Cheapest Place In Ireland For Car Insurance

If you have renewed your car insurance policy lately or been following the news you may have heard car insurance premiums across the board have increased. We know you are wondering why this is and what you can do to keep your car insurance as cheap as possible.

What do insurance companies consider when it comes to car insurance cost?

There are lots of factors that car insurance companies take into account when calculating your premium. The good news is some are things you can easily control to help keep your insurance premium as low as possible:

1. The type of car you drive

We all love to drive a nice car, especially if you need it for work or to ferry your brood to school, football practice or swimming but what if you don’t? What if you take public transport to work, don’t have children or they have all flown the nest? Do you really need the gas guzzler sitting in front of your house? The size and value of your car is something car insurance companies take into account when working out your premium. By downsizing you may be able to afford a newer car and will save money on fuel and insurance while still getting from A to B in comfort.

2. What you use your car for

If you use your car as part of your job it will affect your premium, so will using it to commute to work. If you can, consider taking public transport to work, it may help you avoid the gridlock, allow you to catch up on reading or relax on the way to and from work and should shave a few bob off your premium to boot!

3. Your age

Car insurance is one of the few areas in life where getting older is a great thing! If you are under 25 your premium is likely to be higher. Once you are into your mid-twenties your premium is likely to reduce.

4. Driving convictions

It’s probably an obvious one but if you have convictions or points on your licence it is going to have an impact on your premium. More importantly, breaking the rules of the road puts you, your passengers and other road users in danger. Don’t become a statistic; stay below the speed limit, don’t use your mobile in the car and never ever drink and drive. With a clean licence you know you are a safe diver and your car insurance should be cheaper.

5. Previous insurance claims

If you have had to claim on your car insurance in the past year it is going to impact on your policy renewal for the coming year. Building up a no claims bonus really helps lower your premium so focus on driving safely and maybe consider an advanced driving course to make sure your skills are top notch and you know what to do in an emergency.

6. Where you live

Where you live and where you leave your car has an impact on how cheap your car insurance is. Living in a city where there is more traffic, greater risk of crime and theft is likely to push your premium up. On the whole living in a rural area should mean cheaper car insurance but this isn’t always the case, especially in Ireland where some rural counties have higher premiums than others because of higher rates of claims.

Which are the cheapest counties for car insurance?

As you would expect the major cities like Dublin, Limerick, Cork and Galway are amongst the most expensive when it comes to car insurance premiums but there are variances even within these counties. Research shows that some areas in south Dublin are less expensive when it comes to car insurance than parts of West and North Dublin. This may be because of average car crime rates and how secure cars are overnight. For example, the premium for a car parked in a gated driveway or secure car park is likely to be cheaper than a car parked on the street.

Not all rural areas are cheaper for car insurance

Amongst the least expensive places to get car insurance are rural or small towns in Donegal and Cork. This is likely to be the case for most of the country on the basis that there is usually less traffic and less crime in these areas.

There are some exceptions though, the wee county, Louth is an area where car insurance premiums have historically been more expensive. This is mostly due to a higher number of claims made in this county. The number of claims made in every region has an impact on the premiums the rest of us pay. This video from Insurance Ireland shows us why:

What can I do to lower my premium?

While moving home is unlikely to be an option for you; there are some easy ways to reduce your car insurance premium:

1. Reduce the size of your car

As we mentioned earlier if you don’t need an SUV or saloon car anymore, why not downsize for a cheaper car insurance quote and smaller carbon footprint.

2. Get a newer car

If your car is more than 10 years old, you are likely to be paying above the odds when it comes to insuring it. If you can, upgrade to a newer model to reduce your insurance premium and maybe avoid the NCT for a couple of years!

Tip: See our advice for buying a new car in 2020.

Young Drivers Insurance

Young driver’s insurance is known to be more expensive as younger drivers are less experienced and more prone to accidents. However, at AIG we offer a specialised telematics insurance policy that could save you money. Learn more about BoxClever here and see you can save.

Now that you know how to keep your insurance premium down– make sure your car is fully insured. We offer fully comprehensive car insurance with a host of great benefits.

 

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