HOW TO SAVE HUNDREDS ON CAR INSURANCE
YOU could pay about a third — or hundreds of euro — more for your car insurance by buying it direct from an insurer rather than from a broker, a survey by The Sunday Independent has found. You could also save hundreds by buying car insurance from your bank rather than your insurer — though this will depend on the exact bank. ÷ OUR SURVEY The Sunday Independent surveyed the cost of comprehensive car insurance for a 38-year-old male dentist from Newbridge, Co Kildare. The dentist drives a 1.6-litre 2008 Nissan Qashqai (two-wheel drive, petrol model) which is valued at about €15,000. He has had his full licence for 10 years, he has not made any claims in more than 10 years, and he has no penalty points. His car is alarmed and kept in a garage at night, and he drives about 9,000km a year. He is looking for cover for himself only — and he uses his car for social and domestic reasons. He wants a policy with an excess (the first part of a claim you must pay yourself) of between €250 and €300.
We included some of the main insurers (Allianz, Aviva, FBD and Liberty) in our survey, as well as the broker Chill Insurance, Post Insurance (a subsidiary of An Post), and the banks which sell car insurance (AIB, Bank of Ireland, KBC and Ulster Bank). We also included Galway-based Bump Insurance, which sells through brokers. ÷ FINDINGS The cheapest quotes were provided by FBD (€534.81), Chill Insurance (€588.62) and Bump Insurance (€607.71). Post Insurance quoted €643.46 while Bank of Ireland quoted €622.93 for its ‘Popular’ car insurance plan, and €683.06 for its ‘Prestige’ plan. (The excess on ‘Popular’ is €500, while the excess on ‘Prestige’ is €250.) The Bank of Ireland quotes included a 20pc discount which is available to the bank’s customers.
The most expensive quote came from Ulster Bank. Ulster, whose insurance is underwritten by Aviva, quoted €818.44 for the cover. At €804, Liberty was the second most expensive, followed by Aviva, which charged €800 as long as the insurance was paid upfront. (If the driver were to pay his premium in monthly instalments, the cover cost €979.65 with Aviva). AIB quoted €742.90 while Allianz quoted €741.18. KBC could not provide a quote as its insurance is underwritten by Zurich and Zurich declined to participate in our survey.
Although it was an insurer (FBD) which came out cheapest in our survey, most of the insurers worked out more expensive. Banks may be worth approaching for insurance as they may offer discounts in addition to the normal no-claims bonus discounts. Bank of Ireland for example offers a 20pc customer discount, and an additional 5pc discount if you have home insurance with the bank too. Ulster Bank offers a customer discount of up to 10pc — depending on the type of account you have. AIB offers a 15pc discount if you have home insurance with it, and it also offers discounts to customers who own electric or hybrid cars, customers aged between 17 and 24 who use a safe driving app, and aged 50 or more who drive less than 8,000km a year. Post Insurance offers a 10pc discount if you have home insurance with it. Many insurers (including FBD) offer loyalty and safe-driving discounts too so be sure you’re getting all the discounts you’re entitled to.