Even we can't make this dirt cheap
First read the main Cheapest Car Insurance article
Third party or comprehensive? What to choose
There are three types of insurance to choose from and you should consider all the options to get the right type. Also, once you've chosen make sure you check your policy carefully, so you know exactly what you are and aren't covered for in the event of a claim.
Third Party
Third Party is the cheapest type of insurance and the minimum level you need to legally be able to drive on the roads. It covers you for any damage you cause to another person's vehicle and protection for any passengers in your car. Therefore, if you are in an accident and it is your fault, you will have to pay for any repairs to your own car yourself, as your insurance won't cover it.
It’s generally the most suitable for those…
- With cars worth less than £1000
- Aged under 25
- Without a no-claims bonus
- Or living in a high risk area
If you do fit into these categories the cost of the other types could be more than the car is worth.
Third Party Fire and Theft
Third party fire and theft has the same level of cover as third party insurance, however, self evidentially it also has the additional cover of assistance if your car is stolen or is set on fire. It’s normally only slightly more expensive than third party, so it’s often worth considering paying a little more for the extra protection.
Fully Comprehensive
This is the widest level of cover and therefore the most expensive. The big advantage is if you have an accident and it was your fault you will be able to claim the cost of repairing your own car as well as those of the other drivers.
The cover also includes accidental damage and vandalism, for example if somebody causes damage to your car when it is parked in the street and they then drive off. Plus you'll be able to drive hire cars or other people's cars if you have their permission, although this will probably only be Third Party.
Fully Comp is a good idea if your car is worth more than £1500 and gets more important the more valuable you car is. Many insurers will only offer fully comprehensive cover for higher value cars anyway.
There are a few ways of cutting the cost of fully-comprehensive cover, Tesco Value* insurance offers a comprehensive policy but limits the repairs to garages it has relationships with, which lowers the cost. However this doesn’t automatically make it cheapest, ensure you first use the comparison sites in the Cheapest Car Insurance article to check.
Reduce your risk, reduce your cost
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.
Therefore by reducing an insurer’s perception of your risk you can reduce the price you’ll pay. There are of course many factors you either can’t change or can’t change easily … age, gender, where you live and driving history. Yet there are things you can have control over:
- Park carefully. Theft and accidental damage add a bulk to insurance costs. If you leave your car in a garage or driveway it’s a big deterrent to theft and means accidental damage is less likely, resulting in a 3% - 7% drop in insurance costs.
- Define your job carefully. In a multi-skilled world many people can define themselves as a number of things. Different jobs carry different associated risks, so when getting a quote, it’s worth trying to see whether changing your job description affects the price. For example you could be an office worker, secretary or PA. If you’re wondering whether you can legally call yourself something, the correct way to look at it is “would a reasonable person say that this description fits my job”, if you’re pushing it, don’t do it.
- Add a second person to an under-25s / high risk drivers insurance. Insuring someone aged under 25 can cost a fortune. Yet by adding 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. It won't always work, but it’s worth playing with quotes to check.
However at no point should you add your name as the main driver on a younger driver’s policy instead of them. This is known in the industry as fronting and is fraud. When you come to claim, this will often be checked out and your insurance will be invalidated. - 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 4 by 4 for a 17 year old would cost enough to make Bill Gates balk.
- Fit a security device. Any extra security will help, fitting an alarm or immobilizer (especially one approved by Thatcham) 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.
- Reduce your mileage. The less you drive, the cheaper your insurance will be. Where possible try and reduce your mileage. This may sound trite, but actually the real key is incorporating the extra insurance cost when you make long journeys not just the cost of petrol compared to taking the bus or train (also read Cheap Trains article).
If you’ve read these tips and thought, “it’s be quite easy to lie about this”, then of course you’re right. Yet lying on your insurance form is fraud. It can lead to your insurance being invalidated and in the worst case a criminal prosecution for driving without insurance. Don’t do it.
Tips and tricks for lowering car insurance costs
If you’re trying to finesse the lowest price, there are a few more things to watch out for. Car insurance marketing is clever. Its aim is to make you feel you’re getting the best deal but to maximise the insurer’s profit at the same time.
- Get a ‘new’ quote from your existing insurer. Often applying to your existing insurer as a new customer produces a cheaper price than its renewal quote. Insurers put out more competitive prices to attract new customers so simply start again and you could be better off.
- Consider how much you’d really claim for? It's worth considering going for a policy with a higher excess (the amount of any claim you need to pay yourself). Many people will find that claiming for less than £500 worth of damage both increases the future cost of insurance and can invalidate no-claims bonuses, meaning it’s not always worth making a claim.
So why pay extra for a lower excess? A few policies will substantially reduce premiums for a £1,000 excess, so try this when getting quotes. Of course the one downside with this is if you have a bigger claim you’ll have to shell out more, but often it’s a good balance of the risks. - Drive someone else’s car on your insurance. If you have fully comprehensive insurance then often, although not always, it includes what’s called ‘driving other cars’ cover. This provides you with Third Party cover whilst reducing your mileage and therefore the cost of your own policy.
- New car, free insurance. Buy a new car and it may include free insurance for a few years. While this is only worth a few hundred a year to an experienced driver, to a young car owner it could be worth thousands and is well worth taking into account when you add up overall costs.
- Gender-specific isn't always best. Some insurers advertise cheaper prices for women because they're a lower risk. Yet, just because an insurer offers a special price doesn't automatically make it cheaper than unisex insurance elsewhere. All insurers use risk-based price assessments so this is factored in anyway.
Extra tips for no claimers
- No-claims discounts don't necessarily reduce the premium. For every year you don't claim on the insurance policy you get a discount. This makes a substantial difference to the overall cost. If you do claim it's usually two years off this discount. This is deliberate to encourage people not to claim. You can also get a protected no-claims discount so that claims don't impact it.
Remember though, if you do have an accident, even if you don't claim to keep your no claims discount, the price of the policy can rise simply because you may be assessed as a higher risk in the future. - Try to keep your no-claims if switching from a company car to a private car. If you have a no-claims bonus from driving a company car and try to find private insurance online, you'll find neither insurer nor broker will allow your previous no-claims bonus to count.
Yet if you phone up most companies will give some form of ‘introductory or special bonus' to those switching to a private car. This is because these discounts are often applied manually as the online systems don't automatically allow a discount. There are also discounts available with brokers and some insurers like Norwich Union* and Admiral*, Elephant* and Diamond* where second cars for existing policyholders can attract introductory bonuses, but again these are call-centre not internet-based.
The overall tactic I would suggest is first of all use the Cheapest Car Insurance four-step plan to establish your risk factor – then call the top three (or possibly five) providers listed and discuss this no-claims company issue.
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