Car Insurance Buyers' Guide page 1: Comparing car insurance

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Published: 03 Dec 2008 in Motoring and Car Insurance

Like for like - the difficulty in comparing car insurance quotes

If you want to save money, it pays to shop around. But if you're looking for car insurance quotes, be prepared to go through the same information again and again on the phone or online with various insurance websites.

It's also important to know the criteria for underwriting varies enormously among car insurance providers, and although one company may give you a car insurance quote at one price from the details given, another could use a slightly different set of details to give a different rate altogether.

In short, when you're comparing the prices of car insurance quotes, you won't always be comparing like for like.

Car insurance quotes by phone

Telephone sales operators are trained to help you with car insurance quotes and can lead the driver in a way which will help them get the best price for the details submitted.

The disadvantage is you have to go though a number of lengthy phone calls to various car insurance providers before you can start comparing quotes.

Online car insurance quotes

Comparing prices over the internet can be equally bewildering if you go to each car insurance site individually. Most insurers' websites only give car insurance quotes for standard risks and have little flexibility.

Filling in exactly the same details and interpreting the wording is not easy and even small variations in the details can make a big difference to the resulting quote. This makes it even more tricky when making comparisons.

It is worth researching car insurance quotes on the internet through a site such as Confused.com because you fill in just the one form, and we'll present you with a list of quotes that are easy to understand. Then you can compare and choose a policy based on your individual requirements.

Next - page 2: Why car insurance prices vary