Car insurance

10 mistakes drivers make with their ingenie insurance

Insurance can be a complicated pond of fish. And if you don't fully understand what you're doing or agreeing too, there can be annoying (and sometimes expensive) consequences.

We've worked with ingenie's customer team for a while now, and we've seen and heard it all. So we're sharing the most common mistakes we see drivers get caught up in, so you don't.

Read 'em and you'll be the super savvy insurance one among your mates.

Now isn't that a title you've always wanted.

Top 10 ingenie driver blunders

1. Not checking your documents

   We know insurance comes with a lot of words, but not checking the details you entered can make things complicated further down the line. Do yourself a favour and dedicate 10 minutes to reading through your insurance documents and checking you're happy with everything.

   If you put a high voluntary excess down (on top of your compulsory excess) without a lot of thought because you were in a rush at the time, make sure you understand what your combined excess means.

2. Box fitting location

   If you're on a fitted black box policy with ingenie, some drivers make the mistake of thinking they have to get their box fitted at home. Na-uh. Our box fitters will come out to you whether that's college, work or your mates house. It just needs to be flat and safe.

   You also don't need to be there yourself if you're tied up with other things. Just leave the car (and the keys!) with someone responsible, along with any documents you need to show the engineer.

3. Modifications

   ingenie just doesn't allow mods and it's part of the reason we can get you guys cheaper quotes from our panel of insurers.

   If you take out a policy with us with a modified car, your insurance could be void if you were to have a crash - which basically means the same thing as not having insurance.

   If you're unsure whether your car is modified, here's what to look for.

4. Forgetting to mention claims

   Whether you meant to or not you're actually entering the world of insurance fraud by not telling your insurer about any claims you've had. This includes named drivers - which a lot of drivers forget about.

   If you're adding Mum or Dad to your insurance, get all their details before you go ahead with yours. That way you can have piece of mind that you're fully covered and you've disclosed everything you need to.

5. Driving feedback account

   Not setting up your driving feedback account is a big deal.

   Tonnes of driving data is sent through to ingenie every day from the box in your car. Then LOADS of clever systems process that data, which is all personal to you, to show you where you can improve to get the top discount. But if you're not seeing that info - you're not getting the most out of your insurance with ingenie.

   We know that drivers who check their driving feedback are less likely to have a crash. So we'll keep bugging you to get set up. Sorry, not sorry.

6. Buying a car without a quote first

   Research, research, research. Drivers do loads of net searching when they're trying to find a car, but very little when it comes to the insurance side of things.

   We see a lot of drivers get excited about buying their second car too - not realising that their insurance can go up (or down) as a result. In some cases, we may not be able to give you a quote on the car you've got your eye on, which would mean having to cancel and risk paying a fee if you'd already bought it.

   ALWAYS get a quote BEFORE buying a car, so you can get an idea of how it will affect what you're paying currently.

7. Opening hours

   Picture the scene. You've been planning on picking up your new set of wheels for ages. You're excited. You've arranged to drive it home first thing Sunday - but you didn't check that you could sort the insurance that day too. S%*t.

   ingenie's main call centre is closed on Sundays, so to avoid having to change your weekend plans make sure you've arranged for your insurance to start the day you need it.

8. Instalments

   A lot of drivers worry about being low on cash when it comes to their monthly instalment being taken for their car insurance. So if the start of the month works better for you budget-wise, get in touch! We can look into changing the date so you don't miss your instalment date each month.

   If you do pay by instalments, any good driving discount you get will be spread across your remaining payments. If your price review date is a bit close to your payment date it usually starts from the following month - just in case you were wondering where it's got to.

9. Leaving before your NCD

   In your first year of driving your No Claims Discount (NCD) is your golden ticket. It's the sign over your head that says "Hey, look - I'm new to this driving thing but I didn't crash in 365 days!" So, the last thing you want to be doing is turning your back on that. Yet a lot of drivers do.

   If you're thinking about leaving ingenie just remember you'll need to have finished the full 12 months of the insurance claim-free to get your NCD.

10. Letting your renewal quote expire

    We're all guilty of leaving things til the last minute. But letting your insurance completely end and hoping you can use the same quote a month later is a problem.

    We'll send you your renewal quote 17 days before your insurance is due to end so that's LOADS of time to give us a call.