While trying to select a car insurance policy it’s very important to understand what the car insurance entails. Understanding the jargon is very important - if you don’t understand what the contract is saying then don’t sign it. Make sure to ask the agent who is selling you the insurance what every little detail means, because otherwise you’re probably getting into something that you know nothing about and that’s never a good idea.

Know Your Choices

Before you decide which insurance plan you want to sign up for, you should know what types of insurance plans exist, such as third party car insurance, theft, fire and damages cover, comprehensive car insurance etc. There’s quite a bit of a difference between third party cover, and comprehensive coverage as well as between the many other plans so you should know about all the possible types of policy so that you can choose a plan that suits you the best.

Payment Options

You should know about the different payment options before subscribing to an insurance plan, which means that you should know if you want to pay monthly instalments or if you wish to pay annually, what kind of interest is charged on making late payments, what type of exemptions may be available if you pay beforehand or make bulk payments etc.

Limiting Factors

You need to understand what your limitations are in terms of your insurance plans, such as the mileage etc. When insurance companies inquire about the mileage of your car, it’s always a good idea to be honest when it comes to factors such as these as well as about other questions that the insurance companies pose because they may limit your insurance cover to certain factors and you will need to know about them.

Find Out What Ticks

You need to know how to lower the payments on your car; for example if you get a cheaper car you will have to pay a bit less. Avoiding modifications and getting extra driving qualifications will also ensure a lower payment on your car. Your age, marital status and whether you have kids or not are also contributing factors when it comes to knowing what kind of payments you’ll have to make towards your insurance plan. There will be some factors that you can’t change but make an effort towards the ones you can to lower premium payments.

Figure Out Your Excess

An excess refers to the amount that you will have to pay if you make a claim. This essentially means that if you want to pay a lower premium then you may want to keep your excess high, but even though agents often lure people into paying a higher excess to reduce premium value it’s important you know what kind of excess you can afford to pay in case there is a claim. If you’re a teen and you don’t have enough monetary stability to assure a higher excess payment then don’t go for it.