MOTORISTS are praying for something to put the brakes on the spiralling costs of owning a car after fuel prices in the UK surged to record highs as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to have an impact at the pumps.
Last week some petrol prices in Northern Ireland had risen to £160 a litre while diesel prices soared even higher.
These rises come a short time after a price comparison website, revealed hikes in the price of car tyres. A price analysis by PriceRunner UK of almost 50,000 car tyres shows that prices increased by 20 per cent between July 2021 and January 2022.
It’s been a tough time for motorists lately with the global semiconductor chip shortage also wreaking havoc with car production which in turn has driven up the cost of second-hand vehicles.
With Northern Ireland having large rural areas, most households are dependent on having at least one vehicle.
But with the current onslaught of rising costs, every penny counts when it comes to owning a car.
That is why now is the right time to conduct a review of your car insurance policy.
It can be tempting to automatically renew your policy when that reminder lands on your mat, but people’s circumstances can change from one year to the next and it is always beneficial to have a broker shop around for you to get you the right deal tailored to your needs.
And the good news is you don’t have to be the expert, your insurance broker will be able to help explain the insurance jargon and additional benefits to boost your cover, giving you that added level of protection you need.
At times when cashflow is a key consideration for most people one boost to your cover could be to consider Excess Insurance.
An excess is a great way of reducing the cost of your insurance premium, however, claims often happen at the most inappropriate times when we don’t always have the funds in our account to cover the excess.
An Excess Insurance policy will reimburse the excess you may have paid provided the claim is more than the total policy excess at the time of the incident and is reported within the set time period to the insurer.
For example, say you have an excess of £500 on your policy – if you have an accident and it costs more than this to fix, then you can claim back that £500, so you aren’t out of pocket.
:: Jeni McKelvey is personal lines director at AbbeyAutoline (www.abbeyautoline.co.uk)
