The key to cheaper car insurance is in the details
Being able to cut down on our expenses by being more financially aware has been a growing trend since the early 2000’s with many people comparing their providers of mortgages, credit cards and even their gas and electricity providers. By doing this many UK homeowners have been able to make substantial savings by doing just a small bit of research on their part.
One of the most popular expenses to compare is car insurance with advertisements in the media all over the place, but it’s also one of the easiest expenses to be able to make savings on. The reason for this is that there are plenty of factors that are considered when judging how much your car insurance is going to cost that you can do something about as well as some details which you may feel mean nothing actually having a great effect on bringing your premiums down.
One of the most obvious tips is to drive safely, the biggest savings on car insurance costs are reserved for those who present the least risk to insure, so having no driving convictions or prior insurance claims like being at fault for an accident are going to push your insurance premium higher than average. As well as this you will not be eligible for any no-claims discounts as people who have multiple years without needing to make a claim get an extra discount for being careful.
Another option is to increase the amount you will pay should you have to claim, this is called an excess and is usually a small percentage of the total cost of your claim. Typically people have their excesses set at around £100 -150 but if you are confident that you are a safe driver and can afford to pay a higher amount in the event of a claim then raising the excess to £300 or even £500 can significantly drag your premiums down. Plus, again, if you drive safe then you won’t have anything to worry about.
Being accurate with details like your annual mileage can help improve your costs as this is a key factor when car insurance companies are weighing up how risky you are to insure, if you drive less then there’s less chance of your being involved in an accident and so your premiums shouldn’t cost as much. If you are able to use your car less or even better not need to use it for work then you can make significant savings as you are less likely to be driving during busy high-traffic times like commuting hours and again, less likely to be involved in an accident.
The main advice being offered is to make sure you compare car insurance quotes from as many providers as possible as you’ll be able to get a better deal and with much less effort than the old days of phoning up the insurance companies personally and getting quotes that way.
