insurance information Archives

What is a Good First Car?

26 September 2023 15:21 Comments Off

Although we all want a brand new BMW when we first get hold of a driver’s licence, we have to be realistic when it comes to owning our first vehicle. An ideal first car is one that is affordable, plus safe and easy to drive. Most importantly, it needs to be a car that you can actually insure as a young driver…

So, if you’re wondering what makes the best first car (that you’ll actually be able to get insured on), check out our guide below.

***How Much to Spend* On a First Car**

A first car should be affordable, for a number of good reasons. Firstly, as a young driver in a cost-of-living crisis, you don’t want to be spending tens of thousands on a car that will no doubt be replaced for an upgrade in a few years’ time. You can find quality, used vehicles for a few thousand pounds or less, allowing you to get on the road without breaking the bank in the process. Looking at our research on the most popular cars to learn to drive in, we know that vehicles such as Ford Fiestas and Vauxhall Corsas are two of the most popular cars for young people, both of which are available for less than £10,000.

Spending less on your vehicle will benefit your insurance options too. As a young driver, car insurance for your first car is more expensive due to new drivers being considered ‘high risk’.

With cover for one hour up to a full 28 days of insurance, you have plenty of time and freedom to decide how you want to insure your first car. The maximum value car we insure is £65,000, so if you do make the sensible choice and go for a cheaper vehicle, you’ll be able to take full advantage of the benefits of temporary cover. Whether that’s getting on the road before deciding on an annual policy, or sharing the driving on a road trip with friends, who can also take out temporary policies on your new car!

**The Best First Cars**

No matter your age, your lack of experience on the road means you are statistically more likely to be in an accident, so insurance for new drivers’ first cars is typically more expensive. To combat this, it’s recommended to go for a cheaper, safer car first. This can help reduce the cost of your insurance.

Cars are placed in insurance groups, so the lower the group your car is in, the lower the insurance costs. Lower end cars include the Ford Fiesta, the Fit 500, Citroen C3, Skoda Fabia Classic, and so on. All of these smaller, safer vehicles are the best choices for a first car, as your first years’ insurance costs aren’t sky high.

Temporary car insurance is a great insurance option for new drivers wanting to get on the road. You can get covered in as little as 90 seconds after passing your test, so you can start driving when you want, rather than waiting to find the right annual policy straight away.

**What To Look For In the Best First Car**

Now you know how much to spend on a first car to ensure that you can actually get insured on it, we’ll go through the other key factors to consider when selecting that all-important first car.

**The Age and Usage of the Car**

You will most likely be buying a second-hand vehicle as your first car, due to the costs of brand new models. It’s important to check how much the car has been used before making the purchase. A good mileage for a used car is around 10,000 miles per year, and the car should still have good legs left in it with this kind of mileage. It’s also a good idea to check it has a solid service history, to be sure the car has been looked after in the past, and no nasty (expensive) surprises await.

**The Best Size For a First Car**

It’s best to choose a smaller car when selecting your first. Vehicles with smaller engines, such as 1200cc, will be lower in the car insurance groupings, keeping the costs of your new driver’s insurance down.

Getting On the Road in Your First Car

Your first car will most likely not be your last car, but you should still take care when choosing it. A cheap, safe, reliable vehicle will allow you to enjoy life on the road with lower costs as a new driver. Our temporary insurance for younger drivers will allow you to get driving in no time, without the need to commit to an annual policy straight away.

So, take these tips with you when you pick out that dream first car, remembering to keep the car cost low to ensure you’ll be able to get covered on it as a new driver, and afford the insurance on your first car.

Our range of policies, from temporary learner insurance to young driver insurance and regular temporary cover, ensure we are here to provide you with flexible insurance options for every step of your driving journey…

Understanding Car Insurance Occupation Categories

28 June 2023 12:20 Comments Off

When it comes to applying for car insurance, whether it’s for temporary car insurance or an annual policy, you will always have to provide your occupation.

This isn’t because insurers are nosy, rather it is a vital piece of information they use as part of their formulations to work out if they want to cover you and how much it will cost them and thus you. That’s right, what you do as a job has an impact on your insurance cost.

Submitting the wrong job title can invalidate your vehicle cover, but due to an outdated job title register widely relied upon across the insurance industry, it’s likely you will feel you have to list the wrong job title – and doing this could run you the risk of invalidating the policy in the process.

How Do You Choose Which Occupation to Select When Applying?

Of course, as with everything in the world of insurance – there’s a grey area. It’s understandable that your exact job title may not be there, however you are expected to make an educated choice, for one that most closely signifies your job.

If you were to choose a completely different occupation to what your actual job is, for example, if a scaffolder listed their profession as a doctor, there won’t be a great deal of sympathy from insurers extended their way and the policy would be invalidated, meaning if you had to make a claim, you’d get no payout.

If, as is increasingly common, you work in an emerging industry and your exact job title isn’t featured on the insurance register, you may have to choose a more general occupation title that relates to your role or industry in some way – without it being an out-and-out lie.

We know there are huge gaps in accurate occupation choices for emerging sectors including the likes of AI, digital marketing and digital creators. Hopefully in time we will see insurers update their occupation register to reflect the modern workforce more accurately. For now, use your best judgement to choose the closest occupation title you can find to your actual one when applying for a temporary car insurance quote.

What Are The ‘Best’ Occupations When Applying for Car Insurance?

There isn’t really a ‘best’ occupation to put down when applying for insurance to get the quote you want, other than the correct occupation. Your policy will be invalidated if you try to manipulate your information to get the best quote, so you are best putting down the correct occupation.

If you are interested in how the occupation you select influences the quotes you get then we can shed a small bit of light on that…

Differences in quote prices due to occupation are down to the insurer’s understanding, based on decades of data, about each profession’s likelihood to make a claim. If your occupation is one that insurers see as having a higher risk for making lots of claims, it is likely you might see a slightly higher fee quoted.

What Are Some of the Most Common Occupations of Today?

LinkedIn’s most popular job titles of 2022 shows what some of the most highly searched for roles are on the popular networking site. You’re far more likely to be a machine learning engineer now, than you were when the insurance jobs register list was first compiled…

LinkedIn’s most popular job searches of 2022:

Customs Officer
Machine Learning Engineer
Import Specialist
Business Development Representative
Chief Human Resources Officer
Site Reliability Engineer
Sustainability Manager
Career Counsellor
Content Designer
Client Solutions Manager
Network Planner
Laboratory Scientist
Diversity and Inclusion Manager
Talent Acquisition Specialist
Salesforce Administrator
Computer Vision Engineer
Data Engineer
Back End Developer
Public Health Officer
Vice President of Products

We know this isn’t an accurate representation of the popularity of all job types across the UK however, as many occupations still don’t rely on LinkedIn, like we know office jobs tend to. But it does give a bit of a taster of what the modern workforce looks like compared to the below…

Some of the Car Insurance Occupations on the Current List

Whilst we assure you the full occupation list you choose from when applying for insurance features a lot more roles you will be familiar with, we thought some of the below deserved a highlight!

Some of the roles on the current job titles register insurers use are interesting to say the least…

Bacon Curer
Chicken Chaser
Chicken Sexer
Clapper
Water Diviner
Pig Man or Woman
Parachute Packer
Panel Beater
Ostler
Meat Inspector
Marquee Erector
Lampshade Maker
Kissagram Person
Juggler
Curtain Hanger
Drayperson
Doll Maker
Fortune Teller

Never heard of a Pig Man? Had no idea juggling was a bonafide profession in the 21st Century? Well, neither had we! If these very specific occupations are present on the register, we are sure some day you’ll be able to find the likes of ‘Instagram Content Manager’ on there too…For now though make sure you choose the most accurate occupation on the list when applying for your temporary car insurance – you don’t want to invalidate your policy!

Making Sense of Insurance Jargon

12 May 2022 09:01 Leave a Comment

Vehicle Insurance can be complicated. There are so many terms, ideas and specialised pieces of information. Making sense of them all can make it hard to choose the right policy for you. GoShorty is determined to help make sense of insurance for our customers.

Here is our handy insurance jargon A to Z guide to help you figure out what your insurance coverage really means.

Insurance jargon explained

A –

Accidental Damage Cover

Covering goods where damaged is caused isn’t expected or deliberate.

Annual Mileage:

Your estimate for how many miles you drive in a year. If you drive more miles, there is a higher chance of having an accident, so your car insurance premium may go up.

Annual Policy

A policy paid for by the year rather than by month.

B –

Breakdown Cover:

Some insurance policies include cover for if you break down. This can either include roadside assistance if you are out and about, or home assistance if your car will not start.

Business Use:

You are insured to use the car for work-related driving such as travelling to clients or between different working locations.

C –

Claim:

A formal request of payment from the insurer under the policy conditions.

Comprehensive Cover:

Insurance that covers both third party, fire and theft, as well as the accidental damage to the driver’s vehicle.

Courtesy Car Cover:

An add-on in which you’ll be provided with a replacement car whilst your vehicle is being repaired.

Cover Type:

The different types of car insurance cover include Third Party Only, Third Party Fire and Theft, and Comprehensive/Fully Comprehensive.

D –

Disclosure:

If you make changes that affect your insurance policy, you must inform your insurer. These include changing address, changing a vehicle, changing a name and more.

DOC Cover:

DOC stands for driving other cars. If this is included on your insurance policy, you are covered to drive cars other than the primary vehicle stated in the policy.

DVLA:

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is an executive agency of the Department for Transport and is responsible for the database of vehicles and drivers. They issue driving licenses and vehicle registration documents.

E –

Excess:

The amount you will pay towards any claim. This includes compulsory and voluntary excess.

Exclusions:

An insurance company will not pay out on certain types of risks. If there are exclusions on your insurance policy, they will be spelt out in the policy T&C’s.

F –

Fault:

If an insurance company is unable to recover their costs against a third party, they label the claim a fault claim. This is not indicative of who caused the incident.

Fronting:

Adding a driver to an insurance policy as a named driver to bring down the premium. This is considered fraud, and you can be subject to legal consequences.

G –

Green Card:

A document that proves you are insured to drive your car in most European countries, including all of the EU.

H –

Handling:

When you make a claim, it goes through claims handling. This is the process of gathering information on your claim. This can either be handled internally or externally to your insurer.

Highway Code:

This list of rules and legal requirements applies to all drivers, pedestrians, horse riders, cyclists, and motorcyclists. All road users should be familiar with the laws of the road and any highway code changes.

I –

Immobiliser:

An electronic security device that helps stop the engine from starting and prevents theft. This is usually factory fitted by the manufacturer.

Indemnity:

Indemnity exists to ensure that if something is lost or damaged, the owner returns to the same financial position they were in before the loss occurred.

J –

Job Title:

Insurance companies are concerned with your job title. Different job titles can affect the price of your car insurance, as they are perceived to have different levels of risk.

K –

Knock for Knock:

Sometimes, insurers agree to cover damage costs to their policyholders, regardless of who is considered to blame.

L –

License:

There are different types of driving licences. You need to have the appropriate one for your vehicle type.

Legal Expense Cover:

Insurance against legal costs you may incur if you consult a lawyer. This is sometimes included in an insurance policy or may be available as an optional add-on.

M –

Main Driver:

Your policy needs to have one person listed as the main driver. This is the person who uses the car the most, and as such is the principal risk on the policy.

MID:

The Motor Insurance Database contains a list of all insured cars in the UK. Insurers will supply information to the Motor Insurance Database within two weeks for new policies. The police rely on this insurance database and can perform a MID check to assess whether you’re adequately insured.

Modifications:

Any changes made to your vehicle that aren’t supplied as factory standard. This can include alloys, body kits and spoilers. When applying for insurance, you must state any modifications that have been made to your vehicle.

N –

No Claims Bonus:

Insurance companies like to reward policyholders who do not need to make a claim. This is in the hope that they will continue to not need to do so. No claims discount generally reduces your premium for not claiming on your insurance policy. The longer the period you don’t claim, the higher the discount.

No Claims Bonus Protection:

This is often an optional extra to your car insurance policy. You pay to protect your no claims discount, so you don’t lose the benefit if you do have to claim.

Non-Fault Claim:

When you have been involved in an accident where the other driver is at fault.

O –

Owner:

Car Insurance policies often refer to the ‘owner and registered keeper’ of a policy. This is the person named on the V5C document (often known as a logbook) as the official owner of the vehicle.

Optional Extra:

Additional policy benefits that you can purchase alongside the main policy.

P –

Period of Cover:

Insurance policies last a specific length of time, as described in the policy documents. These range from between a few hours to a year.

Points:

If you’ve been convicted of a motoring offence, points will be added to your driving license. You must make your insurer aware of any points on your license.

Premium:

This is the amount you pay to insure your vehicle.

Q –

Quote:

Insurers do not have a set list of prices. Because every insured person and object represents a different type of risk for an insurance company, insurers need to produce a tailored quote for each customer.

R –

Registered Keeper:

The person who uses the vehicle the most. It is their legal liability to license the vehicle and declare it as off the public road (SORN). They are the contactable person if charged with any motoring or parking offences. This registered keeper doesn’t have to be the owner of the vehicle.

Risk:

Insurance is based on the principle of risk. Insurers don’t want to have to pay out, so they try to determine how likely it is that they will need to. If they determine that something is a higher risk of needing to make a claim, they will usually charge higher insurance premiums to make up for the increased risk.

Renewal Date:

The date that your policy ends unless you have renewed your policy.

S –

SORN:

If you don’t use or keep your vehicle on public roads, you need to complete a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN). This is particularly relevant if you only keep a vehicle in a garage, on private land or in a garage.

T –

Third-Party:

Third-Party insurance covers damage to other vehicles and people in an accident deemed your fault. It does not cover your own vehicle, however.

Third-Party, Fire and Theft:

Provides fire and theft cover as well as third party cover.

Tracking Device:

A security feature that can help police locate your car if it has been stolen.

U –

Underwriter:

An insurance policy is said to be ‘underwritten’ by an underwriter. This is the company that provides the insurance cover for your policy.

Uninsured Losses:

These are items which are not covered by the insurance policy.

V –

Voluntary Excess:

When you agree to an insurance policy, you agree to take on a voluntary excess. This is the cost of a claim that you will have to pay yourself. The insurer pays the cost above this claim.

W –

Windscreen Cover:

Some car insurance policies cover you for the cost of damage to your windscreen, while others do not. This is sometimes an additional extra, but should be laid out in your policy terms and conditions either way.

Write off:

A vehicle that is not repairable, is unsafe to repair or would cost more to repair than it would replace.

X –

Y –

Z –

Temporary insurance from GoShorty

Making sense of insurance jargon can be hard. There might always be terms and ideas that you might not have heard before. At GoShorty, we strive to make our temporary car insurance policies as simple and understandable as possible.

If you are uncertain of what a term means in our short term car insurance, learner driver insurance or temporary van insurance policies, don’t hesitate to get in touch, and we will be happy to explain it to you.

Get a temporary insurance quote for your vehicle today.

Types of Car Insurance Explained: Third Party, Comprehensive & Excess

16 March 2022 12:57 Leave a Comment

If you own a car, you need to get insurance. This is a legal requirement. Yup, unless you have registered your car as being off the road (SORN) you have to insure your car.

This means you’ll need to understand the complexities. And, as there are a few different types of car insurance – each covering an overlapping range of issues, it may feel a little daunting when all you really want to do is get driving Knowing what your insurance covers is essential to getting the right policy for your needs.

We offer temporary car insurance, but you probably already knew that, and that insurance offers comprehensive cover. But what does that actually mean? How is it different to third party car insurance? What’s all this about excess? We’re going to help answer those exact questions to help you make an informed decision.

What is third party car insurance?

Third Party car insurance is the most basic level of car insurance available – and often the cheapest. Not only that, but it’s the absolutely legal minimum requirement for you to drive your car. It does not cover you, it covers a third party. But what does that actually mean, who is this mystical third party?

In Insurance terms, you and your insurance company are the first and second parties. A third party refers to another person you might be involved in an accident with. I.e. it’s the other person on the road, rather than you and your car.

What does third party car insurance cover?

Cover, in this situation, refers to costs resulting from:

Injuries to people, passengers or animals.
Damage to property.

Third Party only cover does not cover any costs that arise from the aforementioned situations to you or your property, only to a third party and their property.

Still not sure how third party car insurance works? Lets run through a basic scenario:

You have taken out third party car insurance and are out for a drive
You are in an accident and run into the back of another person’s car at the lights
The back end of their car is in pretty bad shape and so’s the front of yours. They’re ok, but you’ve given yourself whiplash.
Third party insurance would only cover the damage to the other car. You’d not be able to use your cover to pay for the repairs needed on your car or with any medical bills for yourself.

What is 3rd party, fire & theft cover?

Third Party, Fire and Theft insurance is the next step up in insurance cover. It still only covers third parties in the event of an accident. However, it adds two additional elements of cover for fire and theft.

What does third party fire and theft insurance cover?

It covers your car if:

It is stolen
It is damaged by fire

It can also cover you if someone damages it during an attempted theft, but this can vary from policy to policy, so you may want to double check.

What is comprehensive cover?

Comprehensive insurance is the highest level of insurance cover. Not only does it cover everything that third party insurance covers, but it covers a number of other things too. It’s the best car insurance available and should be your go-to level of cover if you are driving an expensive car, take expensive items around with you or simply want to have proper peace of mind.

What does a comprehensive car insurance policy cover?

Comprehensive car insurance covers a whole host of things, including both you and a third party. It covers:

Injuries to other people, passengers or animals.
Damage to other people’s property.
Fire damage
Theft
Accidental damage to your own car
Chipping & scratching
Vandalism or other malicious damage to your vehicle

Comprehensive insurance might also cover your windscreen, personal contents and medical cover if you need it after an accident. It can also give you access to a courtesy car and breakdown cover, although both of these are often extra. These are not necessarily included in your insurance policy, so you need to check.

When you have a comprehensive policy you may well need to pay excess. We’ll run you through what that means now.

What is excess in a car insurance policy?

When you make a claim on your insurance, you usually need to pay some of it yourself. This is called the excess. The excess is essentially the minimum claim on your insurance – the insurer pays out the costs of the claim above the excess, and you pay the rest. For example, if you have an excess of £300, and you need to make a claim of £1,000, your insurer will pay £700, and you will pay the £300.

There are two forms of excess that you’ll see mentioned. These are compulsory excess and voluntary excess.

Compulsory Excess

You agree to a compulsory excess with your insurer. This is determined by the insurer, and represents the amount that you need to pay in order to make a claim. This excess is often higher if you are either a young driver, or you drive an expensive car.

Voluntary Excess

A voluntary excess is an amount that you agree to pay if you need to make a claim. Accepting a higher voluntary excess is often a good way to reduce the overall cost of your car insurance premium.

Are there any other types of car insurance?

While third party and comprehensive are the two main car insurance policies that you’ll see when you’re shopping around, you may see a few other specialised types pop up.

Often other types are still simply a form of third party or comprehensive cover, but with a specific use.

These include:

Telematics insurance – this refers to a car insurance police that requires your vehicle to be fitted with a ‘black box’ that monitors your driving.

Young driver car insurance – insurance that’s specifically designed for younger drivers. We actually offer specific under 21 temporary car insurance and temporary learner driver insurance, for instance, and both of these are fully comprehensive.

European or ‘driving abroad’ car insurance – this is insurance that specifically allows someone to drive their car abroad with the same cover they’d have at home. Our temporary policies don’t offer this.

Classic car insurance – this is a specialised policy to help insure classic cars.

Named driver insurance – this usually refers to someone being added to an insurance policy. They’ll have the same rights as the policyholder when they drive the vehicle.

Multi-car insurance – this allows you to add more than one car to the same policy.

You may also see other terms like ‘pay as you go’ insurance being thrown around. This simply refers to how you pay for it. As we said above, each of these types of car insurance is generally just a specific use that uses third party or fully comp cover as the actual insurance policy.

What car insurance extras are there?

All of these policies don’t usually include quite everything. You may still need a few extras. These tend to include:

Breakdown cover – this is one of the most common extras. If you break down your breakdown cover will kick in and someone comes to pick it up then take it to get repaired.

Windscreen cover – chips and cracks are a common occurrence when you’re driving. Windscreen cover lets you get it repaired for the cost of your excess. This can be part of a comprehensive policy but that’s not a given.

Personal accident cover – this will offer compensation should someone be seriously injured or even killed in a car accident.

Motor legal protection – this will help cover the costs of legal action you may want to take after an accident that wasn’t your fault.

Courtesy car – your insurer will provide you with a car while yours is getting fixed after an accident.

Lost keys cover – your insurance policy will get you sorted with a new pair of car keys if yours get lost, damaged or stolen.

Does the length of policy affect the type?

The length of your policy is something that you agree to before you buy it. Many people choose to buy a year long insurance policy. However, this is not your only option. Shorter lengths of insurance policy do exist, and can be a great way to save money. When you get short term car insurance you can still get comprehensive cover and you won’t be limited to third party cover simply because you aren’t locking yourself in for a year.

Temporary Insurance from GoShorty

GoShorty specialises in a few types of insurance – short term car insurance and temporary van insurance policies. We offer drivers cover for between 1 and 28 days. This allows you to only insure the period of time that you are actually using the car for. At GoShorty, we offer fully comprehensive temporary car insurance cover – that means that you can protect a car (as well as the car owner’s No Claims Discount), even if you do not own it.

Get a temporary insurance quote today, and see how much you could save with GoShorty.

What does temporary car insurance cover?

2 December 2021 13:59 Leave a Comment

Are you finding that car ownership is not only a drain on your pocket, but no longer fits in with your lifestyle? You aren’t alone. Many more of us now work largely from home with only the odd day in a workplace. So, we don’t need a car for a daily commute. Perhaps your children are now increasingly independent and no longer rely on you to act as their taxi driver? Or it could be that you pretty much know when you need access to a car, such as when doing the weekly shop, or for planned trips out of your local area.

What’s the solution?

The answer to this increasingly common situation is to come to an agreement to either share or borrow a car, which may be possible with a friend or family member. You can agree to pay a share of the costs, such as for fuel or servicing and on how you make use of the car so that both parties’ benefit. This is also a positive move for the environment, and it can work particularly well if you live in an area where there is adequate public transport.

What makes borrowing a car when you need it even easier is the ready availability of temporary car insurance. Cover from GoShorty is fully comprehensive and easy to buy online, taking just a few minutes, with the documents emailed to your inbox.

The other big plus point is that temporary car insurance cover is extremely affordable, so if you choose to ditch your car and share one instead, you’ll soon notice some big savings.

Short-term cover – it’s flexible and convenient

This is insurance you can rely on, and the car owner’s No Claims Bonus remains protected. What’s more, if you do need to claim, you can be assured that GoShorty only uses trusted insurers that provide quality service.

GoShorty is all about flexibility and you can take out insurance for as little as an hour, up to 28 days.

Once you’re covered by short term car insurance, you can use the vehicle for a wide range of uses, to include social, commuting, and personal business use. There are a host of different reasons why temporary car insurance cover works so well for so many people, such as when sharing the driving on a longer journey, transporting a heavy item from a store to your home or test driving a car that is being privately sold to name but a few examples.

Wide acceptance criteria

People of all ages – from 18 to 75 – can take out cover from GoShorty and you can cover many types of cars and vans – van drivers need to be aged 21 or over.

Vehicles need a valid MOT and can have a value of from £500 right up to £60,000. You simply need to have held a full driver’s licence (UK or EU/EEA) for at least six months and to have had no more than two accidents, claims or losses in the last three years regardless of fault. You must also have had no more than six penalty points in the last three years and to have been resident in the UK for at least 12 months and with a permanent address.

Find your perfect insurance partner in GoShorty – get a temporary insurance quote today. Alternatively, use our temporary car insurance calculator to give you an idea of how much your policy could cost. It takes seconds to generate an estimated price.

Can I get temporary student car insurance?

13:57 Leave a Comment

Going to university is an exciting time and for many, the full experience means living away from home. You can develop independence, have plenty of fun and of course, find time to fit in some studying. Whether you’ve secured a place in halls for the first year or living in shared accommodation, you may be wondering if you are able to obtain temporary student car insurance. You can take this out when you borrow a car, such as from a friend or family member. Then you can transport what is often a lot of stuff from home to uni.

Take the easy route

Generally, it’s far easier to drive if you are transporting bulky things like a duvet, TV, computer, clothes and other bits and pieces. Taking these on the train could be out of the question.

So, what do you need to take out temporary student car insurance? If you’ve already held a driving licence for at least six months and are aged over 18, then car insurance from GoShorty could be the answer. The great news is that this is fully comprehensive and high-quality cover and the car owner’s No Claims Bonus remains protected.

Cover from GoShorty can be taken out for as little as one hour right up to 28 days. Once you’ve arrived at uni, you can keep driving the car for as long as cover is in place. Potentially, if you have the permission of the car owner, renew the cover until you drive it back home.

Who can take out short-term cover?

Many students can take out short term car insurance cover. This is an affordable, straightforward, and highly convenient way to insure a car on a temporary basis. You take cover out online and the process only takes a few minutes.

There are a few criteria that apply, such as needing to have held a full driving licence for at least six months – either UK or EU/EEA. This is reduced to three months if you’re over 25. You won’t be eligible if you’ve had more than two accidents, claims or losses in the last three years. Equally, you aren’t eligible if you have more than six penalty points in the last three years. You’ll need to have been resident in the UK for at least 12 months and have a permanent address.

Those with convictions for any criminal offence or with a possible prosecution pending cannot take out cover.

What can I drive?

Those over 18 and meeting the criteria can obtain cover for a wide range of cars, worth from £500 up to £60,000. If you borrow a van, you need to be at least 21.

The vehicle needs to be UK registered, with a valid MOT, and overseas use is not permitted. It should also not have modifications other than for a disabled driver or an LPG conversion.

Temporary car insurance can be the most suitable student solution, allowing you to drive with proper protection, but without the hassle of expense of needing to own a car. In fact, for many, the only question left is…what are you waiting for?

Get a temporary insurance quote today on temporary student car insurance.

Are Lower Insurance Groupings Cheaper?

10:11 Leave a Comment

Can you get cheaper car insurance by understanding Insurance Groups?

Getting cheaper car insurance can be a complicated process. There are a great many variables and options that go into determining the price of your insurance quote. While many factors, such as where you live, what you do for a living and your history with car insurance all affect your premium, your car’s Insurance Grouping has a major impact on the price you will pay. What are insurance groupings, and how do they affect the price of car insurance? Finally, is there a way to get cheaper car insurance by understanding the range of insurance groups?

What are Insurance Groups?

All cars have an Insurance Group. This is an estimation of how expensive a car is to insure. They range from 1 (being the cheapest to insure) to 50 (the most expensive to insure). These groupings are determined by the Group Rating Panel. The intent behind the groups is to estimate how much it would cost insurers to pay put on insurance claims. This refers to the cost of repairing or replacing parts if necessary. Insurers often use these insurance groups when they determine how much to charge for a policy.

What do Insurance Groups Consider?

There are a number of features and concerns that Insurance Groups cover. They include, but are not limited to:

Cost of replacement parts

Repair costs – Cars that have higher potential replacement or repair costs are likely to cost the insurer a lot more if they need to pay out on a claim. This leads to higher insurance premiums.

Car Values – The price that a new model of the car sells for impacts on the potential insurance premium price.

Performance – the speed and performance of a car have an impact on its Insurance Grouping. This is because faster cars tend to have more insurance claims than slower cars.

Safety – Cars that are safer, and less likely to have serious accidents, tend to have lower insurance groupings.

Security – Cars that have more security features, such as high security locks, alarms and immobilisers, are harder to steal. As a result, they tend to have lower insurance groups.

Lower Insurance Groupings

Choosing a car with a lower insurance group is a good bet to get cheaper insurance. However, it is not definite. Other factors, such as where you live, what kind of job you have, your insurance history and more can have an equal or greater impact on your insurance premium.

Instead, one of the easiest ways to save money on your car insurance is to consider how long you really need to be insured for. Regular car insurance policies generally cover you for a whole year. However, if you do not drive consistently, or only use a car occasionally, then a year’s car insurance is an unnecessary waste of money. Temporary car insurance from GoShorty covers you for between 1 hour and 28 days. This way, you can cover yourself for just the time that you need, and not waste money on cover you aren’t using. Short term car insurance is fully comprehensive cover that gives you all the same protections that a year long policy would – it just doesn’t cover you for an unnecessary length of time.

Get a temporary insurance quote today, and see how much you could save on your insurance.

Why is Car Insurance Mandatory?

29 November 2021 13:57 Leave a Comment

If you drive a car in the UK, you are legally required to be insured to drive it. This is because everyone who is driving needs to have a degree of financial protection. The minimum degree of insurance that you need to have is Third Party cover.

You might think that if you damage your car, this is your problem, and only you should be responsible for fixing the damage. However, the vast majority of accidents involve other parties, and the damage you might cause in an accident is often not to your own property. As a result, you need to have insurance that at least covers the third party in any accident you might have.

What is Insurance?

An Insurance policy is a type of contract. You take out this contract so that you receive financial protection or reimbursement again financial losses you might incur under certain circumstances. The insurance company charges you for this potential reimbursement based on how likely they feel they are to need to pay out.

What does car insurance cover?

Car Insurance can cover a wide variety of potential risks. How much cover you receive depends upon the level of cover that you purchase. Third Party insurance covers only the other parties in an accident, not you. Third Party, Fire and Theft insurance also covers you in the case of a fire or your car being stolen. Comprehensive Insurance covers both a third party in an accident, and you.

How do I check if I am insured?

It is possible to check if you are insured on a vehicle, or if a vehicle is insured at all. The Motor Insurer’s Database is a near-comprehensive database of which cars are insured, and by whom. The police use the MID to check if cars on the road are legal to drive, and private individuals can do the same.

What happens if I don’t have insurance?

If you don’t have insurance, you can be fined a fixed penalty of £300, and you will be given six points on your driving licence. If you go to court, you could face a greater fine – potentially unlimited. You could also be disqualified from driving.

Do I need insurance to drive someone else’s car?

Yes – you always need to be insured on a car to be able to drive it. You can drive a car you don’t own if you are insured to drive it. This comes either from being listed as a driver on someone else’s insurance, or you insuring yourself temporarily on a car that someone else owns.

Car Insurance from GoShorty

Car insurance is mandatory. However, getting temporary car insurance is easy with GoShorty. You don’t need to insure yourself for longer than you need to. At GoShorty, you can insure yourself to drive a car for between 1 hour and 28 days with short term car insurance. This can be on someone else’s car. With GoShorty, you don’t need to worry about getting insurance – only get the cover you need, and find out how much you could save compared to getting insured over a year.

Get a temporary insurance quote today

Can I Insure a Car for a Week?

13:57 Leave a Comment

Owning and maintaining a car can be an expensive process. You have all the fuel and maintenance costs to pay for, let alone the insurance costs. However, do you really need to insure a car all year round if you only use it occasionally? What if you are able to borrow a car for the times you need? Is there any point to being a named driver all year around, or is there an easier way to be insured for a week or so at a time?

What does one week car insurance cover?

One week of temporary car insurance covers you for everything that a year long car insurance policy would. This means that you receive fully comprehensive cover, for the time that you need and not unnecessarily longer.

You can insure a car that does not belong to you with temporary insurance. This means that you can be insured on a car without being a named driver. As a result, you cannot affect the No Claims Discount of the car’s owner – even if you have an accident.

Why would I get a week of car insurance?

There are lots of reasons to only get one week of car insurance. You might need to insure a car for a week if you are:

Borrowing a car or van
Occasional driving
Sharing the driving on a long trip
Using a courtesy car
Using the car in an emergency
Moving to a new house or office
Driving back from university or college
Collecting or delivering a vehicle
Test driving a new car

What do I need to get one week car insurance?

To get a week of car insurance, you need to provide some information to us. Firstly, we need some information on the vehicle that you want to drive. This usually means details about the car’s registration number, make and model. Then we need to know how long you want to insure. We don’t only do one week car insurance, we offer cover for between 1hr and 28 days. Next, we’ll need some details on you. This might be personal information, like your name, date of birth, address and the like. It might also be some info on your driving history – for example, your license details.

How much does it cost to insure a car for a week?

The price of insuring any car depends upon a number of factors. We need some information before we can offer you a price. This includes:

Your age
Location
Driving history
Your driving licence type
How long you’ve been driving for
The make and model of your car
How old your car is
The value of your car

Insurance from GoShorty

Short term car insurance from GoShorty is perfect for any of the reasons listed above. If you only need to insure a car short term, then there is no point in paying for a full year of insurance. Get cover from GoShorty with a temporary insurance quote and save.

Driving Without Insurance: What You Need To Know

26 October 2021 10:56 Leave a Comment

There are circumstances where you might think you’re insured to drive…but before getting behind the wheel, always double-check. A hasty decision could result in serious consequences.

These days, police using number plate recognition software to check the Motor Insurance Database (MID) in seconds, so it’s really easy to get caught.

While some may wilfully drive uninsured, for others, it’s simply a lack of awareness, such as:

Thinking because you have comprehensive insurance, you can ‘drive any car’. This is a common misconception but is often not the case. Even if included, it may only provide third party cover for those aged over 25.

Not checking if your car has auto-renewed – so missing a paper or email reminder – and if it hasn’t, failing to buy a replacement cover.
Taking a car for a test drive and believing it will be insured – if it’s a private seller, it won’t be.

So what happens if you’re pulled over and you’re caught driving without insurance? As experts in temporary car insurance, we know a thing or two about the subject. So, we’re going to answer all your questions on the subject.

Will I be punished for driving without insurance?

Yes. Sure, there may be a little wiggle room in a few cases (more on that later), but the reality is that driving without valid insurance is a ticking time bomb. If you don’t have at least third party insurance, you’re looking to get punished.

Learn more: the different types of car insurance.

So, is it always illegal to drive without insurance? What does the law say?

Under the Road Traffic Act 1988, a car on the road or other public place must be insured. At the very least this should be third party insurance.

If you’re involved in an accident – even if it’s not your fault, checks will be made. Not only that, but police use number plate recognition cameras to pick up on uninsured drivers. You can’t simply buy cover retrospectively – it must be valid at the time you’re stopped.

What happens when you’re stopped by the police and accused of driving without insurance?

If this actually happens to you, you’ll be asked to present your insurance documents. They won’t necessarily expect you to have them on you that second, but if you do, that would help. You’ll be given seven days to provide up-to-date insurance documents to the police. These must show that you had a valid policy in place covering the period that they stopped you.

What is the penalty for driving without insurance?

Police can impose a couple of different punishments. The absolute minimum penalty for driving without insurance is:

A fixed penalty of £300
six to eight penalty points on your licence

If the case goes to court, there could be an unlimited fine and a driving disqualification.

Points are recorded for four years and disqualification is likely with 12 or more penalty points within three years. If you’re disqualified for any period longer than 56 days, you’ll need to apply for a new licence.

Police can seize an uninsured car and either destroy the vehicle or have it sold at auction. Uninsured driving convictions also show up on DBS checks. In the most serious cases, where there is a fatality, there can be jail sentences of up to two years, or 10 years if ‘dangerous driving’ is proved.

Even if a car is not being driven, if it’s uninsured, you could be given a £100 fine and a £20 storage charge per day and £150 collection fee if it’s seized by police.

However, driving without insurance in itself is not an imprisonable offence and does not appear on a conviction on a criminal record.

But I’ve got comprehensive insurance, surely that means I can drive any car I want?

No! Or at least, not necessarily. Sure, a lot of comprehensive car insurance policies include ‘drive other cars’ (DOC) cover, but it may not be the catch-all you’re hoping for.

This cover is primarily aimed at allowing you to drive someone else’s car in an emergency, rather than regularly. Many insurers don’t even offer it anymore. It’s also subject to a number of terms and conditions.

If you do have this as part of your cover, then at the very least you’ll need to get explicit permission from the vehicle owner and even then you may only have third party cover. Always check the details of your policy.

If you are caught trying to use DOC as your excuse you could even land the owner of the car in hot water too.

Are there any loopholes or legal reasons for driving without insurance?

There are a number of ‘mitigating circumstances’ that may be considered if you’re caught driving without insurance. These aren’t a given though, and you can’t rely on them.

Some instances where people may have had a punishment reduced have included, but are not limited to:

An insurance company cancelling a driver’s policy without notifying them – which would be an incredibly rare scenario
A driver having a genuine reason to believe they are driving with insurance

There may be other circumstances that are considered.

Simply forgetting to renew your policy is not an excuse.

What about cars that are not driven?

In most cases, if a car is out of action, it still needs to be insured. This is the case if it’s on the street as a stationary car can still be in an accident. You can declare a car Statutory Off Road Notice (SORN), meaning it does not need to be insured, but it cannot be left on a public road.

What circumstances don’t I need insurance to drive?

There are actually a number of circumstances where you don’t need to insure your car. However, these don’t generally let you drive the car.

Your car doesn’t need insurance if:

You have a Statutory Off Road Notice (SORN)
The has been scrapped, stolen or exported with the required notice in place
The car is between registered keepers or dealers
The car has been registered as ‘in trade’ with the DVLA

The only time you can drive a car without insurance is on private land. All the other times require the car to be off-road in some way.

My insurance policy isn’t showing up on the Motor Insurance Database (MID), can I drive?

Whenever you insure your car, your policy will show up on the Motor Insurance Database.

You can learn more about what the MID is here, but in short, it’s a database that details all the cars and their insurance status.

Insurance can take a few days to show up on the MID though. So, if you’re driving immediately after buying a policy, there’s a chance you won’t show up when the police check your number plate. In this instance, you’re still insured, so don’t worry. Just make sure you have your policy details to hand to prove it and explain the situation.

I’m insured, but I’ve been hit by an uninsured driver, what then?

Even if you’re meeting all the motoring laws yourself, and driving with insurance, you may still find yourself in an awkward situation. If you’re unlucky enough to be in a car accident with someone that was driving without insurance, there are a few things you’ll need to do.

First of all, if the other driver says they are uninsured or refuses to supply insurance details, you should report them to the police.

If they simply didn’t have their details, you can look to see if it’s an uninsured vehicle by checking its details on the Motor Insurance Database website.

You can also see whether you can claim compensation from the Motor Insurer’s Bureau.

A simple solution from GoShorty

There’s a straightforward and affordable way to make sure you don’t have to risk driving uninsured. Comprehensive short term car insurance or temporary van insurance from GoShorty can be purchased from one hour up to 28 days and provides ultimate reinsurance.

So, this would cover a test drive or can be taken out on a regular basis if you want to car share or borrow a vehicle from time to time. Our temporary car insurance is available for drivers aged 18 to 75 and is a fast and certain way to ensure you don’t need to drive uninsured.

Don’t risk driving without insurance – get cover today with a temporary insurance quote from GoShorty.

Tag Archive: insurance information

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