And ways you can lower your premiums for your L-platers
Hi there. Bob Aldons, The Car Guy with an article from Richard Laycock on behalf of www.finder.com.au. I’ve been using Finder to search car insurance premiums for stories I’m writing on various new vehicles and I’ve been amazed at the variety of companies that finder has on their site. Before you commit to your regular car insurance company, do yourself a favour and check out Finder. And this is particularly true for L-Platers. Don’t make a mistake – check that your son or daughter is covered
This article from Richard is interesting, to say the least. It’s been a very long time since I’ve had to worry about learner drivers – my daughters are in their 30’s but I have a granddaughter who will hit that magic number of 16 in a few years. Enjoy the read.
And ways you can lower your premiums
If your son or daughter has just passed their driver knowledge test, you are about to embark on a very long educational journey. In most states, there is a minimum of around 100 hours of accompanied driving time required for learner drivers before they even sit their driving test, and it’s usually up to the parents to provide that time.
However, one factor that is sometimes overlooked is the car insurance requirements for L-platers. Car insurance is usually more expensive for learner drivers than it is for fully licensed drivers, so it’s important to know the ins and outs of it so that you can compare policies and find the best fit.
How to add a learner driver to your policy
The simplest way to add your child to your already existing car insurance policy is to list them as an additional driver. You should be able to do this quite easily by just calling up your insurance brand and asking them to add an extra person on. Some people try to save money by not adding a younger driver to their policy, but this is a bad idea. You may have to pay more to have a learner on your policy, but it’s better than being charged an undeclared driver excess fee if your child gets into an accident and is found to be uninsured to drive your car.
Alternatively, if your son or daughter has been given a new car or is driving a car that was previously uninsured, setting up a new policy is the best option. It’s illegal to drive without Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance, so this should be in place at a minimum. After that, it’s important to consider the car insurance features that are the most important to you. For instance, you may want to make sure that accessories are automatically covered, or opt in for a replacement car if the vehicle is damaged.
Excesses
When it comes time to make a claim, there will always be a basic excess charge, regardless of who was actually behind the wheel. For learner drivers, there will often be an additional learner driver excess. There may also be an applicable young driver excess for those under the age of 25 or an inexperienced driver excess for those over 25 who don’t have their full license yet.
Factors that will affect your premium
There is a range of factors that will impact the cost of your car insurance. For starters, the higher you choose for your excess to be, the cheaper your premium will be. Similarly, if you decide to have a lower excess, you will pay more for your premium.
Other factors that affect your premium include your address, the risk of theft or damage in your area, the model and age of your car and any additional modifications that have been added. Where you store your car overnight will also affect the price of your insurance, so you should consider parking it inside a locked garage or at least up your driveway if possible. Parking your car on the street is seen as the least-secure storage option and so will drive up the price of your insurance.
Having your newly-driving son or daughter behind the wheel doesn’t have to be scary. Once you’ve considered your car insurance options, your L-plater will be safe and on the road in no time.
If you’re hunting around for that great price, perhaps you should call the auto expert, Car Business. Our company, based on the north side of Brisbane, will return your inquiry within 24 hours and make the process of buying your new car easy and stress-free. We protect you from the pressure exerted by car dealer’s salespeople. There isn’t any obligation – just a pretty significant saving.
We can deal with you in any Australian state and territory: from Darwin to Hobart, Cairns to Perth. If you’re buying a new super car, it may be an issue, but any other brand is accessible.
If you’ve got a vehicle to trade, we have some clever ways to maximize the value – from used car dealers keen for your car to assist you to sell it privately. Finance and Insurance? We can handle that too, and we promise you will not be paying exorbitant dealer mark-ups there either.
So, to get the best new car price, talk to others and then talk to Car Business. We have got the experience to handle the dealers and achieve the cheapest new car prices. If you think you’re entitled to fleet pricing, we can often get better than that too. Whether you’re a small fleet or a large national fleet, Car Business will go to work and get that price down. Cheaper new car prices are our goal. So you’ll get the best Ford prices from us rather than hoping you can help yourself.
If we can’t get you the best new car price, better than you can get yourself from a car dealer, we won’t charge you any fee. No Win No Fee. – that’s what you should expect from a car buying expert.