If you drive, you can’t avoid buying car insurance. But you can reduce the cost.
Car insurance can be one of the most expensive monthly bills that you pay. However, there are a few ways in which you can reduce your premiums.
Remember, ‘cheap’ does not always equal ‘good value’. Make sure that any car insurance policy you take out provides adequate cover for your needs.
Be sure to use Fairer Finance’s tables to find a provider. Insurers who hold a Fairer Finance ribbon lead the market for transparency, trust, and customer happiness.
Before you buy, look into some of the following options to try to slash the cost of your insurance.
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1
Don’t pay monthly
It might seem like a huge upfront cost, but if you can afford to, pay annually. If you opt for monthly repayments, the insurer will charge you interest as you are essentially borrowing that amount and then paying it back in increments.
As a result, you will end up paying more in total for your car insurance.
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2
Add another driver to the policy
Naming another driver on the policy can bring down the cost of the policy. The idea is that because you won’t be the only one driving the car, you won’t be spending as much time behind the wheel, and therefore you are less likely to be involved in an accident.
The way this works doesn’t always seem logical.
Naming a less experienced driver can reduce the overall premium in some cases. This might be because their profession is statistically less likely to be involved in an accident.
Try adding your partner to the policy to see if it makes a difference to your quote. It won’t always change anything and sometimes will increase. But if you’re looking around for quotes anyway, it’s worth a try.
What you should not do is ‘front’. This is where a driver is misleadingly named as the main driver of the car, solely in an attempt to bring down the cost of the insurance. This might be in the case of a parent and child, where the parent is named to bring down the cost for the younger driver.
Fronting is illegal, and could result in the insurer cancelling the policy. This would leave the vehicle uninsured. Prosecution for fraud may follow, which could leave you with a criminal record.
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3
Use a black box
Telematics technology, otherwise known as a ‘black box’, records your driving habits. The device is fitted to your car and is used to assess the time of day that you drive, the distance that you drive, your speed, and even how smoothly you drive.
Insurers will use this data to judge how safe a driver you are, and may then reduce your premiums accordingly. Not all insurers currently utilise black box technology though.
Telematics can be particularly useful for young drivers. It means that their Insurance quotes are calculated based on their individual habits, rather than on their age group, which is viewed as more high risk than older drivers.
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4
Set a higher excess
The excess on a car insurance policy is the amount you will have to pay towards the cost of repair if you make a claim.
If you set a higher excess, insurers will reward you by lowering your premium. It’s a case of finding the right balance. You need to set a sensible excess that will help reduce the cost of your premium, without setting it so high that you wouldn't be able to afford to pay it in the event of needing to make a claim.
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5
Look beyond comparison sites
Some insurers, like Aviva and Direct Line, don’t appear on comparison sites. Aviva holds a bronze Fairer Finance ribbon, which means it is more likely to offer good service than some of its competitors.
You might also be able to secure a better price with an insurer that doesn’t come up in comparison searches. So remember to get a quote from these providers too.
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6
Always shop around
At the end of your policy period, the chances are that your premium will rise. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t made a claim or been involved in an accident.
This unfortunate truth means that you need to shop around every year for a new policy, or face rising costs. Loyalty, in the car insurance market, does not pay.
Don’t jump into the cheapest deal you see without first doing some research on the insurer. The Fairer Finance tables can help you to find a trustworthy and transparent insurer.
