Saving on your car insurance

Having saved on your car purchase, it makes sense to save on your car insurance too. There are plenty of roads to cheap car insurance, so read on for some great ways to save.

To understand how to save money on your car insurance, it’s important to understand how the price of your policy is calculated, so you can take measures to address them and drive the cost down.

Essentially, the price you pay is based on the risk the insurance company perceives of it having to make a pay-out. They take several factors into account to work the price of your policy out.

One of the biggest elements that go towards calculating your car insurance policy is the car itself. Most insurers will charge a premium for more valuable, rare or high performing cars, and usually refer to the grouping system devised by UK insurance organization Thatcham. More expensive, faster cars fall into high categories while cheaper, more conservative cars fall into lower categories. Some insurers opt to use their own systems, but by and large they adhere to similar principles.

Your own driving record and personal circumstances are also taken into account. If your driving history is littered with speeding convictions (or worse) then you will find a cheap car insurance deal much harder to come by. Likewise, if you don’t have a decent no-claims history, then your insurance will be more expensive than if you did. So it’s really worthwhile keeping to the speed limit and driving with caution at all times.

Where you live also has an impact on your insurance. If it’s an area with a high incidence of crime, then your insurance will cost more due to the higher risk of theft. Therefore, if you have a garage then you should use it, and think about investing in Thatcham-approved security devices. You could even invest in a tracker, which will allow your car to be traced if it’s stolen. All of these methods will reduce the risk of your car being broken into or stolen, and be reflected in your quotes.

Your annual mileage also has a significant impact on the cost of your insurance. If you are likely to drive a high annual mileage then the chances of you being involved in a road traffic accident are higher than if you drive a shorter amount every year. Therefore, opting for a lower annual mileage has the potential to bring the cost of your insurance down.

Modifications are a surefire way of adding cost to your insurance, so steer clear of them if you want to save. If you insist on changing your car from factory specification, make sure that you declare the changes to your insurer or risk invalidating your policy.

Your voluntary excess can also help bring down the cost of your car insurance. However, it should always be kept to a level that you can comfortably afford should you need to make a claim.

Younger drivers, who attract high premiums due to inexperience, could enroll on the Driving Standards’ Agency’s pass plus course, or add another more experienced driver to their policy in order to bring the cost of their insurance down.

Shopping around is a key method of finding a cheaper insurance deal, and a comparison website is a great place to start. They will allow you to check out the prices and features of car insurance policies from many different companies, so you can see where the better deals are to be found. Always make sure that you compare the cover the policy offers as well as the price, as the cheapest deal might not always necessarily offer the best value.

Auction Car Buying and motor vehicle locating services.

AuctionCarBuyer - for buying used cars or nearly new motor vehicles in the second hand car market.

 Specialists in Vehicle locating and buying at automotive auction houses.

Designed + Promoted by Intelidata ltd Web Design

Revised: Novermber 26, 2009

resources