Motor Insurance

The second highest category weekly household expenditure was transport at £70.40, of which £21.10 was spent on the purchase of vehicles. There is a surge in car related spending and the rise is largely due to households buying new cars again after years of deferring a purchase during the recession. With £9.50 per week spend on average on car insurance its key to be on the best car insurance deal.

Jargon Buster

• Approved repairer — a garage recommended by your insurance company for vehicle repairs covered by your insurance policy
• Comprehensive cover — highest level of vehicle insurance covering injuries, damages, accidents, fire, medical expenses, loss of damage etc
• Cooling-off period — with many agreements, you are entitled to a cooling-off period whereby you are given a number of days (usually 14) during which you are entitled to change your mind without any repercussions
• Excess — this is the amount that you will be asked to contribute towards the cost of a claim
• Fault claim — where you are considered to be to blame, or where you or your insurance company cannot recover costs from somebody else. For example, if your vehicle is hit while parked, by someone who cannot be traced, this counts as a fault claim
• Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) — the UK's financial watchdog, the FCA regulates the financial services industry, including insurance companies. The FCA can advise you on making a complaint against an insurance company
• Indemnity — where you are placed in the same financial position following a loss as you were before it
• Insured value — amount the insurance company will pay out for your vehicle if it's damaged beyond repair. Either the amount you stated the vehicle was worth when taking out the policy, or the current market value at the time of the claim – whichever is lower
• IPT (Insurance Premium Tax) — tax on general insurance premiums and is included in the price of your motor vehicle insurance premium
• Named Driver — you are legally covered to drive the vehicle if added to the policy
• NCB (No-claims bonus) — each year you drive without making a claim you get a year's no-claims bonus. Helps reduce the cost of your vehicle insurance premium for the following year. Also described as a no-claims discount (NCD)
• Non-fault claim — where your insurer is able to recover the cost of the claim from someone else
• Period of insurance — the length of time you are covered as noted on the policy schedule
• Policy — a document detailing the terms and conditions applicable to an insurance contract and constituting legal evidence of the agreement to insure
• Policy Holder — the person in whose name the policy is issued
• Schedule — the part of a policy containing information peculiar to that particular risk
• TPFT (Third party, fire and theft) — provides the same level of cover as third party cover, but protects you against damage to your vehicle from fire, or theft of the vehicle, as long as you're not at fault
• TPO (Third party only) — minimum level of insurance cover required by law and contains no cover for damage to your vehicle. Usually covers injuries and damage to other people
• ULR (Uninsured loss recovery) — assistance in recovering uninsured losses from a third party, where an accident is the third party's fault
• Uninsured losses — losses not covered by your insurance policy, such as your policy excess, any out-of-pocket expenses following an accident
• Voluntary Excess — chosen by you and is in addition to any compulsory excess. Note: the higher the voluntary excess the lower the premiums