Why I switched: 'I was penalised because I took a break from driving'

Driven to save: Emma Jane Hade sitting in her car. Photo: Damien Eagers

Emma Jane Hade

February 06 2015 04:32 PM

I just bought a car and in my recent hunt for insurance, I received a quote that was almost as high as the value of my 10-year-old motor.

After weeks of trawling through online advertisements for second-hand cars, my dad and brother finally found 'the one', a shiny blue Peugeot 206.

But because I took a short hiatus from driving for a year, some insurance companies were quoting me more than €2,100 to get back on the road with a fully comprehensive policy.

I am 24 years old with a full, clean driver's licence for more than six years and not a penalty point in sight, so to me this was just ridiculous.

However, a friend who works in the industry said that no, this was the unfortunate reality I was being faced with because I had been off the road for just a year.

I rang several companies and got quotes from all the Irish websites, but everything was far too high.

Eventually, I decided to switch to a third-party fire and theft policy and National Insurance were able to offer me one for just over €1,000, helping me to make savings of more than 50pc.