Home > Uncategorized > Four Simple Steps to a Cheaper Car Insurance Premium. How Low can you Go?

Four Simple Steps to a Cheaper Car Insurance Premium. How Low can you Go?

October 26th, 2010

Figures published by the AA have shown a massive 40% rise in car insurance premiums, with young drivers baring the brunt of this increase. Why is this and what can you do about it?

The AA started compiling an index on car insurance rates 16 years ago. 2010 see’s the sharpest rises in its history. So what or who are to blame?

A number of factors have contributed to this hike in premiums. A surge in claims for injuries sustained in accidents, personal injury lawyers taking a 40% cut in those claims, un-insured drivers and probably the biggest contributor to these hikes, car insurance fraud.

The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) estimates around 30,000 accidents are staged each year, with the average claim totalling around £17,000. It cost insurers about £350million in 2009, adding £44 to the premium of every driver in the country.

Young male drivers, between the ages of 17 – 22 are paying the most, with the average of the three cheapest quotes they get being £2,457. That is nearly double the premiums offered to young women. In the insurers eyes, the reason for this is simple, young men are twice as likely to be involved in car accidents than young women.

Annual Premium for less than one pound?

Yes it is possible. According to MoneySavingExpert.com, the cheapest car insurance premium paid for a full year fully comprehensive insurance policy is just 96p! That’s right, less than a pound, and these four simple steps will show you how to challenge that record.

Step 1 – Lower your Risk

Every application for car insurance is different. Each insurer’s price depend on two things, first the underwriters assessment of your particular risk focus and then the pricing model which dictates what type of customers the insurer wants to attract.

Park and drive carefully

Leave your car in a garage or driveway; this can result in a 3% – 7% drop in insurance costs. Also, points on your license can bump up your premium, so don’t speed or use your mobile phone whilst driving.

Add a second person to an under-25s / high risk drivers insurance

Add a second driver with a good record to the insurance, even if they won’t use the car often, it can smooth out the average risk and sometimes reduce the premium.

Pick a car

The combination of car, engine size and value all impact car insurance cost. It’s worth considering this when you buy; a big super-powerful sports car for a 17 year old would cost enough to make David Beckham’s eyes water.

Fit a security device

Any extra security will help, fitting an alarm or immobilizer will reduce the bill substantially.

Don’t modify your car

The more changes you make to your car, barring security ones, the more you’ll be charged. A modification is anything that is not part of the standard vehicle specification including factory fitted optional extras, such as alloy wheels.

Reduce your mileage

The less you drive, the cheaper your insurance will be. Where possible try and reduce your mileage.

Step 2 – Best Buy Comparison Sites

Comparison sites use the information you enter to get quotes from hundreds of insurers. In fact, just combining the top three comparison sites, GoCompare.com, Confused.com and http://www.moneysupermarket.com, will find you over 153 quotes from different providers.

However, two competitive insurers refuse to be included by any comparison site, and sometimes have special offers, so are worth checking separately. These are Direct Line and Aviva.

Once you have found the cheapest quote, double check them. Click through to the provider’s website as some comparison sites make assumptions, so double check the policy and what it includes. Do you need ‘free car hire’? If not, remove this to reduce the premium. Play around with some of the details to see if you can get it cheaper. For example, increase the excess amount, is fully comprehensive cover cheaper?

Step 3 – Grab hidden Cashback and Haggle

At this stage you will now know who the cheapest provider for you is, yet you may be able to reduce the cost even further. TopCashback.co.uk and Quidco.com are the top two cash back sites around offering up to £120 cash back for some providers.

So if the second and third cheapest quotes, offer a higher cashback amount then overall, they could be cheaper for you. These sites get paid by the providers and in turn they then give you some of this cash which means you get the same product, but a cut of its revenue.

Yet be warned, until it’s in your bank account, this cashback is never 100% guaranteed, and getting the right policy is always paramount. Therefore never simply choose based only on cashback, see it as a potential added bonus once you’ve picked the right cover.

Some comparison sites and providers offer their own cashback deals or offers such as a free MOT or vouchers. So factor these into your calculations.

And finally, haggle. The car insurance market is very competitive and companies are desperate to retain your business. Therefore once you’ve got your overall cheapest price get on the phone and try to haggle. The first port of call should be your existing insurer, after all if it can beat or even match the best quote it saves the hassle of switching policy.

Step 4 – Remember next Year

To avoid being forced to decide quickly, diarise a warning six weeks before your renewal date, so there’s plenty of time to sort out a new provider.

Renewal notifications are sent as near to renewal as possible as then you’re pressured for time and less likely to try and find a cheaper price. Apply for cover from your existing insurer as a new customer and it’s likely you’ll be given a cheaper price. Loyalty never pays so never just accept the renewal price. Motorists can typically save £233 a year by scouring the market for a better deal

You could also sign up to www.consumerintel.com, a consumer research company. They pay hundreds of people a month near their renewal date, up to £50 to carry out comparisons. What is even better is that you do not need to buy insurance from any of the companies you’ve contacted.

So there you have it, four simple steps to a cheaper car insurance premium. By spending an hour or two of your time searching for a cheap car insurance premium, you could save hundreds of pounds a year. How low can you go?  Can you beat 96p for an annual premium, or even go one better —  and actually get paid money to renew your car insurance?!?

Jason Uncategorized

Widget Created Thanks to Frugal Zeitgeist and Beating Broke
  1. May 15th, 2013 at 02:48 | #1

    Much the same, the insurance company is not betting against you when you purchase insurance.
    At the very least, get their full name, their phone number, and the license plate
    number of their car. It may be you wish to take a test-drive
    of a automobile, well again one day car insurance will present safety while you do
    your test drive.

  2. May 15th, 2013 at 03:02 | #2

    The method you use to add drivers to your car insurance policy differs from auto insurance company to auto insurance
    company, so check with you company to find out if you can add drivers online or if you must do it via phone with a customer service representative.

    Let’s say your car has developed a fault, you don’t have the money to have it fixed straight away although somebody has offered the use of their automobile in the short
    term. Because the period is perfect for a little period, which means you need to not be irritated about providing best for any lengthy time period.

  3. May 15th, 2013 at 04:22 | #3

    For those who have a 100% fully comprehensive yearly insurance policy there could
    be loads of methods to drive the price for that downwards and you are almost certainly paying out
    for some cover needlessly by simply renewing time and time again.

    Let’s begin with our opening example of the rental car insurance used throughout our other presentations. For all those picking a protection of merely one moment rates, make sure to phone all the aimed at underwriter that you’re most likely actually listed
    by means of.

  4. May 15th, 2013 at 04:24 | #4

    Actually, the more and more you spend, the less and less you get for your
    money. The reason that people get shorter term policies is so that they do not need to worry about paying for all
    the days when they don’t drive their car. Making sure that your car is in the best condition that it can be in will make you less likely to get into an accident and increasing your car insurance premium.

  5. May 15th, 2013 at 04:51 | #5

    When you have a no claim discount on your regular insurance it will not be affected if you put in the claim on one day insurance.
    This type of auto insurance is very shot term and usually
    will only cover you for one day. Credit card use is insidious and extremely easy to lose control of.

  6. May 15th, 2013 at 08:34 | #6

    When the law enforcement agencies conduct a raid against one or two possibly armed suspects in a house they will usually
    have at least 15 officers armed to the teeth.
    Children can also make combining certain aspects of your finances difficult,
    because a legal relationship is not yet established. In this case,
    you may need to keep a journal or have another method to show what percentage of the expense was
    used for business.

  7. May 15th, 2013 at 08:49 | #7

    Penalties and interest will continue to run during this time.
    “We take pleasure in confirming your booking for a 6 berth Mercedes Motorohome”.
    Even driving a car for one day time without auto insurance is disobeying the law, that’s why obtaining the choice to obtain daily car insurance is an selection you should discover.

  8. May 15th, 2013 at 08:53 | #8

    Also, log what medication you are taking for your injuries and any progress
    you have made. You should remember to be completely honest when filling in the application, so that you will be able to use your insurance.

    You can aim to choose this cover for your safety for one or two day.

  9. May 15th, 2013 at 12:03 | #9

    Paying for your insurance online started back in 2005, it”.
    In this article, we will discuss on factors to be given utmost priority while buying these insurance policies.

    In my honest opinion, I truly think that Progressive Snapshot is a great new technology.

  10. May 15th, 2013 at 19:06 | #10

    The basic bare minimum you want covered is if you are at fault.

    Day cover insurance policies to insure for a day also get a restriction of indemnity in case of any harm
    or loss. You could locate his or her sites simply by either their URL or perhaps
    typing throughout keywords like short term auto insurance,
    day insurance and also temporary automobile insurance.

  11. May 16th, 2013 at 06:10 | #11

    Here is where Google Ad – Words Keyword Tool comes in handy.
    No wonder, backlink checker is one of the most widely tools in the SEO and
    Internet marketing arena. TOOL #5 – Alexa Backlink Checker – You can see total domains linking
    to a website and which domains they are.

  12. May 16th, 2013 at 10:59 | #12

    voted against the bill, along with two other Democrats, Bart Stupak of Michigan
    and Rick Boucher of Virginia. The first thing to notice is the coverage provided
    in the plan. However, this is not a big problem if you are
    single.

  13. May 16th, 2013 at 22:04 | #13

    The company aggressively recruits, not Wall Street techno-wizards or Insurance gurus, but part-time, average, middle-class Americans.
    Hence, before obtaining Canadian health insurance
    quotes, determine the amount of the deductible
    that your budget can handle with regard to your yearly health-related expenses.
    There are many similarities between family medical insurance
    companies, but there are a few key differences you
    need to know about.

  14. May 17th, 2013 at 02:06 | #14

    One other benefit is that there are no obligation,
    free of charge quotations offered for one day car
    insurance. One day car insurance or short-term insurance is
    a comparatively recent addendum to the world of insurance. There
    are actually even particular web sites which were set up to make available solely for one day car insurance, and lots of insurance coverage companies have special insurance policies for such occasions, insurance policies that eliminate some
    of the long run insurance coverage situations but
    supply better protection on any brief term issues comparable to minor injury,
    which when coping with rental vehicles is always going to be advantageous.

  15. what is seo content creation
    May 17th, 2013 at 12:46 | #15

    Thank you for sharing your info. I really
    appreciate your efforts and I will be waiting
    for your further write ups thanks once again.

  16. May 22nd, 2013 at 08:00 | #16

    You can certainly see your enthusiasm within the article you write.
    The arena hopes for more passionate writers like you who are
    not afraid to say how they believe. At all
    times follow your heart.

  17. May 22nd, 2013 at 21:38 | #17

    In an estimate given by state officials, 12 Florida health insurance companies would have to pay back $107 million in rebates this year to about 706,000 individual health insurance plan holders.
    The application form for families is another story you may not want to hear.
    Health Net covers about 86,000 kids and its representatives notified state officials that it can’t determine how many of its doctors will drop children who are moved to Medi-Cal.

  18. May 24th, 2013 at 02:58 | #18

    At the moment, it isn’t so complicated to acquire one day time insurance. Smoking and drinking are habits that a driver can more easily change and may reduce insurance rates. Even if you had to take control of the driving of somebody’s car
    mid-way through a journey, it’s easy to sort it out plus have the policy in place to drive safely.

  19. May 24th, 2013 at 06:46 | #19

    If you need to have a loan of a car from a family member or friend for
    just a minimal time then you’ll desire some sort of insurance protection. It’s absolutely
    not an acceptable abstraction to drive an uninsured car, even
    if you are active alone a thousand miles. You may come across
    these procedures to become high priced for this kind of a modest span of
    time, on the other hand compared to becoming stopped
    by law for driving without having an insurance policies plan and
    penalized which has a fine or ban or sentenced to prison, these insurance
    policies are undoubtedly less costly.

Comment pages
  1. No trackbacks yet.