Car Insurance Northern Ireland


This site has been designed to provide information to Northern Ireland consumers searching for car insurance online. Northern Ireland car drivers traditionally pay more for insurance than other UK regions, and premiums look set to rise even further in the next couple of years. A number of factors contribute to this cost difference including the state of the roads in NI and the lack of competition.

One of the areas where the lack of competition is in the online insurance industry. Insurance is the ideal product to sell online; the insurance premium is determined by a number of detailed factors (age, accident history etc) which can very efficiently be collected online and there is no need for human intervention - even for 'over the phone' quotes, a computer is used to calculate the insurance premium. Another reason is that insurance is an 'intangible' product - i.e. there is no physical product to be delivered (apart from the insurance certificate - which can now actually be delivered online

Despite this, the vast majority of online UK insurance companies offer cover in the mainland only. One company which does offer online insurance quotes for Northern Ireland is Endsleigh.

A recent survey showed that most Northern Ireland car drivers are already paying over the odds for their car insurance. The survey found that about 70% of people can save money on their premiums - and the average saving is 30%. Yet only about 2 out of 10 people look for cheaper cover when they renew their policies.
Motorists do not have to put up with the increases. You can usually find identical cover elsewhere at a cheaper price. On this website, we look at some options for getting cheap car insurance in northern Ireland. And we also look at different Northern Ireland car insurance quote options including, classic car insurance, business car insurance and third party Vs comprehensive car insurance quotes.

When looking for a car insurance quote in Northern Ireland, it is important to know what type of insurance you are looking for. There are two basic types of cover :

Third Party Fire and Theft Insurance
Third party offers a measure of coverage to policyholders, including protection against fire and theft. The law requires all drivers in northern Ireland at least have third-party coverage with indemnity to protect us against accidents that occurred on shared roads. Under the law if you cause an accident you will pay for the damage, injuries, medical treatment, legal, and other costs out of your pocket. Third Party Coverage is a protection then “against other people’s claims against you.”

If you have third-party insurance with “fire and theft” coverage then this will offer you protection in the event a fire or theft occurs. If you car catches fire, it is often a total loss, and thus the insurance company will ‘write-off’ the car and offer you disbursement to pay for a car of equal value. As a very broad yard stick, a Third Party Car Insurance quote in northern Ireland will typically be 30-40% less than comprehensive insurance quotes.


Comprehensive insurance
Comprehensive insurance then is a full coverage policy that will protect policyholders against fire, theft, personal injury, accidents, and so forth. Comprehensive insurance will cover your own car and any damages, injuries, etc, fully in the event loss or damage occurs.

Comprehensive insurance will not cover you on all claims. Therefore, read the information provided by the insurance company to learn what exclusions if any exist. The exclusions is what the insurance policy will not payout. Comprehensive indemnity will cover you if the other party driving has caused damage to your vehicle. The third-party claims will not cover damage to windshields sometimes; however, the comprehensive coverage will recover the windshield in the event you suffer loss as a result of fire, theft, or accident. Since the windshields are considered different types of ‘excess charge’, thus the insurance companies often handle the claims differently. A comprehensive car Insurance quote in Northern Ireland will typically cost about 30% more than Third party insurance quote.

Business Class Insurance
If you use your car for work, as well as for personal trips, then you need to make sure that your insurance certificate covers both types of usage. So, for example, if your policy only covers 'social, domestic and pleasure' use you would not be insured for work purposes.

If you need to drive your car for business use, you are going to need to make sure your policy is extended to Class One, which would normally mean your spouse would also be covered. If you plan on allow your staff to use the car then Class Two is required.

Class One and Two will cover you for most business use, with the exception of 'commercial travelling'. This is defined as travelling from place to place in search of custom, but each insurance company will have its own exact definition. If you do need cover for commercial travelling your policy will have to be increased to Class Three. And as you'd probably expect the higher the classification, the higher the premium will be.

So when shopping for a car insurance quote in northern Ireland, it is important to know what level of cover you require before you start shopping around.

Other Northern Ireland Insurance Quotes

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