9 tricks to save on your car insurance – and it could cut your bill by £2,800 a year
IT can be easy to get driven mad by car insurance renewals but making a few tweaks to your renewal quote can save you hundreds of pounds.
Car insurers work out how much to charge you based on a range of factors such as your age, vehicle, job and where you live.
The current cost of fully comprehensive car insurance is £473 a year, according to MoneySuperMarket.
Younger drivers tend to pay more though, with the average rising to £917 for 20 to 24-year-olds.
But you don't have to accept the first quote on offer from an insurer.
Here are some of the perfectly legal ways to save money on your car insurance.
Ways to cut down on your fuel costs
HERE are some tips on how you can slash the cost of fuel.
- Make your car more fuel-efficient. You can do this by keeping your tyres inflated, taking the roof rack off, emptying your car of clutter and turning off your air con when driving at lower speeds.
- Find the cheapest fuel prices. PetrolPrices.com and Confused.com allows you to search prices of UK petrol stations. All you need to do is enter in your postcode and tell it how far you want to travel (up to 20 miles).
- Drive more efficiently. Some ways to do this, include:
- Accelerate gradually without over-revving
- Always drive on the highest possible gear
- If you can, allow your car to slow down naturally as your brake is a money burner
- Re-starting your car is expensive, if you can keep moving
Arrange your switch early - save £319
Don't wait until your renewal date to start shopping around for new deals.
You may find the best premiums by starting your search early.
Research by comparison website Compare The Market suggests insurance policies are £319 cheaper if drivers switch three weeks before their renewal date compared with switching on the day a policy ends.
Switching a policy on the day it ends costs on average £776, compared with £457 if you move three weeks before.
The cost increases as you get closer to the end of your policy, with an average price of £493 two weeks before, £565 one week before and £677 the day before your insurance expires and automatically renews.
Don't accept your renewal quote - save £290
Your car insurer will contact you when your policy is about to come to an end with a renewal quote for the next year.
It may feel easy to just accept this but you can save money by shopping around.
Phone your current insurer to check if they can reduce your premium as often they can make changes over the phone.
There are no rewards for loyalty though and you can also save money by shopping around for new deals using a comparison website.
MoneySuperMarket says its users save up to £280 by switching car insurance.
Tweak your job title - save £140
The cost of your car insurance will depend on your job.
Insurers see certain professions riskier than others and more likely to result in claims.
Footballers pay the highest premiums for their car insurance, at £1,942 on average followed by £1,616 by car wash attendants, according to MoneySuperMarket.
Guest house owners pay the cheapest premiums at £258, followed by typists at £271 and those who are retired pay £275 on average.
You mustn't lie about your job on an insurance application as it could invalidate your policy but tweaking the job title could save you money.
GoCompare analysis found that a chef was quoted £659.63 for car insurance while a kitchen worker was quoted just £520.10 – a difference of nearly £140.
Pay annually - save £175
There are two ways to pay for your car insurance.
You can make a lump sum payment in one go annually or spread the cost monthly.
Paying monthly may be more convenient but you end up paying more as the insurer is effectively lending you money so there is interest added to your repayments.
A 25-year old would pay £712 on average annually for car insurance compared with £887 when paying monthly, according to MoneySuperMarket, saving you £175.
Get a black box - save £849
Black box insurance or telematics lets an insurer record how you drive so you can prove you are a safe driver.
It is a good alternative for younger drivers who are typically seen as more risky and charged higher premiums.
Instead, you could let an insurer install a telematics device in your car that will monitor how and when you drive.
Your premium will be set according to your performance.
The average premium for a 17-19-year old using telematics is £1,490 compared with £2,339 on a standard policy, a saving of £849.
Protect your no claims bonus - save up to 75%
Car insurers reward the less accident-prone drivers.
You could save up to 75% on your car insurance if you have up to five years with no claims on your policy, according to Money.co.uk.
This is called your no claims bonus and you can also pay extra to protect it so even if you do have an accident, your track record is preserved.
Increase your excess - save up to £20
There is also a fee to pay your insurance each time you make a claim, known as the excess.
There will be a compulsory excess that you have to pay for a claim but also a voluntary one.
Setting a high voluntary excess can help reduce your premium but make sure you can afford the extra cost if you need to make a claim.
For example, a 37-year-old could pay £441 to insure a Ford Grand C Max through Esure with a voluntary excess of £250.
Increasing the excess to £400 would lower the premium to £434, saving you £7.
Raising the excess to £999 would lower the policy price to £421, giving you a saving of £20.
Add a named driver - save £14.35
You could reduce the cost of your insurance by adding a more experienced driver to your policy.
This could help younger drivers lower their premiums as the overall risk will be reduced if someone with more experience also has access to the vehicle.
Taking the example above of a Ford Grand C Max, adding the policyholder's 61-year-old mum to the insurance reduces the premium from £441 to £426.65, saving £14.35.
Change your car - save £1,048
It would be nice to hit the streets in the latest sports car, but your insurer may not be as keen.
Premiums tend to be higher for more expensive cars with parts that are harder to replace or for high-performance fast motors that are more likely to be in accidents.
Insurers place car brands in categories based on their features and the price of parts.
You can see which group your car is in on the
For example, a 30-year-old driver could pay around £556 for cover on a lower risk category Volkswagen Polo S 1.0 65PS, according to Finder.com.
In contrast, insurance on a higher risk category sporty Volkswagen Phaeton could cost £1,604, according to Confused.com.
That is £1,048 more just to drive more modern car.
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Make sure you are not invalidating your policy by driving to work if you are not insured for commuting.