Eleven tips for getting cheap car insurance

 

Car insurance is expensive, especially if you are a young or inexperienced driver. However, you can’t legally go on the road without it. We’ve got eleven ways to help you get the cheapest car insurance for your personal circumstances.

From shopping around to correctly estimating your mileage, there are plenty of ways to keep the costs under control.

Below, we cover:

The average cost of car insurance

Eleven tips for getting the cheapest car insurance

Whether it’s

worth increasing your excess

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From shopping around to correctly estimating your mileage, there are plenty of ways to get cheap car insurance

From shopping around to correctly estimating your mileage, there are plenty of ways to get cheap car insurance

How much does car insurance cost?

The average cost of taking out a policy on a car in the UK is £554 a year, according to the insurance comparison site Confused.com*.

However, prices vary substantially across the UK. The capital is the most expensive region, with drivers in inner London stumping up £882 on average to insure their cars each year.

This compares to £373 in the southwest of England and £366 in the Scottish Borders – the regions with the cheapest car cover in the UK.

Your age is a significant driver of cost too. Unsurprisingly, young motorists with limited experience pay the most, with the average 18-year-old having to fork out an average of £1,453 to insure their car.

Costs drop as you get older, with 30-year-olds paying a typical £738, falling to £312 for a 69-year-old.

There will be no single insurer that offers the cheapest car insurance, and your location and age are just two of a wide range of influences on how much you will have to pay. This is why it’s so important to shop around to find out what is the cheapest price you can pay for car cover.

See here for our guide to the best car insurance providers.

Factors that raise and lower your car insurance costs 

Your age and where you live are two key drivers of insurance costs. 

However, there are many other factors that insurance companies will take into account when calculating your premium, including:

Your occupation. Some jobs are deemed riskier than others, with people in certain professions judged by insurers to be more likely to have to make a claim on their car cover. It may also be that you drive for your work, meaning you have to pay more for your insurance policy as your mileage will be greater.

Your driving experience. New drivers will pay more as they have not had the chance to prove they are a good insurance risk, or to build a no-claims track record and so qualify for a bonus and lower premiums. 

Crime rates where you live. Is there a higher risk of theft or vandalism?

Your car. If it’s appealing to thieves or has a powerful engine, it will probably cost more to insure.

Your driving history. Insurers will need to know about any previous accidents or driving convictions.

The security of your car. Do you have an alarm or immobiliser fitted to reduce the risk of theft?

Where it will be parked overnight. You will pay less if you have off-street parking as vandalism or theft are seen as less of a danger.

How you use your car. Will you be driving at statistically riskier times such as at night and on busy roads during rush hour, or will it mainly be weekends when you take your car out?

Your mileage. The more you drive, the larger your premium will be.

The lowest car insurance rates are often for older drivers, doing limited miles in a safe and reliable car that is parked on a drive or in a garage overnight. 

Your age and where you live are two key drivers of costs

Eleven tips to get the cheapest car insurance

There are plenty of ways to keep costs down even if, taking all these factors into account, you are judged as higher risk. Follow our tips to find out how to make car insurance cheaper.

1. Pick the right level of cover

There are three different levels of car insurance.

Third-party. This is the legal minimum for driving in the UK. If you are involved in an accident that is your fault, a third-party policy will cover the cost of the damage to property, including other cars, as well as any personal-injury claims against you.

Third-party fire and theft. This covers all the above but will also pay out if your car is stolen or damaged by fire.

Comprehensive. This type of policy offers all of the benefits of third-party, but will also cover claims for damage to yourself and your own car if you are involved in an accident, whoever is at fault.

Although it would be reasonable to assume that third-party cover should be cheaper than comprehensive insurance, this is no longer the case for many people.

It did come with lower premiums in the past. But those seeking comprehensive insurance are now judged more responsible because they want to cover all the angles. So now it can be cheaper despite the extra protection. 

When you take out a policy, you will also be offered a range of bolt-on benefits such as:

Breakdown insurance – calling out assistance if, say, your engine packs up or you have a flat tyre

Cover for replacing lost or stolen keys

Legal expenses protection for any fees or losses incurred as a result of an accident that was not your fault

These ramp up your costs, so it’s important to consider first whether you need them, and second whether you might already have that cover elsewhere.

You might, for example, have legal cover under a home insurance policy – although check it applies in motor-related disputes.

Breakdown cover provides valuable peace of mind, but before adding it to your car insurance, check whether you could get better value buying it separately.

As of January, new rules have come in meaning your insurance bills may rise in future. Find out more here about beating rising insurance premiums.

2. Compare quotes

It’s important to search the market for a competitive insurance deal both when you first buy your car and then when the time comes each year to renew your policy.

Shopping around is easy with a price-comparison website. After answering a series of questions, the site will scour the market for you. 

While you will obviously want to pay as little as possible, cheapest isn’t necessarily best. You should always compare the level of cover offered by the different policies, not just the price. 

If you have more than one vehicle in your household, it’s worth asking about multi-car discounts. The more cars you are able to insure on one policy, the greater the discount will be. 

However, you should always compare the cost of insuring your cars separately first.

3. Pay annually

It may feel more manageable to pay for your car insurance monthly, but it will bump up your bill. This is because insurers will charge you interest to spread the cost over the year.

If you can afford to, pay it all in one go.

Alternatively, if you have a 0% credit card, you could use that to pay for your car insurance and spread the cost without paying interest.

If you’re interested in taking out a credit card, check out our round up of the best 0% credit card deals.

4. Get the right type of car

If the cost of insurance is a worry, think about the type of car you buy. Fast cars with cheap insurance are, unfortunately, hard to come by.

Cars are placed in insurance groups rated from 1-50, with those at the bottom end of the scale cheapest to insure.

What group your car falls into will depend on a variety of factors including its value new, repair costs, safety and security features and performance.

Popular cars that are cheap to insure (with a rating between 1 and 10) include the:

Vauxhall Corsa

Volkswagen Polo

Ford Ka

Citroen C1

Audi A1 

You can check what insurance group your car is in at the Thatcham website.

5. Keep your car safe

Security features such as alarms and immobilisers can reduce the amount you pay for cover.

Insurance companies will also want to know where your car is parked overnight. You will pay less if you have access to off-street parking as the risk of theft or vandalism is reduced.

6. Get black box insurance

Black box insurance – also known as telematics – involves having a device fitted to your car, or an app on your phone, to monitor how you drive.

This will include your speed and mileage, as well as acceleration, cornering and braking. It will also record how many journeys you make, their duration and the roads you drive on and at what times.

The insurer will then be able to price your cover based on your own driving – rather than on, say, the general claims risk presented by people in your age group. The better your performance, the less you will pay.

This may be the best insurance for young motorists, so long as you drive carefully and responsibly. 

7. Add an extra driver

Cheap insurance for first-time drivers is hard to find. Young motorists, however, can reduce their costs by adding a named driver such as a parent or other family member to their policy.

With a more experienced driver using the car, the insurer will consider risks to be shared and offer a cheaper premium.

It’s important, however, that you don’t name a more experienced driver as the primary driver if you will be driving most. This is known as “fronting” – it’s illegal and could invalidate your insurance.

8. Increase your excess

Another option in bringing down the upfront cost of car cover is to increase your voluntary excess. This is the amount you agree to pay towards the cost of any claim. 

Although it’s a good way of cutting your premium, it’s important not to agree to an excess that you would struggle to pay if you needed to claim.

9. Tweak your job title

When you sign up for car insurance quotes, you’ll be asked to provide your job title. This has a bearing on the insurance premiums you’ll be shown.

By making small changes to your job title, you can save money on car insurance and be eligible for cheaper quotes. However, it’s vital that any job title you provide accurately describes what you do. If it doesn’t, it’s fraud and it’s illegal.

For example, a lawyer could save money on their insurance by being savvy with the job title they provide. Entering ‘solicitor’ instead of just ‘lawyer’ could make premiums over 10% cheaper, while putting ‘lawyer’ instead of ‘barrister’ can also cut costs.

It’s best to fiddle around with a few different job titles when searching for quotes – just make sure whichever one you go with is accurate.

10. Drive fewer miles

The more you drive, the more your insurance will cost. If you can’t reduce the number and length of your journeys, you should at least give your insurer a realistic estimated mileage; there’s no point paying for miles you don’t need.

11. Improve your driving record

For every year you don’t claim on your car insurance, you will build up a no-claims discount on your premium. The longer you can go without having to ask for a payout, the bigger the discount you will get.

You can reduce the risk of being in an accident, so protecting your no-claims discount, by driving as safely as possible. This means staying within speed limits and taking care to brake and accelerate smoothly.

You should also take particular care when driving at night and when weather conditions are poor.