InsurTech

Cheap Car Insurance Tips: Tried and Tested

Tips To Reduce Your Car Insurance

140 car insurance quotes have been analysed by Moneyshake to reveal 7 tips that can lower your policy price. According to their data from Confused and Statista, the average UK driver will spend £725 a year on their car insurance. 

Moneyshake Reveals 10 Car Insurance Secrets;

1) Lower mileage decreases your insurance premium – but ONLY by £17

A common mistake when choosing car insurance is that a car with a lower mileage results in a significantly cheaper premium. Whilst they do benefit from a cheaper policy price, Moneyshake’s discovered that reducing your mileage to 5,000 saves you just £17. 

2) A voluntary excess deduction will save you 25%

Often a higher voluntary excess is thought to lower insurance price. Moneyshake found that DECREASING your voluntary excess to £250 can make your policy 25% cheaper, providing a saving of £186. What’s even more surprising was that by increasing the voluntary excess, premiums were typically £6 more expensive.  

3) Improving car security INCREASES your policy price

Tracking devices and locking your wheel nuts can actually increase your policy price. This is most likely due to these security measures being seen as ‘modifications’ to the car. 

4) Adding your child can result in paying upwards of £5,000

It’s commonly known that adding your spouse on your insurance can save you 25% (if they have a good driving history). However, of you were to place your child on your policy you could be seeing an increase of 524% on your insurance quote. 

5) Uncovered: The cheapest cars to insure

Moneyshake discovered that the least expensive cars to insure were the Nissan Micra, Volkswagen Up! and the KIA Rio, saving you up to £91 per year. 

Cars in a lower insurance group are usually cheaper to insure – mostly because these vehicles have smaller engines and are cheaper to fix. 

6) MORE cover provides a whopping saving of £448

Quotes with third-party, fire and theft cover are 50% MORE expensive than comprehensive cover – which is the only insurance that covers damage to your car. Many drivers think that a lower level of insurance will be cheaper, as you get less cover but apparently this is not true.

Perhaps this is as a result of high-risk drivers being more likely to keep their insurance low by opting for third-party cover. 

7) Add driving qualifications over the phone or see an INCREASE in policy price

Some insurance providers may offer a PassPlus discount if you speak to them directly. Moneyshake’s research reveals drivers with PassPlus actually spend more on their insurance if they don’t seek out the discount over the phone.

8) Paying annually instead of monthly can save you £109 per year

Many insurance companies claim that paying annually is cheaper than monthly. This is in fact true as Moneyshake’s discovered that you generally spend 15% more over the year when paying monthly. By paying annually, it could save you £109 overall.

9) No Claims Bonus can save you £356 per year

The average annual driver’s policy will cost £725 with 14 years no claims bonus, £842 with seven years NCB and typically £1,080 with no NCB. 

10) 5 easy ways to get the cheapest car insurance deal:

  • If you contact your insurer directly, they are likely to provide a discount.
  • Check comparison sites – don’t forget the insurers who aren’t on them.
  • Shop around for extras like breakdown cover, as they might be cheaper elsewhere.
  • Swap insurers each year – your current provider will try to match your new price.
  • Consider a ‘black box’ policy to show you’re a safe driver.

Methodology: The 140 quotes had fixed variables except for one factor to show how policy price can change. Moneyshake used this method across 10 of the UK’s most popular cars to see the average increase or decrease against the average British driver’s quote.

Getting Cheaper Car Insurance For foreigners Living in the UK

Foreign nationals looking to drive on UK roads should make sure they have the right auto insurance for their purpose. Auto insurance is a legal requirement for all drivers in the United Kingdom, even with third party only insurance being the bare minimum required by law. Without this insurance an individual could find themselves having their car taken away and charged with a huge fine, or worse still, even be arrested and taken to prison. However, while it’s true that this type of insurance won’t cover you if you get into an accident, it will give you peace of mind that if you are involved in one you will have some form of cover. This means that even if you’ve been deemed a higher risk to insure by an insurer, you can often request that your premiums be increased so that you are protected. Alternatively, you can ask for cheaper quotes from insurers to try to get yourself covered at a better rate.

There are different types of motor vehicle insurance for foreign nationals. Some insurers offer insurance based on the number of miles you plan to travel annually while others will offer cheaper premiums if you plan to only use your motor vehicle for short distances. The latter is particularly useful as it enables foreign drivers to cover a vehicle for a short while – typically a weekend trip when used as a car hire – and then have full coverage insurance for any other use. If a foreign national does not have motor vehicle insurance for their UK driving needs, there are a number of things that can be done.

One approach taken by some insurance companies is to offer cheaper rates to foreign nationals who have taken out motor vehicle insurance before coming to the UK. While it may seem like an obvious idea, some insurers tend to offer cheaper premiums to foreign drivers who have already taken out comprehensive cover. While it is sometimes possible to get cheaper premiums by changing policies, it is not always and insurance company will make this difficult for foreigners to do.

Another approach taken by some insurance companies for foreign nationals who want cheaper premiums is to offer them special deals to fill out an online application form. Some companies, such as AIG, offer special offers to foreign drivers if they provide information about themselves online. This may include information about their home countries, names of their parents and home towns. They are even offered the opportunity to give personal details about their parents, including their marital status. However, there is one disadvantage to applying for online foreign national motor vehicle insurance – the majority of UK insurers will not offer this service.

Some insurers are able to provide specialist foreign car insurance. For example, some motor insurance companies in the UK, such as AIG, are able to offer a service that provides specialist car insurance for foreigners coming to the UK from abroad. This involves customising the existing policy for the applicant, which is why many people have had success applying directly to insurers rather than using an agent. Many people who have moved to the UK have had to live in rented property for several years and are eligible under the UK’s home insurance policies to take out protection from theft or fire. Therefore, while they would not benefit from taking out protection cover for their hired car, they would be able to get cheap quotes from a number of UK insurers.

However, for those motorists who are already in the country illegally, it is possible to get cheaper auto insurance by exaggerating details on their application forms. For example, some foreigners may claim to be driving for a large car hire company when they actually work as a taxi driver. Insurers are able to check whether a person is indeed working for a hire firm by checking the details given on applications and this can help them identify fraudulent claims. If possible, it is always best to provide all correct information during the application process, especially if you are thinking of immigrating to the UK.

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