Car insurance premiums have continued to rise in recent years. In September, a study by 40 Million motorists and Assurland.com estimated the increase at nearly 4% in 2024 nationally. And according to the 2025 forecasts from Facts & Figures, we can expect a new surge of between 4 and 6% this year. If price increases are inevitable, particularly due to inflation which affects repair costs, it is therefore imperative to control the bill by scrutinizing your insurance coverage.
1/ Know your guarantees
If you know the price of your car insurance, do you know what guarantees are attached to your contract? Not so sure… As revealed by the opinion survey carried out by 40 Millions d’automobilistes and Assurland.com, 73% of respondents think that the glass breakage guarantee necessarily covers all glass elements, whereas it does not sometimes only applies to the windshield. Likewise, personal effects contained in the passenger compartment are never included in the theft guarantee, but require separate protection, contrary to what 46% of those questioned believe. As for compensation in the event of a natural event, it does not concern vehicles insured to third parties, while 50.5% of respondents believe that they will be compensated regardless of their contract…
As we will have understood, first of all it is imperative to take stock of your contract to find out your current guarantees and ask yourself about their relevance.
2/ Evaluate your needs
The second step in this decision-making consists of establishing your motorist profile in order to determine your real needs. This is obviously the most delicate phase since you must ensure that you are sufficiently protected in the event of a problem, without paying for unnecessary guarantees. So is it useful to keep your comprehensive insurance even though your car is more than 10 years old? If it allows repairs to be covered, including in the event of a responsible accident, you should know that compensation will be based on the Argus rating of the car… a rating which plummets over the years.
To choose a new contract or adapt the current one, it is therefore necessary to take into account the value and age of your vehicle, but also your frequency and type of use. If you drive little or on short journeys, you have less risk of having a collision and can therefore consider less expensive insurance coverage. Certain specific profiles such as young people or drivers with a significant penalty will also be likely to turn to reduced protection to limit their expenses.
3/ Make a comparison
Start by taking stock with your insurer to obtain advice on the relevance of your plan and the possibilities of adjustment to reconcile protection and purchasing power. Let us remember that there are three main types of contract – third party, extended third party or all risks –, each adding additional guarantees compared to the lower level. And once armed with this information, don’t hesitate to get quotes from the competition! Since 2015, the Hamon law has made it possible to change insurer at any time after one year of contract. An approach that can allow you to make valuable savings since each insurer has its own commercial policy based on driver profiles.
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