Are you looking for cheap car insurance WA? You’re not alone. Car insurance has a reputation for being one of those necessary evils that people often lament the price of because they believe themselves to be a safe and reliable driver. Rewarding good drivers is not something new in the insurance industry but the rewards on offer are usually general, relating to schemes like no claims bonus offers or years of continuously held policies with a specific provider. Ubicar believes in rewarding good drivers for being, actually, good drivers. We have developed an innovative way of capturing good driver data and rewarding those good drivers with improved safety ratings and a reduction in their insurance premium.

When is it time to switch insurance providers? A general rule of thumb most people follow is when the increase in your annual insurance premium exceeds the CPI. This is usually a sign that your insurance provider has all but forgotten about you and is making very little effort to retain you as a customer. Searching for a new provider is now simpler than it’s ever been. Every provider in Australia has online profile with the ability to access quick and easy quotes online. Purchasing the insurance is sometimes not quite as easy with some providers still reliant on paper policies which can create delays. If you are on the hunt for a new insurance provider for CTP insurance (otherwise known as a green slip) or comprehensive cover, we’ve put together a few things that can help you choose the best policy and the best provider for you and your circumstances.

One of the first things to consider is the age of the primary driver of the vehicle that you want to insure. Unfortunately, a young driver will most likely be stung with a higher insurance premium than an older and more experienced driver. The number of insurance claims processed are significantly higher for drivers under 21 and under 25. That’s not to say that all younger drivers are unreliable or dangerous on the roads but it’s a pretty much well known fact that younger people are more likely to take chances, will have less driving experience under their belt, and will be less receptive to embracing safer and more cautious ways of driving than somebody older and wiser. Indeed, in NSW, QLD, VIC, SA and WA, the rules for younger drivers with a learner driver licence or a provisional driving licence are substantially different than for drivers with a full licence. Often younger drivers will be restricted to how many passengers they are permitted to carry in their vehicle and the speed limits for provisional and learner drivers are significantly lower than for other motorists.

Shopping for cheap car insurance WA will therefore be affected by the age of the driver but that doesn’t mean there are no affordable insurance products on offer. You can opt for comprehensive car insurance even if the primary driver is under 30 but just know that the premium amount will reflect the level of risk the insurance company assumes they are taking on. To help with premium costs, some insurance companies will introduce special excesses for younger drivers only. It might be more affordable to choose a policy like this where you only assume the financial risk of a younger driver in the actual event of accidental damage.

The level of cover can also be changed to help you find the cheapest policy available. For example, Third Party Fire and Theft insurance covers the policy holder for any damage that they cause to another person’s property, and it also covers the policy holder’s vehicle for events like fire damage and theft. This can often be significantly cheaper than a comprehensive policy and is a great way to manage a younger person’s possible risk on the road without breaking the budget.

The next consideration when looking for the cheapest car insurance Perth is to evaluate what the vehicle is used for and any minimum insurance requirements that that may entail. For example, an Uber driver or driver from another ridesharing company will actually have contractually mandated levels of insurance they must hold for their vehicle to qualify for work. There are also other considerations here to which will indirectly affect your choice of vehicle insurance and coverage choice if you are a rideshare driver. Although you may only need to hold a minimum of third party insurance to qualify as an Uber driver, the rules about the state and age of your car are very strict. There is to be no damage whatsoever to the car, cosmetic or not, and this includes costly hail damage. If you have a third party insurance policy only and your vehicle suffers damage like a scratch or a dent, you will not be able to use that vehicle for Uber trips until those dents or scratches are fixed. A comprehensive car insurance policy could help you to get cosmetic issues like these sorted sooner rather than later and the cost of your excess could be considerably lower than the cost to fix them would be.

Your windscreen is also worth considering here as well. With an Ubicar comprehensive insurance policy, you are not charged your excess amount in the event that you need a new windscreen. That could mean the difference of whether or not you are hundreds of dollars out of pocket needing immediate repairs completed on the car that is also your only source of income.

What other options and extras does a provider offer you? The fine print in the policies between providers is important to take note of, particularly if you are intending to switch providers from a company that you know well and have used for many years. The other options, however, are also a good indication of the kinds of values that your provider has. Do they offer roadside assistance? Most providers have this as standard options to take on to a policy so if your provider doesn’t offer a roadside package, that may be an indication of how out of touch they really are with the market in general and how much work they have yet to do to ensure they maintain their current customers, let alone attract new ones.

Finally, when looking for cheap car insurance WA you should also consider the make and model of the car that you’re insuring and whether your insurance provider is best placed to insure it. Older vehicles like prized hot rods or other specialist cars can often come with very heft insurance costs depending on the provider that you go with. Most recently, the introduction of the Tesla to Australia has seen the cost to insure your car sky-rocket for some of the newer models. This is largely because there is very little data for insurance companies to use when assessing new quotes for cars like these ones. It will become more competitive the more Teslas are bought and driven in Australia but until then it might be a good idea to choose an insurance provider who has a way of more accurately assessing policies and drivers to provide fairer and more affordable options.