How can I cut down my insurance costs?

Follow these steps to landing the cheapest insurance premium.

1. If you have a garage, put your car in it overnight! Half the people with garages don't. This might help bring your insurance premiums down, especially if you live in a busy or high-risk area. If you can garage your car during the day, this can help too, although you might need to offset the costs of public transport against the reduction in insurance premium.

2. The cost of maintenance and replacement parts increases with large, expensive or unusual cars. Bear this in mind if you are buying a second-hand car, because it will affect your insurance premiums.

3. If your car is low-value or old, it might be worth just taking out third party, fire and theft insurance rather than fully comprehensive. With comprehensive cover, if a cheap car is damaged, the costs of repair soon overtake the value of the car, so it will be written off and you won't get much for it anyway.

4. By opting to pay a higher excess charge, you might be able to reduce the cost of your insurance. Work out what sort of excess you can afford, and the likelihood of needing to make a claim. If you make a number of small claims, a higher excess works against you because it is a higher proportion of the whole.

5. Unless you particularly want to insure your car for all drivers, it might be cheaper to restrict the cover to named drivers only.

6. Check whether you are paying for extra insurance perks that you don't really need.

7. If you have amassed over four years' no-claims bonus, it might be worth taking out no-claims protection. This can save you money on premiums in years to come.

Lastly... never falsify or hold back relevant information when applying for insurance. You could find yourself with the policy invalidated in the event of a claim.

Car insurance checklist
Check that you have the following information at your fingertips before you start to shop around for car insurance quotes:

1. Registration details and MOT certificate
2. Details of extra fittings that might help to reduce the risk of theft, such as an alarm or immobiliser
3. Car driver history
4. Details for any no-claims bonus

The insurance policy should include:

1. Certificate of Insurance
2. Policy document
3. Cover note (a temporary certificate)

All about vehicle insurance

Do you know what the different sorts of insurance cover, such as comprehensive or third party, really provide? Or how premiums are calculated? This interesting article from the Association of British Insurers answers questions such as these. It also runs through what you should do if you have an accident or your car is stolen. After either of those events, you might be shocked, upset or angry, so having a course of action to follow can really help you feel more in control of the situation.
Association of British Insurers >

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