We’ve found five ways to save on your insurance that make your premiums more affordable in 2018.
1. Consolidate your short-term insurance Insuring your car, household contents and personal items including jewellery, cell phones and tablets on one policy is cheaper than insuring these items on different policies. Insuring items individually rarely makes financial sense. Plus, fees on one policy are cheaper than fees on several policies.
What to do: Make a list of everything you have that is insured and check if they are insured on your main policy, with your car and household goods, or on a separate policy. If any items are insured on a separate policy, ask your main insurer for a quote to add them to this policy. Check notice periods before moving insurance – some policies may require a calendar months’ notice.
2. Insure your car at market value or for third party and theft onlyThere is a difference between insuring your car at market value (the average price for your vehicle) and retail value (the highest price for your vehicle). If the market value of your car is R100 000, and the retail value R125 000, it is more cost effective to insure it at the market value. Be vigilant about this and check it every year.
Another way to save on car insurance is to take out third party and theft insurance only. This means if you have an accident you won’t have to pay costs for another party. However, it also means you won’t be able to claim for your costs in case of accident, only in case of theft. If the market value of your car is low, this is an option to consider.
What to do: Check if your car’s insured value is market or retail with your insurer and consider changing it to market to save on costs. If you are happy with theft and third-party insurance, ask your insurer for a quote and to let you know exactly what this insurance would cover.
Add some security to your home and car to lower your insurance premium.
3. Add some security Insurers charge lower premiums for lower risk. If you add an alarm, immobiliser and tracking device to your car, and a driver behaviour tracking device, you can reduce your premium. The same goes for your home. Add good quality burglar bars and security gates to make your home safer, and cheaper to insure.
What to do: Ask your insurer what security features would make your home and car safer and how much they could reduce your premium. And if you’ve got good security and things like neighbourhood watch, tell your insurer. You may already qualify for a lower premium!
4. Get healthy to save on your long-term insurance Still working on those new year’s resolutions of eating healthily and exercising more? Keep at it! Healthy people who don’t smoke are lower risk and might have lower life insurance premiums than people who smoke or are overweight.
And if you have a health condition such as diabetes or high blood pressure – manage it with your doctor. Conditions like these are not uninsurable and don’t always attract higher premiums if they are well controlled.
What to do: Work with your doctor to manage your health conditions and maintain a healthy lifestyle!
5. Don’t delay buying life insurance if you need it Life insurance might be cheaper when you are younger, so it makes sense to buy it early, as soon as you need it. But only buy the amount of cover you need at the time, you can always increase your cover amount when your needs change.
What to do: Work out with your financial advisor how much life insurance you need now and update your policy once a year or when a major life change happens – for example getting married, divorced or having a child.
The bottom line So, there you have it! There are ways that you can save on your long-term and short-term insurance premiums and keep the peace-of-mind that your insurance offers. Isn’t that good news in tough times?
