First Car Insurance – Getting a Deal

Whilst it might be tempting – and certainly cheaper – to say your parent or family member is the main driver of the car and only include yourself as a named driver, this is actually a type of fraud called fronting.

Fronting is a criminal offence which could result in a criminal record for both you and the holder of the policy. Lying about the main driver of the car invalidates the policy, which means you would likely have to cover the costs of any accident – which could be hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of pounds. Put simply, there’s no cost of insurance which is worth the risk!

Just because your parents have used a particular company for years, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right option for you. Whilst some insurance companies might offer you a discount for having multiple policies, adding a new driver policy can have a knock-on effect to your parents’ premium making the overall cost of insurance more expensive. Plus, it can even affect their no claims record if someone else on the policy makes a claim!

So, it’s unlikely these high-street providers are going to offer you the best rates or benefits compared to newer providers, like Marmalade, Veygo, or MyFirst, that specifically cater to younger drivers.

If you’re trying to keep costs on the lower side, you’ll want to avoid including extras like breakdown cover or legal protection. As a newer driver, chances are you’ll be sticking nearer to home and buying a car in relatively good shape – so the likelihood of needing breakdown cover is much lower. 

These add-ons can result in a significant bump to your policy premium, so make sure to ask whether you really need them before including them.

Car insurance groups range between 1 to 50 and are a reflection of the risk-rating and cost to insure the car, with 1 being the lowest and 50 the highest. This means that the lower the insurance group, the cheaper your premium is likely to be. Subtle differences like the make and model of different cars will affect the group it falls into.

So, if you know the registration of the car you’ve got your eye on, it’s always best to run a quote before you’ve even bought the car so you know roughly how much you’ll be paying out. You can do this on our comparison tool here. Don’t make the mistake of buying a car before you’ve checked its group – or you could end up being stung with a particularly expensive bill!

Taking out a policy with fewer miles for the year is likely to result in a cheaper premium – after all, the less you’re driving the car the less likely an incident requiring a claim is to occur.

However, insurance companies usually charge extra for every mile that you go over the agreed amount and, whilst it’s easy to assume your first car will just be a little run-around, these miles can quickly add up. An additional few thousands miles over the policy can rack up hundreds or thousands of pounds in charges later down the line.

The most efficient method of shopping around is using a car insurance comparison site, where you will find deals from multiple different insurers with just one search. Different providers will use different criteria to decide on their premiums, so this method should help you find the cheapest one.

To avoid a big lump sum payment with a traditional provider, it might be worth checking out PAYG insurance. This allows you to pay for a certain amount of miles each month, on top of a set monthly fee, or even just insure yourself for a day or week at a time. Some great PAYG providers to check out are GoShorty and Veygo.

Black box insurance – otherwise known as telematics – uses technology to monitor your driving habits which can help to keep the premium down. Usually, they work by rating factors such as your braking, cornering and adherence to speed limits on each trip. Some providers like Veygo will even review your policy every few months and reward safe driving with a reduced premium!

However, it’s worth checking out any extra rules that come with telematics policies – for example, some providers might monitor and penalise you for driving late at night or early in the morning. If this is a concern, check out Marmalade who don’t impose any curfews on their telematics policies.

Remember – a lower insurance group means a cheaper insurance policy! You’ll need to bear this in mind whilst you choose a car to be able to take advantage of cheaper insurance deals. If your dream car is in a higher group, it might be a good idea to choose a cheaper one whilst you build a few years no claims discount before upgrading in the future.

The excess on your car insurance is the amount you’ll need to pay out of your pocket if you ever need to make a claim. If you can afford to agree to a slightly higher excess – which you hopefully won’t need to use – then you can often get a cheaper deal on your overall premium.

Being honest about where you’ll park your car at night, how much you’ll drive and for what purposes is essential. Whilst it might feel appealing to say, for example, that your car is kept on a private driveway when really it’s left on a road in order to get a cheaper deal, this can invalidate your policy and leave you unprotected when you need it. Always be truthful – or risk paying the price later down the line.