Shopping around for Car insurance can be messy. Most people just go ahead with their broker’s recommendation and rarely ask for a summary of quotes from several underwriters. But there is a conflict of interest here. Your broker is paid a commission by the insurance company which is usually a percentage of the premiums you pay. This means that your broker may be incentivised not to provide you with the best value coverage. As a result, it always pays to shop around for insurance. Here are some things to keep in mind when shopping around:

1 – If you use a broker, insist on multiple quotes from multiple underwriters. Getting multiple quotes allows you to compare prices between different insurance companies, which will allow you to get a better understanding of the various policies on offer.

2 – Contact and compare quotes from direct insurers like Alpha direct to get better value. Direct insurers deal directly with customers without any intermediaries such as brokers. This allows us to offer deeper discounts which traditional insurance companies would not be able to offer since they would have to pay large broker commissions.

3 – Compare Excesses – One policy may have cheaper premiums than another, but may have a significantly higher excess in case of a claim. This means that you will need to pay more out of pocket when you need to make a claim in the future. It also makes it tough to compare the merits of each insurer (like comparing apples to oranges).

4 – Ask about claims procedures – Alpha direct has a 24 hour emergency line for customers to contact in the event of an accident. We also have rapid claims processing procedures and systems. Find out about the claims assistance and processes of each company you may be considering.

5 – Note the underwriting processes – Many insurance companies pool drivers together regardless of risk profile or driving history. Alpha Direct avoids penalising safe drivers for the rash driving of others. That’s why we ensure that each insured driver is insured based on their individual history and risk. That’s fair.