'We challenged our car insurer mid-policy - it was £40/month, now £16'

This content originally appeared in the MSE weekly email on 3 June 2015.

Warning: It's predicted car insurance prices are about to spiral up 10%. Urgently check if you can lock in cheaply.

The AA is warning that car insurance prices are set to rise sharply in the second half of this year because of fraudulent claims. Predictions are of 10% increases, so it's worth checking now whether you can lock in a price before the surge.

• Don't wait till renewal. Unless you've claimed, for £50ish you can usually cancel and get a refund for the rest of the year (you won't earn the year's no-claims bonus). Check if you can cut costs switching, which also effectively locks today's price in for a year.

  As Andy tweeted: "You gave us the confidence to challenge our insurance mid-policy. It was £40/month, now it's £16 – thanks. We didn't take no for an answer." – £288/year saved.

• 10 tips to find your cheapest car insurance. There's no one cheapest insurer. Instead, our full Cheap Car Insurance and Young Drivers' Insurance systems show how to home in your best. Here's a quick summary:

  1) Combine comparison sites. They don't all cover the same insurers, so combine them to get a wider spread at speed. We currently assess the top order as a) Google* b) Confused* c) MoneySupermarket*. Full comparison order info.

  2) Check the insurers they miss. Biggies Aviva*, Direct Line* and Zurich aren't included by comparison sites.

  3) Check the offers they miss. Some current promo deals are missed by comparisons – via this Age UK Insurance* link, you get a £60 M&S voucher; this Co-op Insurance* link gives a Karcher pressure washer (worth c.£80). The voucher/washer should arrive within 120/90 days of the policy start date.

  4) Renewal within 2months? Lock in quotes. Aviva* and LV* quotes last 60 days, so grab 'em to lock in prices in case they rise. Dimuthu says: "Thanks Martin, getting quotes a month early saved me nearly £200" Full early quotes list. 

  5) Get multi-car discounts. See if Admiral MultiCar*, Churchill* and Direct Line* deals beat separate policies.

  6) Add a second driver to cut costs. It may lower your risk average, especially for younger drivers adding a more experienced driver, as Emma did: "Thanks. Just saved £700 by adding a driver." See full adding second driver info.7) Don't assume third party's cheapest. The fact you select comprehensive may lower your risk profile. See third party

  8) Be careful how you describe your job. Tweaking job descriptions can save cash. Use the Car Insurance Job Picker.

  9) Beware paying monthly. They're loaning you the upfront sum, usually at high APR. Paying by 0% card's oft cheaper.

  10) Still too costly? Consider a black box. They monitor your driving and give curfews. See cheapest black box policies.