What info do I need for a car insurance quote?

It’s Christmas time, and some of you may be treating yourself to a new vehicle this month. With a new car purchase, you’ll want to revisit your coverage details. Getting a car insurance quote is getting easier; there are plenty of online avenues to help you find what you need. At Kwiksure, we have a simple online quotation tool that you can use to find the best car insurance for your situation in Hong Kong - you can find this here.

That said, getting you a car insurance quote requires some handy details. Some of what we ask for will be common sense information, but you might not necessarily know how it affects your quoted premium. This week, Kwiksure discusses what information you need to get a quote for vehicle coverage, and why it might be important.

Insurance requirements

Obviously, one of the most important things we’ll need to know in order to generate your quote is the type of insurance you need. When you’re looking for coverage, there are two mains types you can purchase; third party insurance, and comprehensive insurance. The differences between the two policy types are simple, however, here’s a really quick and basic summation of what they are:

• Third party insurance: Covers any damage and/or bodily injury or death incurred by a third party as a result of your driving.
• Comprehensive insurance: Covers any damage and/or bodily injury or death incurred by you and any third parties as a result of your driving.

Obviously, there’s a lot more to these differences than that - and you can read more about them in this article. That said, it’s important to know that third party insurance is the bare minimum required by Hong Kong law in order for you to drive legally on the roads.

In addition to knowing your insurance type and the sum you’ll want to be insured for, we’ll also ask about any No Claims Discount (NCD) you currently have. Any car insurance quote you get can be affected if you have an existing NCD you have, as some insurers may allow you to transfer that discount across to a new policy. To find out more about what an NCD is, and how it works, visit our No Claims Discount page.

Vehicle information

When we’re asking for information about your vehicle, there are three initial pieces of information we need to prepare your car insurance quote

• Car Make
• Car Model
• Year of Manufacture

Your make and model impact your potential premium based on the value and performance ratings of the vehicle you want to be insured. Insuring a Lamborghini Centenario will come with a much higher premium price than the cost of insuring a Nissan Cube. Similarly, newer vehicles are seen as being less risky to insure as the quality and reliability is higher with new parts. Older vehicles may be more expensive to insure, especially ones that require frequent maintenance and repairs.

Beyond the initial car information, those deciding to follow through with their car insurance quote will also need to provide the following information:

• Body Type
• Number of Doors
• Chassis Number
• Engine Number
• Number of Cylinders
• Number of Seats (Excluding Drivers Seat)

These details don’t actually affect your premium price but are usually required by insurers when it comes time to issue your policy. Knowing what vehicle information you’ll need early can save you leaving a quote on hold whilst you obtain any details you don’t have handy.

Driver details

Information about you, and any other drivers likely to use the vehicle, is the final piece of the car insurance quote puzzle. There are plenty of details about you personally that can impact and affect your final premium price:

• Age: Younger and older drivers are seen as riskier; generally, 25-to-60 is the age range where premiums will be a standard price. Outside of that may be more costly.
• Occupation: Some jobs are seen as having more predictable or riskier driving habits or behaviour, so your profession may have a slight impact on your car insurance  premium costs. Beyond that, some positions will see you driving more, which also increases your risk of being in an accident.  
• Experience, Driving History, and Driving Offense Points: More frequent experience behind the wheel with a clean driving record means less risk, and a lower premium.

If you have another person who will be a frequent user of your car, like a spouse or child, then we’ll also ask for the same personal details about them too. Generally, a second driver will not necessarily affect the premium price unless that additional driver poses a higher risk behind the wheel (e.g. a child learning to drive using the vehicle).

Should you choose not to include a second driver on your car insurance quote, your policy will then usually subject any claims related to your vehicle whilst you’re not driving as an “unnamed driver excess” - which can be in excess of HKD 5,000 per claim.

Additional car insurance quote options

In addition to third party or comprehensive car coverage, our quotes can also include the following optional extras:

• Auto Assistance Services: For third party coverage this service includes towing, emergency roadside assistance, alternate car, and dedicated claims and general advisor hotline benefits.
• Personal Accident, Medical, & Auto Assistance: Additional coverage for a policyholder and their passengers in the event of an accident - can be purchased in Silver, Gold, or Platinum tiers.

These are completely optional, but extremely valuable, extras you can add to your car insurance quote for an additional cost. Again, for more information, check out our online quotation tool.

Getting the best car insurance quote from a leading Hong Kong broker

Finding the best car insurance for your situation isn’t difficult; you just need to know where to look for it. Choosing an experienced and expert car insurance broker, such as our team at Kwiksure, can take a lot of the hassle and effort of wading through different insurers to find the best fit and price. We’ve delivered over half a million car insurance policies in the past 10 years, and we’re very, very good at it.

If you want to get the best car insurance quote, work with the best car insurance broker in Hong Kong. Visit our online quotation tool or call our team to find out more.