Insurance premiums are on the up again in 2024 – and whilst there’s slim to no chance they will ever come down significantly, you can still make sure you’re getting the best price for you and checking every box when it comes to savings.
CAR INSURANCE SAVINGS ARE ALL IN THE DETAIL
Motor insurance prices are all about risk; insurers want to know everything from your home address to your job title, so that they can calculate your personal risk profile and work out what they are willing to insure you for.
Lots of factors contribute to this risk calculation and can shift the price you are given, so make sure your personal information is super accurate when filling in a quote, or you could end up paying more than you need to.
If you haven’t compared insurance quotes before, you really should try – it’s a no-brainer. When you use comparison sites, they take the hassle out of finding the best quote available. Rather than filling out all your information again and again with loads of insurance brokers, fill out one quote form on a comparison site and you’ll see quotes from lots of different providers, making it easy to compare price and cover in one go.
According to experts, you should never leave it to the last minute either – compare before your renewal is up to ensure your best price, or even contact your current insurer to see if you can lock in at your current price for longer.
You can also consider other factors than just price when comparing insurance. Defaqto ratings give an unbiased, independent rating of the quality of financial products. Experts review product benefits against a scoring criteria to give a product an overall rating from 5 down to 1, if other factors are important to you.
Beware the ‘we aren’t on comparison sites’ message too – this doesn’t necessarily mean the prices are cheaper or the products are better.
EXPERIENCED DRIVERS CAN SAVE MORE
If you’re a new driver, you might find that investing in a Pass Plus course could bring down the cost of your insurance policy. The course can cost up to £200, but some councils offer a discount. Once completed, you can apply for a Pass Plus driving certificate from the DVSA, to share with your insurer as proof of completion – there’s no guarantee this will give you a discount, but some insurance providers may look favourably on Pass Plus certificate holders.
If you decide to complete an advanced driving course, be prepared to shell out a few hundred quid to get qualified. Advanced Driver Courses run by the IAM Roadsafe charity cost £175. Once complete, you’ll have full IAM membership, which might reduce your car insurance premium, as insurers often consider an advanced driver to be less likely to make a claim.
It’s more likely that an approved advanced driving course will lower your insurance premium than a Pass Plus, but with bigger up-front costs involved, it may be worth contacting your insurer to ask whether completing a course will reduce your price, before you commit.
In any case, you could see long term benefits to becoming an advanced driver – even if it doesn’t knock down your premium today, being a better driver will probably decrease the chance of you making a claim and therefore increase your no claims bonus over time.
INSURING ANOTHER DRIVER ON YOUR CAR
The people who are driving your car can also make a difference to the price of the insurance policy. If other people do need to drive the vehicle, even only sporadically, consider adding them as named drivers on your policy. This may even reduce the cost if you add an experienced driver with a good no claims history. Obviously you must always be completely honest about who is using the car and don’t be tempted to pretend somebody else is the main driver.
True life example – “My sister added me to her car insurance policy as I needed to borrow her car a few times last year. I expected to see what I owed her come up on Splitwise, but instead she messaged me saying that adding me to her policy as a named driver had actually taken the policy price down and she received a partial refund of over £30! This was amazing news, as I’d previously taken out expensive short term insurance whenever I needed to borrow the car and had to remember to take out a new policy each time.”
”adding me to her policy as a named driver had actually taken the policy price down and she received a partial refund of over £30!
LetaUK driver & OnestopSaver
This information is intended for editorial purposes only and not intended as a recommendation or financial advice