Thursday, August 12, 2010

Expat Money Tips: Car Insurance

driving
If you own a car in your host country it is important that you research car insurance quotes carefully. Car insurance is a legal requirement in many countries. It protects both the person responsible for the accident and the victim of the accident, and protects the owner of the car in cases of no fault.
There are many factors that can influence your car insurance quotes, such as how many miles you drive in a year, if you keep the car on the roadside at night, on a driveway or in a garage, how old the car is, how old you are, if you are male or female and even what job you have. There are ways that you can reduce the cost of your insurance, such as a no claims bonus—the more years you drive without making an insurance claim the less you will be quoted. Some countries offer discounts if you have taken an advanced driving course. Keeping the car off the road and using security such as immobilisers will also potentially reduce the quotes.
As an expat you may be given a car as part of your work package. The insurance will most likely be taken care of by the company in this case although you will likely be responsible for other costs, such as road tax if you are in the UK.
If you are trying to reduce your living costs driving a smaller, greener car will be a considerable help. Not only will it cost less to run, but also the insurance will be much less.
If you do not buy car insurance in an attempt to gamble with saving money there are different penalties depending on the country. Firstly, if you are caught as an expat you could potentially face deportation from breaking a law. Secondly, if you are in an accident you could find a very costly bill to pay for either damage to your car, damage to the other person’s car or both. Or worse, you could be sued for injury or death. The cost of such an action could easily bankrupt many people.
One of the financial planning items on any expat’s agenda should be car insurance. If you are trying to save money it is a false economy to try to avoid car insurance as there are several ways you can reduce car insurance and maintain a healthy expat budget.

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