Are you paying through the nose for your car insurance? Perhaps you’re trying to insure a new car and just want to find the best deal? Either way, insuring your car can be expensive – read on to find out three ways you can cut the cost.
Set a higher excess
Increasing your voluntary excess can vastly reduce your monthly car insurance premiums, but bear in mind that you will have to pay more if you do have an accident, so only choose an excess you can comfortably afford. Putting your excess up to £1,000 can have a significant effect on what you pay each month. Try using a price comparison website to experiment with different excess levels and look at the difference it makes to your premium.
Another note – don’t assume that 3rd party cover is always the cheapest. Sometimes just choosing comprehensive cover demonstrates to the insurer that you are a responsible driver, and can actually reduce your premiums. Again, get on a price comparison site and do some trial and error.
Add an experienced driver to your policy
Make sure you do this legally – the driver who uses the car every day should be declared as the named driver – but adding a responsible second driver (such as a parent or partner) to your plan can minimise risk in the eyes of the insurance company and therefore reduce your monthly premium.
Insurance companies are no longer able to discriminate based on gender, but they will take into consideration age and driving experience – which is why this tactic works particularly well for young drivers.
Be careful with add-ons
Added extras – such as windscreen cover, courtesy cars and so on – can quickly bump up the price of your plan if you’re not careful. Ask yourself if you really need these optional extras? Can they be bought separately for cheaper? Are they already included in the basic cover? Read the terms & conditions carefully and work out if they really offer good value.
Do you like to take good care of your car? Read up on the best car vacuum here.
Driving is an expensive business – use these tips to save yourself some of your hard-earned cash.