At any stage during your driving lifetime, you can find yourself shut out of the standard motor insurance market. It is not just those with driving convictions that can find it difficult to obtain motor insurance. You may have been unlucky to have a number of insurance claims, you may have changed your occupation or had a policy cancelled by an insurer or decided to buy a vehicle that standard insurers do not want. Returning to Ireland or moving here for the first time can all make you feel like you are locked out of the insurance market
So what can you do? Here are our top tips for getting motor insurance when you have been declined elsewhere:
Start shopping around: If you are insured with an insurance company directly, you are not giving yourself the best opportunity for cover. Use a broker or contact as many insurers as possible for a quotation. One size does not fit all when it comes to motor insurance.
Contact a specialist insurer. Contact nonstandardinsurance.ie (well, we would say that wouldn’t we!). We deal with specialist insurers that are comfortable taking on risks that are normally declined on the standard market and do not deal directly with clients. We have over 50 years experience in placing non standard risks and will be able to offer you a solution.
Know your rights. If you have had motor insurance previously and you are now been refused cover, you may be able to force your previous insurers hand. Follow the companies complaints procedure and if they still do not quote contact Insurance Ireland (formerly the Insurance federation of Ireland) who will help you to obtain a quotation from that company (what the premium will be might be a different story..)
Make yourself a better risk. If you have obtained a quotation but it is still very expensive, look at ways to make yourself more appealing to insurers. Do you have a provisional licence? Consider sitting the test. Is your vehicle over 20 years old? Consider a newer vehicle. Also adding a partner or spouse to a policy can reduce the cost of your insurance.
Take a higher policy excess. A policy excess is the amount you pay yourself in the event of a claim. If you are trying to get on the road and you have an older car, you can take an excess up to €3000 which will help reduce the cost of your policy.
For a limited time only one of our insurers is offering a 15% new business discount on all Non standard cases. So contact us today to see how we can help.
If you’re still not having any luck getting insurance, contact our motor dept today on 0818919699 or fill in the contact form below and we will do all we can to get you on the road.
