How to find cheap car insurance in Ireland

What about extra benefits?

You can pay extra for things that aren’t included in your policy but weigh up whether you really need them. It’s also worth checking you don’t already have add-ons included in your policy.

Here’s some of the add-ons you can get in Ireland

• Breakdown rescue
• Legal expenses
• Replacement locks
• Key rescue
• Courtesy car
• Windscreen cover
• Personal injury
• European travel
• Protected no claims discount
• Excess free claims

Are extras worth it?

If you think a benefit will give you peace of mind and you’ll use it in the event something goes wrong, buying policy add-ons is worth it if you can afford it.

However, first check whether you’re covered elsewhere, for instance, if you have key cover or a courtesy car as part of your breakdown assistance.

Insuring more than one vehicle

Many households now own more than one car. Alternatively, you may have a family car but ride a motorbike for leisure and a van for work. If this is the case, then multi-car insurance may be an ideal choice and the cheapest way to insure your vehicles.

Multi-car insurance allows you to insure more than one vehicle registered at the same address on a single policy. You can usually choose to insure each car with its own level of cover.

It’s worth shopping around and finding an insurer who can offer the best rates for a multi-vehicle household.

What affects the price of car cover?

There are many things that affect the cost of cover and every insurer will have its own pricing formula and rules.

Here’s the main factors

• YOUR AGE If you’re a young driver under 25, you’ll pay a lot more for cover. The younger and more inexperienced you are, the greater the risk of a crash so insurers will charge higher rates. Here’s how to get cheaper young driver car insurance.
• YOUR LOCATION Where you live is one of the main factors affecting insurance costs. Urban areas are seen as higher risk than rural areas and if you live in a high crime area you’ll pay more. Insurers will also assess an area for traffic accidents and claim rates.
• YOUR JOB If you have a job that’s considered high risk to insurers based on claim statistics then you’ll pay more. Lying about your job or class of use could invalidate your insurance, so check that your job title is correct.
• YOUR MILEAGE If it’s above average (around 10,500 miles) you’ll probably pay more because the risk of an accident, breakdown or repair is greater. You’ll be asked about the class of use, so be accurate or your claim could be refused.
• YOUR DRIVING EXPERIENCE The more years you have the better, and if you’ve got a no claims bonus (NCB), you’ll save even more. If you’re just starting out as a learner driver, here’s what you need to sort out.
• YOUR CAR The make of your car and its size, safety and performance will dictate the insurance group of your car and impact the premium price. Economy cars with small engines are cheaper to insure than larger, more powerful cars. You’ll pay extra for any modifications to your car too.
• YOUR EXCESS This is the amount you volunteer to pay against a claim - so the higher the excess, the more you could save on monthly premiums. It can make claiming expensive though.