Check your car insurance before you buy

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Written by Administrator

Wednesday, 11 July 2007

It is a legal requirement in Ireland to have motor insurance if you want to drive your car in a public place and you must produce a current Certificate of Insurance to pay motor tax. Failure to have motor insurance when driving is a very serious offence. Drivers new or old without insurance will incur fines, penalty points and may be disqualified from driving.

Motor insurance is about protecting other road users as opposed to the driver of the insured vehicle and it is not an optional extra. Insurance companies provide motor insurance and unlike road tax, there is no such thing as a "standard" rate.

Young drivers represent a high risk for insurers and the cost of motor insurance in this age group is considerably higher than for others both in Ireland and throughout the European Union (EU). Ireland currently ranks extremely high of the 25 EU member states on road accident frequency and it has the highest fatality rate in Europe. A total of 118 people have died on our roads to date in 2007 compared with 142 fatalities to the same date in 2006.

There are a number of things young drivers can do to reduce the cost of motor insurance:

Join a parent's insurance as a named driver as early as possible. This will enable you to establish a safety record, which is crucial when you want to apply for insurance in your own name. Some companies offer discounts to young people seeking insurance in their own name if they have been a named driver.

Get a full licence as soon as possible. Having a full licence will reduce the cost of your insurance premium considerably. Savings vary, but it is possible for a young driver to save a vast amount (up to 900 euro or more) on the cost of his or her insurance premium simply by having a full driving licence.

Choose a car with a relatively small engine, as less powerful cars are cheaper to insure.

Drive carefully. The best way to reduce the cost of your motor insurance is to build up your no claims bonus.

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