Its a familiar story but this time I’m not sure what can actually be done to bring the prices down.  The root cause of the problem is actually very simple; the price of crude oil has spiked very quickly over the last few weeks.

Although there is a simple explanation, the next steps of how to tackle prices of around £1.40 for petrol are not so easy to decide upon.

The obvious answer is that the government could reduce the amount of tax that makes up the price of petrol.  The problem is that its not really that easy.  Yes, it would definitely reduce the price of petrol and diesel in the short term but there are a few problems.  Firstly, the UK government would miss out on valuable tax income which is desperately needed to offset some of the harsh cuts that have been made.  The second point is that this price rise will likely come back just as soon as the price of crude spikes again from its current position.

This second price rise would be a permanent part of the cost of fuel until the cost of a barrel of oil falls back below the $95 mark.  This is quite unlikely due to the state of the US economy so it looks like high petrol prices are here to stay.

With this in mind you need to make sure you take every opportunity to save money.  Get a car insurance quote  with Quotezone and save yourself an absolute fortune today.  Its quicker and cheaper than ringing around endless brokers and insurers and dealing with call centres.  See how much you could save today and offset the cost of the petrol rise for this year.

He was quoted up to £17,325.54 for cover for 1 year!

This seems a bit steep especially as the Vauxhall Corsa he bought only cost £2,000 meaning he would have to work flat out in a good job all year in order to afford to insure his car – and that doesn’t take into account any running costs…

Although it seems completely insane to charge these premiums, there are a number of factors here:

• 17 to 20 year old male drivers are 10 times more likely to have a serious injury or die while driving than older drivers
• 1 in 5 young drivers has a crash within 6 months of passing their test
• The insurance industry has been hit by rising numbers of claims and fraudulent claims which all increase the base cost of car insurance

So, how do young drivers get cheap car insurance?

In the current economic climate, there are things you can try in order to keep premiums down:

1. Visit comparison sites like Quotezone to get the best deal for your car insurance
2. Complete the pass plus course as there are insurers and brokers who have deals where pass plus acts like having a 1 year no claims bonus or no claims discount.  Again, these factors are taken into consideration by quote comparison sites like Quotezone but you can ring brokers directly if you really need to

So there you have it.  2 ways to reduce the premium paid for your car insurance – hopefully you will have more luck finding cheap car insurance than the poor guy in the story

Our partners have very cheap car insurance prices for drivers who have convictions such as SP30, SP50 and DR10.

In some circumstances, Quotezone is able to provide amazing rates for those with IN10, TT99, DD40 and CD10 convictions.

If you have a bad driving history then there are definitely UK insurance companies and insurers who want your business, you just have to know where to look.  Many companies have special schemes to allow them to cover a number of convictions so give Quotezone a try and see if you can benefit from cheap convicted driver insurance today.

There are a few cited reasons for the price rises such as increased cost of claims and injury settlements.  Drivers and passengers are now claiming for minor injuries such as mild whiplash and winning their cases, meaning insurers need to pay out a lot more than in the past.  This is being heavily encouraged by TV advertisements by lawyers and solicitors and people are using it as a way to generate extra cash during the current credit crisis.

The winter has been particularly bad and crashes and accidents are up by around 30%, another factor thats causing higher prices.   Years of high commission payments to the big price comparison sites (aggregators) have also taken their toll and caused a double whammy, high cost of aquisition of customers and a dwindling renewals book as drivers are encouraged to switch every year to gain the latest new customer discount.

Despite this, it still makes sense to compare your insurance prices online and use a service like Quotezone to get the best deal for you.  Remember, prices are up across the whole market and so you’ll probably need to pay more for the same cover or switch to a cheaper cover such as moving from Comprehensive to Third Party Fire & Theft (TPFT).

Good luck in finding your bargain out there!

Get the Aviva deal – 12 months car insurance for the price of 10

Looking for a great deal on your car insurance? If you buy your car insurance direct from Aviva, they are currently offering 12 months car insurance for the price of 10*. Whether you’re looking for comprehensive or third party fire & theft cover, all new customers with four or more years’ no claims discount will qualify.

Don’t have 4 years no claims discount? Aviva still have a deal for you -you can benefit from up to 15% online discount!

Cutting costs couldn’t be easier and you won’t be compromising on quality either, as Aviva car insurance offer many benefits. Here are just some of the service features you can look forward to:

• Up to 70% no claims discount^
• 5% discount on each additional car you insure
• Approved repairer network across UK – with 3 year guarantee
• Great deals for more experienced drivers
• Great deals for couples who live together
• Lower premiums for those who drive fewer miles
• Free 24/7 claims helpline

Get a quote today and get the Aviva deal

* Available to new customers who have been claim free for 4 years or more on their existing car insurance. Proof of renewal terms needed (or proof of claim free status needed). Excludes any additional covers. A minimum premium applies. Offer is available for a limited period and may be withdrawn at any time.

^Does not apply to the administration costs or any optional covers that you might choose to include.

Please note this offer has now finished

• Alloy wheels with locking nuts
• Alloy wheels without locking nuts
• Air filter
• Bucket seats
• Racing seatbelts
• Enhanced carburetor
• Performance Exhaust
• Body Kit
• Spoiler
• Increased engine capacity
• Improved brake system

In some cases, re-sprays, racing or “go faster” stripes and even stickers indicating brand-name stereos are classed as mods by certain insurers. If in doubt, its always best to ask  your broker or insurer.

For quotes for modded cars, try Quotezone – the price comparison site.

If you were at fault, you will almost certainly lose part or all of your NCD, as your insurer will have to pay for
any damages to third parties. If the third party was at fault and you are able to claim damages from their
insurer, your NCD should remain unaffected.

Don’t worry, even if you have 0 years No Claims Bonus, Quotezone price comparison can still get the best deals for you!

Remembering to declare all accidents you have been involved in is vital when purchasing any car insurance policy as insurers require full disclosure, even if the accident was not your fault. You may not know that you are also required to state any accidents where you did not make a claim on your policy.

Most insurance companies and brokers will ask whether or not your NCD was affected by your accident and this will have
an effect on your quote.

Once you have earned 4 years NCD, you have the option to protect your bonus. This is a chargeable amount on top of your insurance premium. You can carry on using this option each year, until you have reached the maximum of 9 years NCD. Drivers with maximum no claims can get substantial discount on their car insurance policy. This is why no claims discount is often referred to as no claims bonus as you get a bonus discount for being a careful driver.

Whilst most insurers and brokers have the same limits for NCD and protected policies, some insurers have a higher limit on the maximum NCD years. A few companies extend the no claims discount scheme to 15 years.

The same is true of the protected no claims discount package. Some providers will only offer protection after the policy holder completes 5 or 6 full years NCD.

Remeber, use Quotezone to find the best deal for any amount of No Claims Bonus.

Specifically targetting young drivers, the campaign is aimed at taking dangerous drivers off the roads to make our streets safer. Police sources and statistics show that about 1 in 20 drivers (5%) drive without valid insurance and this figure includes a disproportionally high number of young drivers.

Uninsured drivers usually commit other road offences such as driving without road tax, a valid MOT and are more likely to be caught speeding or involved in an accident.

As uninsured drivers add around £30 onto the average motorist’s annual insurance premium, the police are urging the public to come forward if they suspect or know of anyone driving around without the correct documentation.

Please ensure you have valid and correct documentation to avoid adding to these statistics.

Remember, use Quotezone to get the cheapest insurance for your vehicle!

Although used tyres can be picked up at bargain prices, recent research shows that these savings could be a false economy. 20 tyres were bought from an online auction house and tested for roadworthiness. The results are not good news for anyone looking for cheap car insurance.

None of the tyres (0 out of 20) passed all the required safety measurements! Two even had less tread than the minimum level by law. This is particularly distressing as getting stopped by the police with such tyres will leave you with a fine,
points on your license and probably a driving conviction. All convictions must be disclosed when purchasing
insurance and they definitely cause an increase in your renewal premium.

Worse still, bald tyres will reduce the grip your car has on the road and increase the likelyhood of you having or
causing and accident. Not only costly but potentially fatal.

It seems that although its tempting to make a good saving on tyres bought on the Internet, be very careful what you
are buying and where possible use authorised stockists and dealers. The savings made on second rate tyres could be
completely wasted through higher insurance premiums.

Speaking of car insurance, if you want a fast cheap quote online, use Quotezone.  They have a fast and easy to use site that gets you prices you want.

This post about winter driving was written a few years ago but the advice is still relevant to our current situation in 2010 so don’t forget to read up and avoid disaster!