The premium is a single figure – the content is many lines. A strikingly cheap casco policy isn't a miracle, it's a structure: something has been narrowed somewhere, and the difference typically shows up at claim time. This article isn't against cheap cover – it's in favour of knowing WHY it's cheap before you sign.
- Typical sources of a low premium: a high deductible minimum, stricter depreciation, a narrower list of covered events, low limits, fewer services.
- Cheap isn't automatically bad – the question is whether you chose the narrower cover knowingly, or just looked at the premium.
- The safeguard is simple: compare on content – the premium comes only at the end.
Where does the price advantage come from? Five typical sources
1) Deductible: a higher percentage and, above all, a higher minimum – most small and medium claims then stay with you: deductible logic. 2) Depreciation: a stricter rule – on an older car, this can eat into a meaningful share of the payout: depreciation. 3) List of covered events: narrower definitions, more exclusions: exclusions map. 4) Limits: lower ceilings on add-ons. 5) Services: without assistance and a replacement car, the weeks after a claim are down to you to organise.
When is cheap cover the right call?
When the narrowing is deliberate and suits your situation. If you can absorb a high deductible and expect few small claims, a deductible-driven price advantage is a rational trade-off. If you drop collision cover on an older car but keep theft and natural-hazard cover (partial casco), you haven't "bought cheap" – you've tailored it to fit. The problem is never the price advantage itself – it's the surprise, when the narrowing only comes to light at claim time.
How to spot it
Put the two quotes side by side and work through the questions: where does the deductible map differ (by claim type!), what does the depreciation rule say, what's on the list of covered events and exclusions, what limits apply, what services are included? This is exactly what our quote comparison table is for – and what a broker is for: you get the table filled in from several insurers' quotes, with the premium line coming right at the end. That way, cheap cover can still be a good buy – but you'll know exactly what you're buying.
Got a strikingly cheap quote? Let's look together at what's behind that price. book a free 20-minute consultation →
