How to get cheaper car insurance

Disclaimer: this page aims to provide information about how you can reduce the cost of your car insurance, but may not apply to all customers.

Any motorist knows that car insurance is one of the biggest ongoing costs of owning a vehicle. However, it is a necessity and legal obligation - so knowing how to make car insurance cheaper is essential.

The most important thing to remember is that insurers consider and price your individual policy based on the factor of risk. With this in mind, we’ve compiled eight cheaper car insurance tips to help you save money.

1. Think about insurance before you buy

The first of our cheaper car insurance tips is to consider the price of your policy before you even buy your car. After all, a key part of the car buying decision is factoring in the costs of actually getting a car on the road to begin with.

For many of us, a car is a necessity, not a luxury, so you need to think about the overheads of running it just like you would your household bills. When deciding on a new car, it’s always worth researching what make or model will assure a lower insurance premium.

Remember, insurance companies prefer cars that are cheaper to repair if a problem occurs as they will have to pay out less on any claims you make.

2. Practice safe driving

The second of our tips for cheaper car insurance is all about how you behave on the road. While safe driving should be something you’re always conscious of, proving you’re a diligent driver will also give you the best chance of getting a better insurance quote.

This is especially important to think about for new drivers, as the majority of insurers will price an individual policy based on the factor of risk. If you’re new to driving, consider weighing up the costs of taking the Pass Plus course and whether or not it will make your insurance cheaper.

Alternatively, if you’ve been driving for some time, remember that previous insurance claims and any points on your license will increase the cost of your premium.

It’s also important to think about safety, even when you’re not driving the car. You might want to consider fitting a recognised car alarm or immobiliser to your vehicle as theft deterrent, and you should park your car in your driveway or garage if you have one as insurers will view this favourably.

3. Track your annual mileage

When it comes to other tips for how to make your car insurance cheaper, lower mileage usually equals a lower premium.

Filling out any paperwork can be time consuming and tedious, and it’s only too tempting to guess your annual mileage rather than work it out when applying for finance.

However, by calculating the length of your typical journeys over a week or fortnight, and then multiplying this over a year, could very well save you money with a lower insurance quote.

A lower mileage indicates a lower risk, so try and be as accurate as possible with your annual mileage quotes. Just make sure you don’t purposely underestimate your mileage as this will invalidate your policy.

4. Always check your options

Perhaps the biggest tip we can give for how to make your car insurance cheaper is to shop around before committing to a policy.

Shopping around gives you a good indication of the different types of insurance prices, discounts, and cover available to you, ensuring you can find the right policy for your budget and needs. Remember, a good price is great, but maximum cover is just as important.

You should never just accept the first quote you get. Instead, get at least four or five quotes and use their prices to barter with your preferred insurer for a lower cost.

You should also avoid being tempted to take packages based solely on all the bonuses they offer. Roadside recovery is very useful, but you may find it’s actually cheaper to get this as an individual policy rather than in a combined package. In fact, many bank accounts already offer similar benefits, so check to see whether you already have these.

Besides this, some insurers may actually offer incentives as part of their insurance packages that could save you money in other aspects of your life. For example, some supermarket and high street chains may offer you vouchers to spend in their store whilst others might offer free cinema tickets for the entirety of your policy.

Finally, if it’s not the first time you’re buying vehicle insurance, and you’re thinking of switching, do make sure you can carry over your no claims bonus if you still have one.

5. Try to pay your insurance annually

One of our easiest tips for cheaper car insurance, while it might not always be possible, is to pay your insurance premium upfront. In most cases, this will result in a considerable cost saving compared to paying on a monthly basis.

On top of this, you won’t have to factor in the cost of insurance into your monthly budget, making it one less thing to worry about when it comes to monthly car payments.

6. Consider any excess you may have to pay

It’s very easy to get bogged down in the detail when buying vehicle insurance. At the time of purchase, many people think that, should they experience an accident, the lower the voluntary excess you have to pay the better.

Unfortunately, the reality is that, should you have a minor bump, and the repair work costs up to £300, it may be better to just pay for the repair without claiming, as any claim will increase your premium when you next need to renew your policy.

With this in mind, think about an excess figure you really couldn't afford to pay unexpectedly. The greater you make your voluntary excess figure, the cheaper you’ll make the cost of your insurance policy overall.

7. Add a second driver to your policy

This might seem counterintuitive when looking for the best way to get cheaper car insurance, but by adding a low risk driver to your policy, you could reduce the total cost.

Even if this second person only drives the vehicle on a few occasions during the policy, it could make all the difference. But remember, it’s important to make sure the main named driver is the person who will be using the vehicle the most to avoid invalidating your claim.

8. Decide if you want to protect your no claims bonus

If you’ve not made any claims on your insurance, it’s worth considering paying a little more to protect your no claims and reduce your insurance premiums for a few years.

Currently, the no claims benefits will be considered by insurers for up to five years. However, if you don’t claim it within five years, you’ve paid that additional cover for no reason.

It’s a tough decision to make, so our advice to both speak directly to your insurance providers and read up on the subject.

These are just our top tips for cheaper car insurance, but it’s always worth hunting for more if you want the cheapest policy possible.

Of course, there are plenty of other ways you can reduce the cost of owning a car. Opting for car finance, such as the kind we offer here at Zuto, is just one example; and with our PCP finance and HP finance policies, you can pay for your new car in affordable monthly instalments.

We even help drivers with poor credit get bad credit car finance. Reach out to our team today to see how we can help or visit our help and advice page for more information.