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How to save on your car insurance

One regular expense in the year that could hit your wallet is car insurance. If you have a car then it’s illegal not to have it, so you’ll have to fork out to some extent. Despite this, car insurance is not always expensive, and even for young experienced drivers it’s now much easier (thanks to the internet) to find a cheaper quote. Follow this quick guide for how to get the very best cover:

Choosing Your Cover

Consider all of your options carefully to make sure you get exactly what you need. There are three types of insurance to consider first of all: third party, third party fire and theft, and fully comprehensive. Effectively, third party covers you for damage you cause to another person’s vehicle and protection for people in your car, but it won’t cover you for damage to your own car. Third party fire and theft has the same cover as third party, but it has additional cover of assistance if your car is stolen or is set on fire. These two types of insurance offer the lowest quotes, and they are generally best for cars worth less than £1000, for drivers aged under twenty five, and for those living in a high risk area.

Fully comprehensive will also cover some or all of the costs of repairs for your own car if you have an accident. However, to reduce costs you can get a higher excess, which means you will pay a certain amount for damage before your insurer begins paying.

When you are filling in your form pick whichever option above is most suitable for you, and then also choose the best options to reduce your risk. Don’t lie in this part, otherwise your insurance may well be void, but carefully check the options. If you don’t pay much attention and say you’re a student instead of a professional, or that you drive 10,000 miles a year rather than 2,000, then you will more than likely be in for a higher quote.

Getting a Quote

The easiest way to get a quote is to fill out a form on a price comparison website. Once you’ve done this then you’ll be able to see prices from a wide variety of insurers. However, be aware that price comparison websites have their own partners, so you will need to fill out a number of different forms on different websites to go find all available quotes. If you shop around it’s safe to say that you’re likely to save hundreds of pounds.

Get Cashback

A number of insurers that aren’t on comparison websites offer incentive deals when you switch to them. Lloyds Car Insurance, for instance, says it will beat your renewal quote on a like for like basis or it will refund up to £80 and give £20 cashback. With that in mind it’s important not to take your quote as face value. Car insurance is a highly competitive market and many companies are desperate to retain business. Go to your existing insurer first and see if you can get a better quote by claiming you can get one elsewhere, many will give you a knock down price if you’re being realistic.

Consider Pay as You Go and Avoid Credit

Some insurers offer fully comprehensive pay as you go cover, which can be extremely cheap for low use or young drivers. Norwich Union’s pay as you drive scheme is designed for those driving 6,000 miles a year, while there are also services that determine the rate through a fixed GPS device that’s fitted to your car. If you don’t choose this option, avoid paying yearly insurance by credit. Taking this route is normally more expensive than not, and interest rates are often hideous. So either pay it off in full, or use a 0 per cent credit card and make repayments to that. Natwest currently offer credit cards with 0 per cent on purchases for the first thirteen months.





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