Insurance is all about risk, so insurance providers constantly analyse and assess every single thing they can to evaluate this risk.
That's why it's so important to keep your details as up to date as possible, which you can do at your MySaga account. This also means that when we send you a renewal or give you a quote, we can give you the best price we can.
Let's take a look at some of the obvious and not-so-obvious aspects your insurance underwriter takes into account when coming up with your premium.
As your car gets older, it will eventually move from one risk category into another, that will make a difference. And if you change your car, this could also affect your price. The make and model, engine capacity, weight, fuel type, transmission, safety features and the cost of repairs are all relevant.
Any change in the number of named drivers or to their circumstances may affect your premium. Your age and the age of any named drivers also change the risk, as driver experience is one of the main factors that determines the price.
If you use your car for driving to work, you’re likely to pay more for cover, because you're likely driving when the roads are busier. What you do for a living is factored in the equation too – some jobs are treated as higher risk, such as police officers, pub landlords and journalists.
Your annual mileage is crucial – after all, the more you drive, the more likely you are to be involved in an accident. On the other hand, a very low annual mileage could suggest that the driver may be less familiar with traffic and driving, and so this could increase the risk too. The risk calculation is extremely complex, and the more accurate figure you give the better.
If you make a change to your policy during the year – particularly if it’s made towards the end of the term – this could affect your renewal premium in the following year.
A claim or conviction, whether a motoring or criminal one, will likely have an affect on your premium. And it's not just the fact you've made a claim or received a conviction, the severity and how many there are will be considered too.
You’ll normally pay more where the risk of accidents is greater – such as in densely populated areas – or where there are high levels of vehicle crime.
Like checking your mileage and occupation is accurate, there are other aspects of your policy that can alter the price.
A higher voluntary excess will lower your premium. Find a happy medium that you are happy to pay if you ever need to make a claim.
Optional extras are nice to have, but can add to the cost of your premium. Check at renewal if you still need any optional extras you had last time.
Take a look at other cover levels. Ultimately, you should go with what suits you best and hits the sweet spot of having the cover you need and a price you're happy with. Here are Saga's three Comprehensive cover levels explained.
There are other influences on the cost of your car insurance that are not a result of anything you’ve done personally. From nationwide and regional statistics to the state of the economy, these external factors all contribute to changes in your price:
Your car insurance is subject to Insurance Premium Tax, which has doubled to 12% since 2015 and can change with every government budget.
Repairing damaged cars is becoming more expensive as the cost of parts and labour increase. But it's not just getting the car back on the road that's costing more. The legal costs involved in finalising claims and the amounts awarded for injury claims are increasing too.
Newly published data can affect the cost of your car insurance. This might be public information about reported crime figures, traffic data, theft and malicious damage statistics, together with the frequency of accidents in that area.
Insurance businesses have overheads so, naturally, each policy contributes to that. Any increases in the cost of office space, staff wages or operating systems may also affect the cost of your insurance.
We really are here to help, so if you’re worried or concerned about covering the cost of your insurance, please give us a call on 0800 092 3341 and we'll be happy to talk things through with you.
We will help by reassessing your risk profile, the cover level and payment type you've selected or reviewing the option of a payment deferral.
If you're a Saga Car Insurance customer and your circumstances have changed recently, such as your car's mileage or maybe you don’t need commuting or business use anymore, you can make these changes in MySaga.
Changes like this could reduce your premium, and making sure your details are up to date has the added benefit of enabling us to give you an accurate price at renewal.
Saga’s car insurance policies, exclusively for people over 50, are unique products designed by us specifically for our customers. They are underwritten by a number of carefully selected insurers that provide high standards of quality and service.
