Gocompare.com is a different kind of price comparison service. We compare insurance
products not just on price but on their suitability to your individual requirements.
To save you time and money, we have set up a large panel of insurers all waiting
to quote for you. Our system that will ask only the minimum of questions required
and then save your quote details, so you only need enter these details once. Our
one quote process means that you do not have to spend time registering your details
with numerous websites - that's the time saving part.
Our aim is to bring you the widest independent choice and get the right quote
for you, whether it's for car insurance, bike insurance or any of our other
insurance products.
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Each insurer pays us an introductory fee per sale. We don't charge you in any
way - not even a penny, and unlike some other price comparison sites, we do not
charge insurers to advertise on our site, they only pay us when a sale has been made.
Given this set up, it is in our interest to make sure that the panel of insurers
who are quoting are the most competitive. That way the insurers make sales and we
make some money.
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Yes! We do everything we can to ensure that the price you see on our site is the same as
the one you'll see on the insurer's site providing you enter exactly the same details! If
the car you enter on Gocompare.com is a Fiesta and the one you enter on the direct insurer
site is a Ferrari, then you'd expect a difference in the quote you receive.
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The Gocompare.com team - we have extensive knowledge of the insurance
industry, and we know that the cheapest quote isn't always the same as the best value quote.
Our focus is on offering you the best value, which means providing quotes for policies that
match your individual requirements, and ensuring that you have the right cover.
The Gocompare.com 5 star rating system - our special star rating system
clearly shows which products most closely match your requirements. This system is completely
objective and based purely on how well the policy matches your individual requirements.
Insurers do not pay additional fees to achieve a higher star rating.
Up to date information - once you have found the quote that best suits your
requirements, you can click through directly to the insurer's website and purchase your policy.
We will provide you with the most up-to-date and accurate information, direct from the
insurer.
The best deal - we aim to offer every customer the best value deal, according
to their requirements. That’s why we compare on a like for like basis, to make the choice very
simple and straightforward
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If you've ever trawled around the internet going from one company to another you'll
have noticed that each company asks a host of questions. Although you may be looking for
the same product, each company will ask a slightly different set of questions, so in order for
us to retrieve quotes from each site we have to cater for all differences. However, if you
went through each insurer's site without using Gocompare.com, you would be asked a lot more
questions. We only ask once.
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If all we were interested in was being another non-discript price comparison site we would
just order prices from the cheapest to the most expensive and offer little information about
the levels of cover. However, we thought you would make a better decision with more information
about how each product suits your needs.
At Gocompare.com we have a special 5 star rating system which will help to show you which
quote best matches your requirements. So, for example, if during your car insurance quote you said
that you wanted legal assistance, windscreen cover and breakdown cover, all those prices that
are returned with 5 out of 5 stars include legal assistance, windscreen cover and breakdown
cover. If there were fewer stars then the price returned would be missing a level(s) of cover you
requested. Our star rating offers you an informed choice.
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Nothing at all, if you want to spend as little as possible on your insurance then you can
do just that. Please be careful though: there are some companies which have reduced the level
of cover they offer to make more sales by being the cheapest. This could result in you not
being as comprehensively covered as you think.
Of course, one way to be more informed about the level of cover you receive is by using our
star rating system.
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In addition to our insurance products - car, home, motorbike and van insurance - we
are continually updating our site to add more comparison services.
Just recently, we've added a few extra sections to the site to offer more choice-
- Utilities - switch gas & electricity, mobile phones, home phone and broadband providers.
- Travel - plan holidays, flights, hotels and foreign car hire.
- Money - highlighting personal and homeowner loans, savings and bank accounts, and credit cards.
- Motoring - look at new car, car leasing and car warranty options.
- Business - compare shop & retail, office, surgery & clinic and tradesman insurance products.
More comparison services will be available soon.
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Yes you do. With most other sites you are limited to a results page of quotes which are shown by
price only. We ask you what extra cover you may want such as legal assistance or NCB (No Claims
Bonus) protection. We then show you prices on the results page along with a star rating. So if
you selected two of the options of extra cover, then looked at the prices returned, those with
5 stars mean they have the cover you requested included in the price shown. In addition to
this there is also separate detail on what extra cover is included so you really cannot miss
what the best quote is for you.
Please note: some insurers include certain extra cover within their quotes so you may request
no extra cover at all and still be presented with some quotes inclusive of legal cover.
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Once you have driven claim free continuously for a certain number of years, insurers will
allow you to protect your no claims bonus. This means that should you have a fault claim
then the number of years of no claims bonus will remain the same. However, this may not
prevent your premium from rising as most companies rate on claim history as a separate
factor.
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Not every insurance company quotes competitively for every type of risk. Some will focus on
young drivers with claims history while others focus on experienced drivers with a low risk
vehicle and full no claims bonus. Although the insurance market is hugely competitive it
makes more sense for an insurer to attempt to corner a section of the market than compete
with everyone on every risk.
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In order to offer a quote to someone the insurance company naturally has to know what risk it
is quoting for. It is not looking for a complete medical history of every customer. What the
insurer does require, however, is to be informed of any medical condition that you were legally
required to report to the DVLA which has affected the conditions of your driving licence. This
will not affect your premium but is just for information purposes.
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We would always ask that you read the terms and conditions of any policy you intend to purchase
as there will be differences between each of them. You will find that the vast majority of
policies will offer the very minimum amount of cover for travelling within Europe. It may be
possible that your insurance company can provide extra cover for travelling abroad though
it's more than likely there will be a charge for this.
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Convictions
The more convictions on your licence the higher the premium.
Learner Drivers
Although your lack of experience makes you a greater risk you can take a course which shows you
are a proficient driver. This is a Pass Plus scheme for which some insurance companies may
cut premiums by as much as 30%. There is also an Advanced Driver course which can reduce
your premiums.
Modifications
Attempting to make your car look like it should be in a James Bond film is all well and good but
your insurer may raise your premium if there are any differences from the factory standard.
Parking Location
The safer the place you leave your car the lower the risk. If you leave your car on the street
overnight then an insurance company will say that this is a greater risk than a car kept
securely overnight in a locked garage.
Paying Monthly
Not all insurers make it clear that although they allow you to pay monthly instead of in one
lump sum, they may well charge you interest. This would make the total amount you pay higher
than the original quoted premium. If at all possible it may well be advisable to pay the
insurance in one go, unless you're lucky enough to find an insurer who offers interest free
instalments!
Security
A vehicle with a car alarm, immobiliser or tracker is potentially less likely to be stolen.
Insurance companies will recognise this and may lower the quote they offer for a vehicle with
security.
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No Claims Bonus (NCB) is a discount given by an insurer to policy holders who do not claim
on their policy in a period of vehicle insurance. Generally this period is a year though
there are some policies which may offer a shorter period of insured time, say ten months
and you gain a year's no claims bonus. However, please be aware that often the no claims
bonus is not transferable between insurers, so you may find you build your NCB more
quickly if you remain with the same insurer, but miss the chance to check your cover
is competitive
The total reward for no claims bonus may also differ between insurance companies in both number
of years and the amount of discount received. Some insurance companies will class four years
as a maximum level of no claims bonus while others will be five years or perhaps even six.
Discounts normally range between 30%, to begin with, up to 60%. Some insurers will
offer a bigger discount as an incentive for your business but approximately 30 to 60%
discount would be a good guide.
Something to note about claims and no claims bonus is that typically the insurance company will
step back the no claims bonus level by two years for a claim. Also, while a claim is pending
or ongoing and costs have not yet been recovered from a third party, your no claims bonus level
is stepped back by two years. e.g. a comprehensive policy holder claims for damage to his
vehicle following an accident caused by a third party. Until the insurance companies costs
are recovered from the third party or his insurer, this would count as a claim on the
policy and your no claims bonus level would be reduced by two years. Costs cannot be recovered
once the claim has been settled and the reduction on your no claims bonus level will
then become your true no claims bonus level.
As this can have a substantial effect on the level of no claims bonus discount received on
your insurance quotes, many policy holders opt to 'protect' their no claims bonus for an
additional premium once they have reached the maximum no claims bonus level.
Protecting your no claims bonus means that should there be an accident on your insurance policy
the claim would be settled but the no claims bonus would remain unaffected. The claim would
however be a part of your claims history and would have to be declared at subsequent renewals.
One last thing to note about no claims bonus is that with two cars, a driver will need two lots of
no claims bonus, one for each car. Drivers can't share no claims bonus earned on one car between
two cars. There may be instances where an insurance company changes this rule and allows one lot
of no claims bonus to cover more than one vehicle at the same time as a sales incentive, but this
is not standard practice.
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No Although they will account for your driving history, your age, if there are convictions on
your licence etc, i.e. for van insurance they have to include some of the following added risks:
- the total weight of the loaded vehicle.
- the size, type or nature of the contents carried e.g. hazardous loads.
- modifications such as lifting ramps.
- ownership of the contents within i.e. do the goods belong to the vehicle owner?
- the use of the vehicle: private, business, for hire.
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There are many models of van, each with its own characteristics. As vans are more commonly used for business
or commercial purposes the type of use often determines the type of van owned. Below are some of the
different types of van available on the market.
- Micro van - Small van used to carry small loads or deliveries.
- Small van/Light van - Front end is similar to a car, but with a van back. Sometimes with a raised roof.
- Medium van/Panel van - Van with a large load or weight capacity.
- Car-derived vans - Van derivative of car, looks like the van equivalent with the back windows filled.
- Pick-up - Cab with an open back, where the load is uncovered.
- Large van - Similar shape to the Medium vans with a larger carrying capacity.
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Theft, flood or fire are some convincing reasons for you to make sure that you have cover for
both your building and contents. If you have a mortgage it will almost certainly be a requirement
of the mortgage company to have insurance for the building.
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New for old means that the insurer will replace the item you are claiming for with one of the same make & specification where
possible. There will be cases where the item is no longer available for whatever reason and so the insurance companies will
speak to you about how to agree compensation for the damaged or item lost. Claims in respect of clothing, household linen and
bicycles will be subject to deductions for wear and tear.
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You can either find your rebuilding cost on your surveyor's certificate or you could use the following
link to The Associated British Insurers website where you will find a calculator to help you work out the
rebuilding cost of your property.
http://abi.bcis.co.uk
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