What are the biggest car insurance misconceptions?

Car insurance is essential for drivers, and for most drivers, it gives peace of mind that, if there was an accident or theft, they would be protected against a major loss.

However, a new survey has identified the biggest car insurance myths and it also suggests that many consumers aren’t as up-to-date with their knowledge as they could be.

The survey was put together by Insurify and it found that there were several common misconceptions about car insurance. Here are the most widespread:

1. Understanding comprehensive cover

The most common myth among consumers purchasing car insurance is that comprehensive policies provide cover for everything. In fact, 78% of drivers believe this to be true, despite comprehensive policies not covering all types of damage to vehicles.

The comprehensive cover does provide compensation for most types of damage, including theft, vandalism, or accidents, but it’s still important to check the policy carefully.

2. How to get a discount

Another poorly understood aspect of car insurance is how discounts work. The survey shows that 33% of policyholders believe that once a company quotes a figure, there’s no way for them to pay less for their insurance.

This is not normally the case. Almost every insurance provider offers a discount based on different requirements, and these can vary greatly.

There can be discounts for not driving many miles or combining home and car insurance on the same policy, as well as safe driver discounts that are based on the driver’s record.

3. Liability for injuries

The third area that the survey found high levels of confusion was bodily injury liability. This is a legal requirement almost everywhere, and it means that, if there was an accident where the insured driver was at fault, their insurer would cover all the medical bills.

In a lot of cases, this only covers medical bills for those in the other car, but 52% of people in the survey said they believed it would cover their own bills when it wouldn’t.