards a Hire Car for up to 14 days if you need it.
£6.30 per month for breakdown cover if you are not already with one of the big two, The AA or RAC.

There are policies available that are specifically designed for certain people, such as, women drivers, young drivers, senior citizens, or disabled drivers, which could be a good option for you. Pick your policy on how suitable it is for your not on how little it will cost you.